We arrived to Liberia just yesterday to the sound of music and the sight of brightly clothed men and women dancing on the dock-- a hearty welcome…African style. Following a welcome address by the vice president and an exhibition of African dancing, the gangway was officially secured and our executive director, Solfrid Quist, was accompanied down the gangway by our two Liberian Crew members. This is Mercy Ship’s third outreach to Liberia and many of the crew were excited to return. I looked around the harbor and couldn’t help but wonder what the next 10 months will hold. The view out my backyard (loosely speaking of course) consists of a half sunken ship, 2 large cargo ships, and a panoramic view of the city. The quiet of this harbor is a welcome change from the bustling port of Tema that never seemed to sleep.
Following dinner tonight I accompanied a few of my crew members out past the guarded gate at the end of the dock to visit the nearby UN camp. We were going to see if we could join their nightly game of volleyball. I was not dressed to play so I sat watching. As I sat there I had one of those surreal moments in which I thought “is this really my life?”---here I am hanging out in a UN camp, surrounded by camouflaged peacekeeping forces from Bangladesh and Nepal, watching a friendly game of volleyball, just past a security checkpoint, living on a ship, in the country of Liberia on the coast of West Africa. Kinda crazy…
I debated whether or not to include the following essay…I wrote it in response to film that was shown on the ship. Just to give a little background about the history of Liberia. It has been devastated by 14 years of civil war, the last fighting ended in 2003. Roughly 2/3 of the populations is unemployed, all formal education grounded to a halt during the years of unrest. 50% of the population is said to be under the age of 15. It is a country run on generators. It has been without electricity for the past two decades. Economically it is devastated. Nearly 85% of the population lives below poverty (which is less then $1 USD/day) The UN continues to have a presence here, but the first ever female president in all of Africa, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected in 2005 and the country is in the process of rebuilding.
Following dinner tonight I accompanied a few of my crew members out past the guarded gate at the end of the dock to visit the nearby UN camp. We were going to see if we could join their nightly game of volleyball. I was not dressed to play so I sat watching. As I sat there I had one of those surreal moments in which I thought “is this really my life?”---here I am hanging out in a UN camp, surrounded by camouflaged peacekeeping forces from Bangladesh and Nepal, watching a friendly game of volleyball, just past a security checkpoint, living on a ship, in the country of Liberia on the coast of West Africa. Kinda crazy…
I debated whether or not to include the following essay…I wrote it in response to film that was shown on the ship. Just to give a little background about the history of Liberia. It has been devastated by 14 years of civil war, the last fighting ended in 2003. Roughly 2/3 of the populations is unemployed, all formal education grounded to a halt during the years of unrest. 50% of the population is said to be under the age of 15. It is a country run on generators. It has been without electricity for the past two decades. Economically it is devastated. Nearly 85% of the population lives below poverty (which is less then $1 USD/day) The UN continues to have a presence here, but the first ever female president in all of Africa, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected in 2005 and the country is in the process of rebuilding.
Shattered
How do a people respond when a nation is in chaos? When all voices of reason have been drowned out by the explosion of mortars and bullets? When the sounds of bullets silence the innocent? When a superpower remains distant and apathetic? When leaders battle for power? When a president promises produce death instead of progress? When an entire international community turns a deaf ear?
Who hears the sound of children crying?
Who hears the sound of parents weeping?
Of brothers dying?
How can such madness exist? How do people survive amidst war…refugees huddled within the protective walls of an abandoned hotel…children carrying machine guns…rebels dancing in the street…soldiers blinded by a cause that promises freedom for their nation but produces only death…orphans needing shelter…people needing food…
Death…the very word makes me think of…isolation …abandonment…of a black abyss, as endless and consuming as the mass graves…that buried hundreds of Liberians killed in the civil war…
IDPs-Internally Displaced People…do they even remember their “land of liberty”? Millions fled…separated from children, sisters, brothers, parents…
We just finished watching the documentary “Uncivil War”…it was bloody…it was graphic…it captured the madness of nation in chaos…of the US’s uninvolvement…of the civilians cry for help…of opposing fighting forces each of whom promised freedom and justice for their people. “Madness”…”Unreality” are the words that came to mind as I watched the scenes of violence flashing across the screen. I sat numb…stunned as people started filing from the room…the movie ended but the story is no where near ending…after 14 years of civil war Liberia is struggling to rebuild…Mercy Ships has chosen to be a part of the reconstruction. But what does that mean?? What will the next 10 months look like? I don’t want relief from these feelings of grief and shame I want relief and healing for the people of Liberia. Healing for the many nations within Africa that have been ravaged by war.
“Lord pour out your mercy and grace! We desperately need you! The people of Liberia need you! Thank you that you see the oppressed and that your heart is for the orphans! Lord Jesus work a miracle in this nation. Restore Hope. Bind up the broken hearted, give sight to the blind! Oh Jesus, I pray your kingdom of peace would reign in the hearts of the people of Liberia. Lord you are able. Please give us wisdom and compassion as we serve the people of this nation.”
How do a people respond when a nation is in chaos? When all voices of reason have been drowned out by the explosion of mortars and bullets? When the sounds of bullets silence the innocent? When a superpower remains distant and apathetic? When leaders battle for power? When a president promises produce death instead of progress? When an entire international community turns a deaf ear?
Who hears the sound of children crying?
Who hears the sound of parents weeping?
Of brothers dying?
How can such madness exist? How do people survive amidst war…refugees huddled within the protective walls of an abandoned hotel…children carrying machine guns…rebels dancing in the street…soldiers blinded by a cause that promises freedom for their nation but produces only death…orphans needing shelter…people needing food…
Death…the very word makes me think of…isolation …abandonment…of a black abyss, as endless and consuming as the mass graves…that buried hundreds of Liberians killed in the civil war…
IDPs-Internally Displaced People…do they even remember their “land of liberty”? Millions fled…separated from children, sisters, brothers, parents…
We just finished watching the documentary “Uncivil War”…it was bloody…it was graphic…it captured the madness of nation in chaos…of the US’s uninvolvement…of the civilians cry for help…of opposing fighting forces each of whom promised freedom and justice for their people. “Madness”…”Unreality” are the words that came to mind as I watched the scenes of violence flashing across the screen. I sat numb…stunned as people started filing from the room…the movie ended but the story is no where near ending…after 14 years of civil war Liberia is struggling to rebuild…Mercy Ships has chosen to be a part of the reconstruction. But what does that mean?? What will the next 10 months look like? I don’t want relief from these feelings of grief and shame I want relief and healing for the people of Liberia. Healing for the many nations within Africa that have been ravaged by war.
“Lord pour out your mercy and grace! We desperately need you! The people of Liberia need you! Thank you that you see the oppressed and that your heart is for the orphans! Lord Jesus work a miracle in this nation. Restore Hope. Bind up the broken hearted, give sight to the blind! Oh Jesus, I pray your kingdom of peace would reign in the hearts of the people of Liberia. Lord you are able. Please give us wisdom and compassion as we serve the people of this nation.”
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing your essay. What to say? But to pray for God's healing and redemption and releif for these people. Amen to your prayer, my friend.
~eliz
The Matador
He glanced at me with his sad hazel eyes
With blood drooping on his forehead
And remains of a greasy, dry and sandy hair
He looked at me from top to bottom
Calm, serene, cold and sad looks
Looks of a wise man who has seen all
His mouth was dry and bleeding
He was thrown on the ground
With no energy to move and stand up
Very thin legs with no shoes
Flies resting on his wounds with no bandage
A little piece of cloth covering his belly
His ribs almost showing under the skin
As he breathes slightly and slowly
His arms almost non-existent
So weak he could not put them together
He stared at me without moving
His eyes said the entire story
The story of being in the wrong place
At the wrong time for the wrong purpose
Falling a victim in a world he never chose
A world that promised rainbows and sunshine
And could not grant him food, water and shelter
His family was killed in mobs sweeping the streets
And all is left is the remains of a house
A shelter he once lived in with his mother
A small neighborhood he used to play in
All in the name of freedom and liberation
That only brought him starvation and pain
Our eyes met and I wished I could answer him
Explain to a child why he was there
Yet, all he needed was not love or political stand
He needed food, shelter, water and a hospital
I walked away with millions of people
Turned my back to a child’s cry for help
A child who was not part of a war
But who had to pay the price
Without ever knowing why or what for.
The sound of a bullet
She laid beautifully, peacefully on the meadow
She was at her home
Where she belonged to the den
As much as it belonged to her
Watching diligently her children
One by one nurturing them
To grow strong
To be the lions they are destined to be
The ones nature calls upon
To raise a new life, a new generation
Only to continue the circle of life
Which their ancestors have long known
They play with one another
And sleep securely with their mother
Laying eyes on them for the last time
For tomorrow, her eyes were not to see light
In the early dawn did our eyes meet
I was looking for a new home
And theirs was to be mine alone.
The redness in her eyes still hunts me
As I put my own children to sleep
Pierces my soul in the stillness of the night
Asking where her children are at
Who woke up to nothing and perhaps even less
I alone hold the answers
As to why now the circle of life stands disturbed
Vanishing into the sound of a bullet
The very last of a heart beat
Announcing violently the beginning of the end
What becomes of lions with no mothers?
My door is always locked.
My gun replaced my wife
What becomes of children
Raised in the place of lions?
Underneath, a den still lies
Mixed echoes of lions roaring
And children crying take shelter in one another
At the echo of a bullet.
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