 |
| A simple message |
On February 19th of 2008, thousands of women unhappy with the UNHCR and Buduburam Camp leadership, organized a protest in the football field near the camp. Their protest demands: US $1000 repatriation package, resettlement into a third country of asylum, and non-integration into Ghanaian host communities. While some women, many as old as 50 or 60 sat with signs, other women circled through with water and food for the protestors. The women were joined by their children, which resulted in the closure of the schools in Buduburam.
 |
| Many children joined their mothers in the protest |
The women's protest also closed many commercial activities as the women are the ones who run the stalls in the food market. The women closed the food market except from morning til noon for the duration of the protest. They sat out in the hot Ghanaian sun for days, attracting the attention of motor vehicle traffic on the Buduburam-Kasoa road. The attention of passers-by eventually drew the attention of local and international news media.
 |
| Protesters by the Buduburam-Kasoa road |
The Liberian women barred the men from joining them in protest on the field, as men are more susceptible to police crack-down. The men respected their wishes but many did not stray far, pocketing themselves nearby with watchful eyes to come to the women's aid should the police give them trouble. Even the men not stationed on the perimeter voiced their support. In the second week of protesting, a cross-section of Liberian refugee men comprised of leaders from the 15 political subdivisions of Liberia and leaders of local Liberian churches and NGOs pledged their support for the women's protest.
 |
| Women with their children protesting in Buduburam |
 |
| A woman protestor |
According to the woman I talked to who was involved with the protests, the Liberian women were prepared to die in the hot sun--that they'd absolutely had enough. Indeed, many did almost die there. At least 19 women were hospitalized during the protests, which was not surprising, considering that they were highly vulnerable to heat cramps, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion among other diseases associated with poor sanitation, air pollutants, dehydration, and people living right on top of each other such as: the common cold, diarrhea, bronchitis, and malaria.
The peaceful protest was forcefully broken up within a month of it starting. Police tear gassed the field and rounded up over 600 Liberian refugee women and children for detainment and deportation. Many children were left abandoned in the field when their mothers were arrested. Some children were arrested without their mothers.
At the end of the day, the forceful break up of peaceful protests, fear of further police brutality, and the relative certainty that their demands would not be met either by the government of Ghana or by the UN, almost half of the Liberian refugee population fled. They went back to Liberia without even receiving the meager repatriation package that the UN originally offered them. The goals of the women's protest were not achieved, but their ability to organize as a collective and to garner incredible community and international support was laudable.
The Liberian women made clever use of their role in life at Buduburam, causing a wave by effectively suspending education and commerce in the camp. They were also able to mobilize support through their churches, and the support of their churches in turn were influential in garnering more community support. I've mused before on the role of religion in Buduburam, but what I haven't talked about that's readily apparent in this narrative is the church as an oppositional enclave. The sermons in Buduburam churches often speak directly to the plight of the refugee population and become a space for the community to air grievances. Religion is rhetoric employed to urge these and other protestors on in their political activity and to quell any advocacy for violence as a means of protest. The women capitalized on all of the functions of the church and Christian religion in their organizing, even praying and singing while they protested. The women's utilization of their role in Buduburam life is also a cite rich for analysis that I wish I knew more about.
All photos reposted from the Equality Trumpet--a Buduburam news publication.
Here's a link to a women's equality campaign started by Liberian refugees in Ghana.
