Here I am in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, West Africa, waiting and praying that Air Ghana will fly me back to New York, via Baltimore. The Ghana Air flight last Sunday July 11 from Ghana to Liberia was cancelled, as was my Ghana Air flight from Monrovia to N.Y. last Thursday July 16, as was my Ghana Air flight to Accra today July 18. And my friend just told me my reservation to BWI tonight was mysteriously cancelled as well, just for good measure. So the planes have been a challenge.

One can hardly complain, considering the deprivation of the people we met in Liberia, where I joined Todd Howland and Abdel Kadili from the RFK Center for Human Rights.

For the most part, we rushed from meeting to meeting with civil society groups, government officials, the U.N., international NGO's, etc. talking about creating a lasting peace in a country torn by 14 years of civil war. We interspersed visits to 2 hospitals, 2 slum clinics, a nursing school, a polytechnic school, and other grass roots organizations.

There were a few light moments, like meeting "Father Lee", the five year old boy whose mother named him for the parish priest. And driving through the town of "Smells-good-no taste" so named because it was situated on the outskirts of the U.S. army base during World War II, and the locals could smell the delicious American cuisine, but never had a bite of it! And reading to kids beneath a tree while awaiting yet another Ghana Air flight.

Wednesday I had a chance to see a bit more of the country. I spent the morning at the Federal Prison, and Dante could have learned a lot from that place. The stench alone--that heavy stew of mold, waste, rot, urine, sweat and Tuberculosis mixed with hundred percent humidity cooked in hundred degree heat, with ventilation only enough for mosquitoes to fester-- the overcrowding, the starvation, the pregnant women, the refuse in a common bucket in the corner of an 8x10 dungeon, The lack of lawyers, or visitors, or blankets or electricity or hope. It must be what a rat feels like in a city sewer system, but here, there's no way out.

I spoke with each of the 109 adult prisoners, and the three children. Each claimed innocence. Only two were actually convicted of crimes. Several said the federal pen was a vast improvement over the local jails.

Then we drove a few hours to a Catholic Church where a pregnant girl, a teenaged boy and an ancient man gave their testimony of surviving a massacre in which their entire community was wiped out. Militiamen murdered 120 people in front of this handful of survivors. And now the federal government is run by a coalition of the warlords, ( the Minister of Justice was the spokesman for one warlord, the Speaker of the House worked for another) so the fact that they admit surviving, much less pressing the case, puts their very lives in danger.

Then on to a reintegration program run by Speak Truth to Power human rights defender Kofi Woods, that brings together victims with former militiamen, intent on returning to "normalcy". It was amazing to see these people who suffered such atrocities sitting side by side with people who perpetrated crimes, joining together to come up with a common litany of human rights violations during the Liberian civil crisis -Here's their list: " Rape of young girls and old people, killing, harassment of civilians, including beatings and threats, looting of property, willful beating of people, lawlessness, destruction of property." And then they wrote a list of demands for their government: "Free education, a good justice system, respect for the rule of law, development, equal rights, good leaders, free and fair elections, accountability, democracy, a thorough truth and reconciliation commission, a human rights office in every subdivision , equal distribution of wealth, assistance to rebuild homes."

In a nation where 75 % of the women and 50% of the men are illiterate, there probably was not a grade school graduate in the entire group, but they were determined to understand and demand their rights, and take back their country.

Then on to camps where former child soldiers hand in their arms. Kids, many of them forcibly conscripted, committed arson, rape, murder, or were forced to walk the front lines, so as to shield their commanding officers from incoming fire. It is heart breaking to hear their stories, and terrifying to think of them back on the streets, with no jobs, no schools, and no means of support besides taking up arms. Rehabilitation of the child combatants is even more daunting considering what Head of State Gyude Bryant told us "There's not one psychiatrist in our entire country."

The whole place is just so full of woe.

There are candles in all the darkness, literally, and the local community groups have impressive and committed personnel. They are doing extraordinary work with the few resources they have. We visited a clinic in one slum where the nurse was dispensing medicine by candlelight, as they can only afford the generator for a few hours twice a week. In an AIDS hospice they ran out of anti retroviral medications 3 months ago, but they take in new patients every day. Funding for the disarmament and demobilization program was reduced from 6 weeks to 5 days, still, heroic women and men work with ex combatants to prepare them for a return to society. And Internally Displaced People swell camps of 20,000, as World Food Program personnel help distribute meager rations.

In 1999, Archbishop Michael Francis won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Since then, as we do with all our laureates, we have partnered with him to advance the cause of human rights. In the weeks ahead, we will review our findings with the Archbishop,( who is now in Washington D.C. for medical reasons,) and work with him on series of short and long range projects for Liberia aimed at empowering local groups to demand international aid builds local capacity to insure an enduring peace and respect for human rights. There is much to be done.

More to say when I see you next

Onward!

KK

P.S. You may wonder what the heck we were doing on Ghana Air in the first place. The answer: saving money! So, if you have a few extra pennies ( or more) please send them to the RFK Memorial 1367 Connecticut Ave N.W. Washington, DC 20036 and note Center for Human Rights

The CHR will soon issue a report on the findings and recommendations of the delegation and will hold briefing in Washington, DC and New York

For more information, please contact Sushetha Gopallawa (202) 463-7575 x270, gopallawa@rfkmemorial.org