IDPs begin heading for home

Chanting “no more war” and praying for peace, a first batch of 500 internally displaced people (IDPs) headed home on Monday from a camp where they had lived for years, as the UN and Liberia's government kicked off a scheme to resettle 300,000 IDPs. The resettlement of the IDPs, who live in a ring of camps around the capital, began a week behind schedule due to a sudden flare-up of riots in Monrovia a week ago, the worst violence to hit the West African country since civil war ended in 2003. As they boarded more than 20 trucks and mini-buses at the Perry Town camp for IDPs to head home to Grand Cape Mount country near the Sierra Leone border, the group of mainly women and children sang gospel songs and chanted “No more war, we have peace”. Grand Cape Mount is one of seven counties in Liberia – which has a total of 15 – that have been declared safe for the return of IDPs and for the other 350,000 people who fled the country during its 14 years of civil war. "We’re happy to leave the displaced camp at last,” said Varney Kamara, who like most of the returnees had been forced to live there for four years. “This is a good sign for Liberia, because where we fled from, now there are no fighters intimidating us. People are moving about their business freely.” Siafa Kermon, a block leader in the camp, was also enthusiastic about returning to his area. "Whether or not our homes have been destroyed, we’re moving back,” he told IRIN. “Thank God there is no war and the fighters have disarmed.” The return of the IDPs, which took place with Liberian transitional authorities and top UN officials looking on, marked the latest step in a string of key developments carrying the nation from war to peace. Last week the country’s three former warring factions jointly announced the disbanding of their forces, a milestone declaration that came only days after the end of a nationwide programme to disarm ex combatants in which some 100,000 fighters laid down their arms. Liberia’s transitional leader, Gyude Bryant, who was on hand, pledged to continue to work towards peace and safety. "The time has come for every one of you to go back home, and we as a government, along with the UN, will make sure that the counties you fled are secured and safe for you all to return in dignity". Relief workers told IRIN that the first phase of the IDP repatriation plan would focus on western Liberia, whose three counties - Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount - had been declared safe for the return of the displaced people. In central Liberia, Bong County has been declared safe as have been Grand Bassa and Rivercess, southeast of the capital, and Margibi, north of Monrovia. The UN and the Liberian government have said people must be encouraged to return only on condition a county is safe. Key benchmarks for determining a areas safety are completion of disarmament, the presence of civil authorities, rehabilitation of basic services and unhindered access for humanitarian workers. UN humanitarian coordinator for Liberia, Abou Moussa, told the departing IDPs that basic services would be provided. "It is our responsibility to make sure that their return is sustainable. The sustainable requires the provision of basic services of primary health, education and sanitation". In northwest Liberia, health facilities, schools and public buildings are being renovated by USAID, said Interior Minister Horatio Dan Marias. "The turning of US 520 million dollars pledges from the donor conference into cash as required for Liberia's recovery program, including the reintegration of refugees and IDPs has been slow and this is hampering the reintegration program in Liberia”, he said. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned last week that not enough funding had been received for a three-year Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) programme for Liberia and appealed for an extra US 58 million dollars. This is on top of US 30 million dollars already received by or pledged to the “RR” portion of the plan, rehabilitation and reintegration. "Firm pledges were made to rehabilitate and reintegrate 20,035 disarmed and demobilized ex-combatants into society. But more voluntary contributions are needed to address an additional caseload of 47,025 ex-combatants who are not yet enrolled in RR-programmes," a UNDP statement said. The UN concluded disarmament and demobilization in most parts of Liberia on October 31, but announced the process would continue in some difficult-to-reach parts of northern and southeastern Liberia, where roads are in poor condition,