by Eva Jensen

For over 15 years, the crisis in Liberia has been growing worse. Warring government factions and rebel forces in Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) created unrest, displacing people from their homes and virtually eliminating Liberian citizens’ access to basics for survival — food, clean water, and health care.

In the past two years, the situation had become increasingly dangerous. Phebe Hospital, which was founded in 1921 by Lutheran missionaries and serves the population of 500,000 residents and 80,000–100,000 displaced persons in Bong County, was closed in March 2003. The staff and patients were evacuated in the face of an attack by advancing rebel forces. ELCA mission personnel who serve at Phebe Hospital had returned to the United States because of the expanding civil war. The very next month, the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL) invited Lutheran partners in Europe and North America to their annual "partner meeting." Was it wise to go? Would the Liberians even be able to meet with us?

As program director for West Africa in the ELCA Division for Global Mission, I called Bette McCrandall, the long-term ELCA missionary serving with the Lutheran Church in Liberia, to discuss the situation. "Oh, yes, the situation is difficult. But the ministry of the church continues. And we also have new hope: The women are marching for peace! The women have met with the leaders of the rebel movement. They are seeking a meeting with President Charles Taylor. So far, he has refused, so they are marching to the government buildings to insist on a meeting. They are organized as the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) Liberia."

Women’s organizing brings new hope
Leymah Gbowee, president of the women’s organization at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the capital city of Monrovia, and Comfort Freeman, president of the National Lutheran Church Women in Liberia, began organizing WIPNET Liberia in June 2002. In their daily life and work, Gbowee and Freeman recognize the reality that Liberia’s people — individually and collectively — have been traumatized by war.

"By virtue of where we sit, the people of Liberia have hope," said Gbowee, referring to the women who began their daily sit-in for peace in mid-April on the Monrovia Airfield next to the main road leading into the city. Under the hot sun and in pouring rain, the women of Liberia gathered to convey their commitment to peace. They gathered to protest the actions of all who perpetuate Liberia’s violent civil war. "Some say we are an embarrassment to the government," Gbowee continued, "but sun and rain are better than the bullets of war. Our vision is for the unity of families and the elimination of hunger and disease. We believe God’s hands are under us in this effort now. God has turned ears toward us."

The recurring violence in the country and the repeated displacement of tens of thousands of women and children are central concerns of the women of the LCL. They decided that they cannot accept violence and suffering as a long-term situation for themselves, their children, or their nation. With Freeman’s leadership, the women of the LCL convened a meeting of women from other churches, and together they agreed that it was time to rise up and speak.

In July 2002, the women broadened their network, supporting the participation of Muslim women in the peace initiative. By December 2002, the Muslim women had organized. In the spring of 2003, Christian and Muslim women agreed to work together in a peace-building network. On April 11, 2003, over 3,000 women gathered for the launch of WIPNET.

Women in action
With determination to end the violence, the women began their action with a confession included in the statement they distributed: "In the past we were silent, but after being killed, raped, dehumanized, and infected with diseases, and watching our children and families destroyed, war has taught us that the future lies in saying NO to violence and YES to peace! We will not relent until peace prevails."

For more than a month after the launch of WIPNET Liberia, the women held mass meetings at Monrovia City Hall and the capitol building. They marched in the streets for peace, they held peace vigils in mosques and churches, they met with women in the refugee camps, and they held public sit-ins for peace every day. Everywhere, more women determined to be agents of peacemaking.

On the first day of their sit-in, Gbowee reports, "the president ordered armed men to come with rattans to whip them, for they feared women would march to the home of the president." The women proudly wore tee shirts that proclaimed "We Want Peace. No More War." Initially, President Taylor refused to meet with the women, but when the power of their movement became evident, he invited them to a meeting. Dressed in sackcloth and ashes to convey their grief for the nation, the women presented their call for a cease-fire and for good-faith negotiations for peace. They refused chairs and protocols of honor, choosing to sit on the floor as a sign of their solidarity with the people. When the president offered them $5,000, they refused it, declaring, "Money cannot buy peace!"

At the LCL partner meeting, Liberians said, "We have new hope because of the action of the women!" Freeman reported that men and women, including soldiers and government employees, stopped at the airfield sit-in to thank the women for their witness and to give them water, food, and money to support their efforts.

WIPNET Liberia had an official observer at the Liberia peace talks in Ghana. As the negotiations wore on, groups of women in Liberia and Ghana continued their sit-in witness for peace. Violence in Liberia increased during the final days of the negotiations, but a plan for peace and new governance in Liberia was established. International commitments were made to send and support peacekeeping forces.

WIPNET coordinator Gbowee says, "Women will always be present with whatever government comes. Hope for the future depends on the government taking decisions in consultation with the citizens. When the cease-fire is implemented and the peacekeepers arrive, our sit-in will stop. We will watch closely whatever follows. The women of Liberia are determining the future of Liberia now!" Where violence and conflict have persisted, WIPNET has been present to document violations of the peace agreement and intervene with actions for peace and reconciliation.

Call for solidarity, prayer, and advocacy
As women of the ELCA, we receive this gift of faith from our sisters in Liberia. I asked Leymah Gbowee, "How can we in the ELCA accompany you? What can Women of the ELCA do in solidarity with the women of Liberia?" She responded, "Remember us in prayer. Advocate for international support in our peace effort." Comfort Freeman asked us to pray for peace and plead with our government to send peacekeeping troops, finance international United Nations peacekeepers, support the peace process, and contribute to reconstruction.

The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA) has created a Web site (www.loga.org/Africa/Liberia.htm) that includes reports on the situation in Liberia and a guide to advocacy efforts supporting the Liberian peace plan. You may also support the ministries of the Lutheran Church in Liberia. Write to the ELCA Division for Global Mission, c/o Rev. David Lerseth, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631; or call 800-638-3522, ext. 2641, for more information. You may also support the Lutheran Disaster Response in Liberia with a gift to the ELCA International Disaster Response. Call 800-638-3522 or visit elca.org/disaster/howtogive.html for more information.