Visiting West Africa expert urges more aid for Liberia
By James Addis
World Vision's West Africa regional director Dan Ole Shani
World Vision will push ahead with plans to expand assistance to Liberia's war victims despite suffering a looted office
and vehicles and the sinking of a ship bringing in aid supplies.
The comments were made by World Vision's West Africa regional director Dan Ole Shani, in Auckland this week for planing
meetings at World Vision's New Zealand office.
Mr Ole Shani will be back in Liberia next week to oversee relief operations and counsel staff shaken by recent violence.
Mr Ole Shani will check on four World Vision feeding centres supplying food to Liberians displaced by fighting as well
as the agency's health clinics.
"I also want to look at the conditions of displaced people who are not yet receiving any assistance. Aid agencies are
reaching only 30 per cent of the displaced populace now living in Monrovia. There is still a long, long way to go in
terms of meeting the needs," he said.
"We hope to open four more emergency feeding centres soon."
Mr Ole Shani said the security situation outside Monrovia remained extremely volatile. Despite a peace agreement between
warring factions, sporadic fighting between government and rebel groups persists.
The violence has left hundreds of thousands of civilians seeking refuge ? many are hungry, sick, emaciated and
traumatised.
Mr Ole Shani said it was good news that the ECOMIL peacekeeping force was spreading out from Monrovia and securing other
parts of the country, but troop numbers would need to be bolstered to be effective.
"The question is whether the international community is willing to pay the price. I think it's necessary when one
considers the humanitarian costs ? the loss of life ? if there is no peace," he said.
Mr Ole Shani said that despite 14 years of civil strife he maintained hope for the country's future, especially after
anti-war demonstrations in Monrovia last week. He said Liberia's situation today mirrored that of neighbouring Sierra
Leone, now enjoying relative peace and prosperity, after the populace recoiled with disgust at perpetual violence.
"Liberians are saying we are sick of war, we don't want it," he said.
Mr Ole Shani paid tribute to World Vision staff who had risked their lives to protect the agency's operations and assets
and were currently trying to recover vehicles illegally seized by government militias.
Staff suffered a further setback last month when a chartered ship bringing relief supplies from Sierra Leone sank after
hitting a sandbank during a heavy storm.