A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

abies and ran to the bush as fast as I could. I heard gunfire all over and
later my mom told me my father was killed. She also said one of the babies
had been killed. I spent three weeks in the bush with the baby, which was
stressful especially when there was a need to be quiet. I made it to the Côte
d’Ivoire. 50
In the summer and fall of 1990, U.S. Marines evacuated U.S. citizens and those with green cards, as
well as other foreign nationals who had taken refuge at the U.S. embassy. 51 Describing her memories
of the evacuations, one statement giver from the southern United States described how she was
evacuated, but her sister, who did not happen to be at home at the time of the evacuation, was left
behind. 52
The family, whether traditional or statutory, is the basic unit of social organization and social support
in Liberia. 53 Accordingly, destruction of the family structure undermined the entire Liberian social
order. The impact of this trauma has had continuing repercussions in the diaspora. 54 One such impact
has been a multitude of informal adoptions as communities, extended families, and sometimes even
perfect strangers attempted to protect orphaned and lost children. These informal adoptions are
generally not recognized by immigration authorities in other countries, which has led to additional
family separations. 55
Travel Within Liberia
At first, the walking seemed normal. We all had shoes, tents, clothing, water
and food. But conditions rapidly worsened. Our shoes were destroyed,
and our belongings were taken from us. None of us could replace these
items, as it was far more important to spend the little money we could
obtain on food. Food and water were scarce, and my two young nieces
died of starvation on the journey. I had to wait in long lines to get water
from wells. Often, the water source was depleted by the time it was my
turn to drink. And when I was able to get water, I often felt bad drinking
knowing that there would be none left for the people waiting behind.
Our family sometimes walked as part of a larger group; it was safer to travel
this way. People were more likely to be accosted by soldiers and killed if
traveling alone. Soldiers would take people away from their walking group
if they wanted to kill or torture you, and were quick to shoot if they spotted
anyone running. As my family walked from village to village, we were
stopped at checkpoints, where soldiers would search our belongings and
take what they wanted before letting us go ahead. 56
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