A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

families are now leaders in government or are known to be living freely in Monrovia. Others noted
that they had heard perpetrators who had carried out attacks on them were now in other positions of
power, such as in the police. 284
While waiting for the situation in Liberia to improve, many in Buduburam also desperately hope for
resettlement in a third country. A statement giver now living in the United Kingdom told the TRC
she had lived in Buduburam for nine years before being resettled. 285 Another statement giver now in
Minnesota told the TRC that he was in Buduburam for almost ten years before being resettled in the
United States 286 Both of these statement givers, like countless others, left family members behind who
are still waiting. 287
As conditions in Liberia continued to improve, however, resettlement began to fade as a viable
option. 288 At the beginning of 2008, the Ghanaian government announced a multi-million dollar
program to integrate Liberian refugees into Ghanaian society, as previous repatriation efforts had
met with minimal participation. In mid-February 2008, a group of refugees delivered a petition to the
UNHCR and the Ghana Refugee Board. The petition stated that they “strongly oppose” integration
into Ghanaian society and that they were requesting to be resettled in a third country or to be given
$1,000 USD (the standard repatriation allowance was $100 USD) in order to start a new life back in
Liberia. 289 In conjunction with this request, hundreds of Liberian refugees – primarily women and
children – held a five-week long protest on the central sports field in Buduburam. 290
On March 17, 2008, Ghanaian authorities arrested 630 of the protesters, 291 in some cases separating
families when mothers or children were taken away while other family members were left behind. 292
336