A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

yet typical, trauma by the time they arrived in the United States as refugees:
I used to be an aunt for two Liberian girls…[b]y the time they got refugee
status, one had a three-year old baby. They came to the United States, and I
was contacted by a Catholic relief organization, and they told me they were
coming and they found foster parents for them…Well, one thing I saw was
that they were not prepared for these children. The girls were [children]
when the bomb fell in their yard and killed their ma, and they ran…They
had a five-year-old brother, and their father was executed. Their five-yearold
brother got lost, so they were very traumatized, their father was executed
in their presence, and they lost their brother and were raped constantly for
five years. They went through five African countries. They were 13 and 15
years old when they got here, with a baby, having run for years. I told the
people these children are very traumatized, and they need counseling…So, I
looked at them, and they were not prepared for these children. If you bring
traumatized people here, then they need proper psychological counseling. 516
Numerous statement givers and interviewees report that mental health issues are prevalent in the
diaspora community, including Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, 517 depression, and feelings of
inadequacy. Some feel these issues are of particular concern among Liberian men because of their
dramatic change in status. 518 One interviewee in Minnesota told the TRC that he saw his friends
turning to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the stress of past trauma and
adjustment to life in the United States. 519
Physical health concerns are ongoing as a result of trauma and often are linked to mental health issues.
Liberians suffer from all manner of physical disability resulting from the conflict, including chronic
pain, scarring, vision problems, dental pain, loss of limbs, hearing loss, and traumatic brain injury. 520
Women in particular suffer from the long term consequences of rape and sexual assault as well as
traumatic pregnancies and miscarriages during the conflict. In addition, health care providers also
report that many Liberians are dealing with the after-effects of malnutrition and that older Liberians
are dealing with hypertension and diabetes. 521 Statement givers also were likely to describe physical
manifestations of mental health concerns, such as feeling “pressure,” chest pain, feeling weak or
faint, and night sweats. Nightmares and flashbacks also are commonly reported. Within the diaspora
community, youth and former child soldiers are specifically cited as being in need of mental health
treatment to assist in their recovery from their war experiences. 522
There is general consensus both within the diaspora community and among those providers who
work with the community that few Liberians receive appropriate mental health treatment, due both
to a strong cultural bias on the part of Liberians against therapy and mental-health treatment 523 and
362