A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

ut the diaspora community has also been actively involved in resolving the
conflict. The 1990 Banjul Conference was brought about because people
in the diaspora lobbied along with people in Liberia. I don’t want to have
people in the diaspora take total credit for this, but diaspora Liberians have
been a part of finding solutions to the conflict. Ironically, some of the same
people who have been involved in looking for solutions have been involved
in instigating the crisis as well. 606
After the coup and as the civil war progressed, there was also a perception that Liberians abroad
were supporting various factions, sometimes with funding. Although this link between diaspora
funding and fighting factions was often mentioned, specific information was very difficult to obtain.
Most statement givers echoed an interviewee living in Arizona who noted that he “believes that the
diaspora has played a significant role in the Liberian conflict…[but] [h]e cannot give specific examples
of funding or identify individuals who headed up that effort.” 607
Not only did diaspora Liberians strategize about and take part in events that affected the course of
the Liberian war, diaspora Liberians have also played an active role in steering the nation toward
peace. In January 2003, for example, a meeting of prominent diaspora Liberians was held at Indiana
University (an institution with
which former interim president
Amos Sawyer has had a long term
relationship). The stated intent was
to “begin a discussion designed to
provide a deeper understanding of
Liberian governance institutions
and their potentials to contribute to
peace and democratic governance in
Liberia.” 608 In August 2003, another
“workshop” of prominent diaspora
Liberians was held at the University
of Pennsylvania under the auspices
of the Solomon Asch Center for the
study of Ethnopolitical Conflict and
the Liberty Center for Survivors
of Torture. 609 The product of that
workshop was an extensive report intended to influence the course of peace processes in Liberia. In
addition to these gatherings, Liberians in the diaspora also organized protests in Washington, DC,
to demand assistance and military intervention from the United States. 610 ULAA also continued to
be involved by sending a delegation to the Accra Peace Conference and participating in election
monitoring. 611
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Chapter Thirteen