"We all agree that there were problems in the past with Sime Darby and our people, but the situation has changed. We from Civil Society are referees in this thing. We spoke in the past and we are prepared to speak again whenever Sime Darby does wrong. Let our Friends write a report that will at least reflect the reality on the ground." Alex Balo Civil Society Coalition Chairman

"When a woman is pregnant and she gets in pain... her survival is only in God's hands. It takes us four to five hours to take a pregnant woman or a dying child to the nearby clinic which is in Senje for treatment. Yes pregnant women die sometimes, because we use hammer to transport them."

The fate of thousands of poor villagers in Western Liberia is on the brink, as Non-governmental Organizations have intensified their campaign in Western nations to keep at bay the operations of Sime Darby Plantation in Liberia, the region's most reliable source of job creation.

Prior to the return of a democratically elected government to Liberia in 2006, Western Liberia, comprising Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu Counties was practically the most repressed and deprived region of the country, especially during the more than 14 years of civil war. The region is fast becoming a potentially tension packed region due to the unabated attacks coming from Western sponsored NOGs in the region.

Villagers are now becoming increasingly worried that they may not see the needed development in some of their remote towns unless NGOs that are claiming to be working in their interests stop feeding wrong information on the international wires.

Following a recent report by US based Environmental Lobbyist Friends of the Earth (FOE) and its Partner Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI) on Liberia; local residents in Western have expressed frustration over the report terming it as an "act of the devil."

The FOE/SDI report according to villagers could make their already challenging living condition a paradise in hell, especially when the report is giving a completely different picture of the current reality on the ground.

Blind man: NGOs are Wicked

"When someone tells you do not take this thing, there must be something that he or she must give you. But our people are suffering... starving, pregnant women are dying, then someone says a friend who wants to help must not come to your aid;" Momodu Semeh, a blind man cried.

Semeh has heard rumors that if Sime Darby which is supposed to move into his clan continues to suffer attacks from NGOs, the company may consider leaving out his area.

Semeh, 61, has been blind most of his life. He is a well respected elder in his hometown Karnga, a small village North-West of Senje, the district's administrative seat. Semeh is father of six children, with the first of his six been born July of 79'. All of his children have not had the opportunity to go to school, least to mention are gainfully employed. Semeh believes that the hope of many other unborn children like his could remain an elusive dream unless a company like Sime Darby is given the permission to come to their area.

"From year to year, since I was a boy we made farms. Look at my hands; raising his hands; I have just come from cleaning under my cassava. Yes I am blind but I can still work. Besides getting food that will not even last the entire year, we have not benefited from farming." Semeh said.

Abandoned farmland in Semeh's Clan is huge. According to him, giving an agreed portion to Sime Darby to develop will serve no harm to their livelihood as community residents. Semeh had already witnessed a participatory mapping that secures his village's sacred sites, poro and sandi societies as well as a 2kilometer buffer zone away from his village.

Said Semeh: "We still have plenty land... more than plenty. In fact this whole issue of land grab I don't know where it is coming from, but if it is coming from these NGOs, then those people are wicked. We don't have roads, hand pumps, school and clinic. Look around you, and compare what Sime Darby has done for our people in lower Garwula to our current condition."

Semeh's story is just a blip of the suffering and frustration that a population of more than 12,000 people goes through, in Zodua Clan Upper Grawula District, Grand Cape Mount County.

Pregnant Woman Dying

Like Semeh, Tenneh K. Zodua, Chairlady of Zodua Land Committee said, there can be no better time than now for NGOs who are claiming to be championing their cost to step aside and allow them continue to engage Sime Darby.

For Tenneh, the appalling living condition in her clan necessitated a request from them for Sime Darby to come and develop their land.

"When a woman is pregnant and she gets in pain... her survival is only in God's hands. It takes us four to five hours to take a pregnant woman or a dying child to the nearby clinic which is in Senje for treatment. Yes pregnant women die sometimes, because we use hammer to transport them." Tenneh Said.

The voices of these poor and frustrated villagers speak volume to the level of alluring poverty an average Liberian living in any rural community especially Western Liberia faces. Western Liberia according to the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) 2008 housing and demographic census is the poorest region in Liberia, followed by the Southeast.

Statistics on Social condition in the region were dire, until today following the reestablishment of plantation operations in the area by Sime Darby, the World's number one producer of satisfied palm oil.

There are little or no schools in most part of the region; neither does the population have access to save drinking and medical care.

For instance, according to the ministry of Finance revenue index on the region with over 294,849 people, contributed less 1% of the total revenue generation in 2008. This was principally due to the lack of economic activities taking place in the region at the time. That has change!

Over 3000 Liberians currently enjoy permanent employment from Sime Darby since 2009; this means that the appalling rate of revenue generation by the Liberian governmnet has changed to date. Employees of Sime Darby pay income tax. The employment of the local residents comes along with housing, medical and educational facilities. The company's operation is moving gradually, with recent reports that residents in Upper Grawula District, Zodua Clan have surrendered at least 5,000 hectares of abandoned farmland to the company to develop.

Liberia: World #4 Poorest Country

Liberia is still experiencing economic shocks from a devastating civil conflict that shattered the nation's economy. Even though it is one of two countries in sub-Sahara Africa without roots in the European Scramble of Africa, the country sits at #4 as the World's poorest country with a GDP of just 672 per capita income since July 2012.

Power and running water are scarce in most part of the country. The country's wartime economy exploited its diamond resource, exporting over $300 million in blood diamonds annually, report says.

Unemployment rate is still at an alarming rate, recording at 70%. Thanks to Sime Darby and other concessioners who help to drop the unemployment from 85%. An average Liberian survives on less than $1.50 US per day. Life expectancy is only at 56.58 years, the infant mortality rate in 2010 was 76.43 per 1000 live births (18th in the world) and there are an estimated 35,000 people living with AIDS. The percentage of people living without access to potable running water and adequate sanitation facilities is amongst the highest in the world.

These and many other factors economists say have been the driving force by the Liberian Government to encouraging Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Civil Society Fears People Anger

However, there are doubts from some Civil Society groups that most of the concessionaires will ever be able to enjoy a good business climate in Liberia, admits unbalanced reports coming from local and International NGOs such as the latest report by FOE/SDI on Liberia.

Alex Balo, Chairman for a Coalition of Civil Society Groups in Grand Cape Mount County told this paper that the latest report by FOE/SDI was unbalanced and does not give a better picture of the real happening in the ground.

Balo, argues that even though FOE was an internationally acclaimed NGO, there is a likelihood that its reputation could be ruined if community members who are expected to benefit from said advocacy begin to challenge their reports.

"We all agree that there were problems in the past, but the situation has changed. We from Civil Society are referees in this thing. We spoke in the past and we are prepared to speak again whenever Sime Darby does wrong. Let our Friends write a report that will at least reflect the reality on the ground." Balo said.

Alex Balo who also originates from Zodua Clan, Grand Cape Mount County, leads 27 Civil Society Organizations that are working in various categories. But Balo terms NGO's that are coming into Zodua Clan and publishing reports without investigating or verifying information leading to the said report as, "doing more harm than good."

"Before acquiring land anywhere, the first thing you must do is FPIC... which is Free Prior Informed Consent, and it was done by Sime Darby. Sime Darby even brought in an international NGO, which is The Forest Trust. TFT led the process, we were present," Balo said.