Washington, DC — With peacekeepers deployed and an interim government in place in Liberia, how much is the humanitarian situation improving? United Methodist Bishop John Innis, who leads one of the country's largest churches, says the key to the creation of peace and stability lies in the rural areas. Innis was born in northern Liberia and spent a decade working in rural regions, primarily as the director and a teacher at the Camphor Mission Station. He graduated from the University of Liberia and Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri and worked for the United Methodist Committee on Relief in the United States and West Africa before his election to the episcopacy in 2000. There are some 170,000 United Methodists in Liberia and 600 churches. United Methodist University in Monrovia has about 1,000 students.
While in Washington, DC this month to take part in a United Methodist Council of Bishops meeting, Innis was interviewed by AllAfrica about conditions in his country.
What has changed since the major fighting ended?
Life in Monrovia is returning to normal, and we can see signs of hope returning to our people. They have to believe that their lives will return to normal, that their homes will be rebuilt, that psychologically they can recover from what they have experienced during this terrible period we have gone through. We're very hopeful that peace is really on its way.
But we want to see peace enjoyed by all of our people. In rural areas, there are still many pockets of trouble. People demanding money and food from the residents in those villages and towns. The conditions there are not pleasant at all, for the most part.
Doesn't having the United Nations peacekeeping force in Liberia make a difference?
Yes, but peace and security in Monrovia does not mean security for the whole country. Our concern is that the peacekeepers get to those remote areas and help people there. Of course, many rural people have had to flee into the cities, and they are not used to that. Urban life is horrible for them. They want to go back, when it is safe for them to go. If our people can stopped being harassed, they will go back to their farms and grow cassava, rice, potatoes, peppers and begin to supply the country again with food.
You spoke about Monrovia. What about Buchanan (the country's second-largest city)?
I was in Buchanan a few weeks ago. The young rebels are still masquerading around the town with their guns. I spoke to some of them and asked: 'How can you lead us if you have no education?' I shared my own struggles with them - how I came from the village and had to hold down odd jobs to get an education. I told them that they can come to people like us and say 'we want to go to school' and we will try help to help them.
As soon as disarmament occurs, I said they should drop the guns. The United Methodist Church and all the churches, along with international groups, need to work together to see that those young people have a future without the guns. Education is the key to transformation for our country. We have to prioritize education.
Churches play a big role in the life of Liberians. How were churches impacted by the war?
We lost everything in the fighting. Our schools, our churches, our orphanages were damaged. Many pastors lost their homes. Look at Ganta Hospital in the north. That wonderful hospital was vandalized, badly damaged. Just a few years ago, some $1.5 million was invested in that facility, which serves over a half million people in the northern part of the country. The nurses' school connected with the hospital became a college, one of the best nursing schools in Liberia. There was a pre-natal clinic, a center to feed malnourished children an eye clinic, and 75 beds for people requiring to be hospitalized.
That hospital has been very important for that area, and not just for Liberians. People came there from Guinea and from Côte d'Ivoire, and, at times, from Monrovia for treatment. It has to be rebuilt.
I understand that damage occurred throughout much of the larger mission facility in Ganta, which includes a primary and secondary school, a demonstration farm, vocational training facilities, and a leprosy and tuberculosis rehabilitation unit. The United Methodist Board of Global Missions in New York has issued an appeal to help restore the hospital and the rest of the mission. What steps need to be taken to resume operations there?
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We'd like for Liberians from that area to be able to go back and begin cleaning up the dirt and destruction that has accumulated, to begin making repairs. We want to reopen early in 2004, but before that can happen we need to patch up the buildings, fix the plumbing and power and water systems. We think it is going to cost $200,000 or more.
This is a priority for us. We also have orphans who need care, and other urgent needs. We hope our United Methodists friends here in the United States, all our friends, can find a way to help us. We are determined to help ourselves. But we can use a hand!
RELATED: Bishop's Appeal for Liberia United Methodist Empowerment Foundation
