Henry Ahorttor Collins

Rock and Hard Place: Misapplication & Depravity of Power on Refugees in Guinea Henry Ahorttor Collins

Joining the miserable sea in Guinea, the 14-year rebel war in the country put Liberia exiles into protracted refugee category. As refugees they were stuck between rock and hard place besides being embroiled in inescapable trajectories. They sought alternative means of livelihood when the assistance they received from UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies was slashed. While they tried to find sustenance, bureaucratic power by UNHCR and CNISR affected while the locals used inequality as weapon to enforce power against them. Would the staff of UNHCR and other agencies, and the Guinean authorities stand unblemished of the alleged abuses of power and office and also improprieties? Did the locals realize that it is immoral to sexually abuse or rape vulnerable females, or to use children as beasts of burden to work on the streets, farms and in illicit mines,and that it is inhumane to refuse to remunerate for the services of refugees? The status as Liberian refugees ceased on 30th June 20012, and with repatriation and integration the durable solutions from which to opt, if the former refugees will continue to be stuck between rock and hard place in their new sojourn,remains to be seen.