ARC Urges President Bush to Send Troops to Liberia

American Refugee Committee
Thursday, 10 July 2003

Hugh Parmer, president of the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee, today urged the Bush administration to send troops into war-torn Liberia.

"I urge President Bush to use our military strength to help create and sustain peace in Liberia," Parmer stated. "Further, I urge him to send a force large enough to provide adequate security for humanitarian relief efforts."

Parmer is also concerned about the coordination of humanitarian aid during such an intervention. "The administration should appoint a civilian humanitarian response coordinator to oversee relief efforts in Liberia," Parmer continues. "That way, humanitarian assistance will play a more significant role in the planning and execution of U.S. involvement."

Effective humanitarian assistance is urgently needed in war-ravaged Liberia, where years of conflict have destroyed the economy, infrastructure, and social stability.

"Based on our experience, the Liberians need many basic things, like medical care, clean water, and shelter," continues Joe Bock, ARC's vice president. "Recent violence has newly displaced hundreds of thousands of people, homeless within their borders. Yet chronic instability has kept international organizations like ARC from working there."

Liberia is a country of 3 million people, with more than one million displaced. The American Refugee Committee has operated programs in Liberia in the past, but a lack of security forced it to withdraw in early 2002.

Parmer is planning to send a team of specialists to Liberia to assess the needs of the people, as soon as security is assured. As progress is made toward stability, the American Refugee Committee plans to re-establish an operational presence inside Liberia.

"Conflicts like this shatter the lives of thousands of innocent people," states Hugh Parmer. "If the U.S. can commit to helping restore stability, humanitarian groups such as ARC can begin our work – helping those victims rebuild their lives."

The Minneapolis-based organization operates large programs in both Sierra Leone and Guinea, where many Liberian refugees have fled in recent years. Its services provide medical care, nutrition programs, health education, literacy training, and micro-lending for thousands of Liberian refugees, most of whom are women and children.

For nearly 25 years, the American Refugee Committee has been working to ease the suffering of the victims of war around the world. The American Refugee Committee is a nonprofit humanitarian relief organization that works for the survival, health and well-being of refugees and displaced persons caught in the crossfire of civil violence, warfare, and other disasters. For more information, contact Martha Naegeli at 612-607-6481.

For more information, or to contact American Refugee Committee, see their website at: www.archq.org