Calm has been restored at the Johnsonville Transit Center following a night of total disorder from protesting returnees in demand of their resettlement benefits.
It can be recalled that the Government of Liberia (GoL) through the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement (LRRRC) recently repatriated 1,539 former Liberian refugees from Ghana.
The action was taken by LRRRC after the Unity Party Alliance (UPA) government mandated the Commission to ensure the safe return of former Liberian refugees stranded in Ghana, following the demolition of the Buduburam Refugee Camp.”
Patrick Worzie, Executive Director of LRRRC told local media that the arrival of the returnees under the first and second phases of the voluntary repatriation program was a great achievement of his administration.
Accordingly, on the back of the Commission’s success story, there has been some serious rigmarole as some returnees have decried their “poor” living condition at the camp and as such have been demanding the expeditious payment of their resettlement benefits to vacate the camp.
As the tension continued to build up by the day, some got on the rampage on late Monday evening, June 17, 2024 to demand LRRRC authorities to settle their benefits.
The angry protesters threw stones and other bad objects, demanding that the LRRRC boss, who had gone to visit the camp, wouldn’t leave unless their demands were met.
The violent protest was then ceased through the intervention of the riot police of the Liberia National Police (LNP) – the Emergency Response Unit (ERU). The police then made several arrests with five suspects in connection with the violence placed behind bars.
Though there was no life casualty, this paper gathered that several persons sustained serious bodily injuries.
Speaking to this paper on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, LRRRC Communications Director, Madam Simone Witherspoon alleged that the violent protest was orchestrated by the Augustine Nagbe, alias ‘General Power,’ who is being contracted by the Commission to help in the rehabilitation process of drugs addicted returnees.
“Most of these stranded Liberians are vulnerable to drugs use, and so General Power took them to them Star Base for their rehabilitation process. He has a contract with LRRRC to rehabilitate them. But some of them returned overnight and started to throw stones demanding their monies. And you and I know that no way that government will give them money for the Executive Director to just sit and eat it. This protest we believe, was through the instrumentality of General Power, who has been demanding more monies. And because he has been demanding more monies, he in the end incited them to disturb.’’
On the flipside of the coin, some returnees told the Heritage that they have not been well-catered to by LRRRC authorities.
The returnees claimed that they are not being well-fed, and that there is lack of safe drinking water and other social services at the camp.
But these claims were vehemently denied by Director Witherspoon, who counterclaimed that the returnees are being fed three times daily and are supplied regularly with mineral water.
Asked about the benefit owed to these returnees, she disclosed that each family head is entitled to US$300, while each member of that family receives US$225.
Also in a brief chat with journalists on Tuesday, LRRRC Executive Director Worzie assured that steps are being taken speed up of the process of verification so as to stop the reoccurrence of such violent protest.
According to him, the returnees have been given identification cards and are undergoing verification so as to avoid the duplication of names.
“They are given identification and they are being verified through the Orange platform. We are hopeful that this will be settled within the next 72 hours,” added Mr. Worzie.
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