Liberian refugees' fear in Ivory Coast

By Kate Davenport
BBC in Tabou, Ivory Coast

A steady flow of Liberian refugees continues to trickle across the border into south-western Ivory Coast.

Nearly 30,000 have come across the border over the last few weeks, since attacks by Model rebels in south-eastern Liberia.

With only one small transit camp at the nearest town of Tabou, 600 kilometres (373 miles) west of Abidjan, built for 500 people, the majority of new arrivals have set up camp in border villages such as Prollo, on the banks of the Cavally River.

Humanitarian agencies are concerned they are increasingly vulnerable.

The village of Prollo lies at the end of a long, bumpy, forest track ride, barely accessible during the rainy season.

On the water's edge, the border post here consists of nothing more than a few empty oil canisters and a flimsy shelter, woven out of palm leaves.

I did not leave Liberia of my own accord, and I'm not here of my own accord either George Emway II Liberian refugee

A dozen tribal militia, known as Krumen "warriors", keep guard.

They warn me not to record their voices or take pictures.

"In any case, they'll only come out blank," one of them, tells me, as he slings a sabre, attached to a long piece of string, over a muscly shoulder.

He points across the river. On the other bank, 250 metres (273 yards) away, a bunch of men are loitering around a truck, underneath the stars and stripes of the Liberian flag.

"Those are the Model. And so are those," he says, nonchalantly, indicating a small dugout canoe paddling across the estuary towards us.

"They come over here to buy cigarettes and supplies. They pay in cash, CFA, or dollars," he says.

"They leave their arms on the other side," he adds, re-assuring me that in any case, he and his warrior friends have special, bullet-proof powers."

The Ivorian army does not patrol the areas surrounding the refugee camps

The army is notably absent. "It's been like this since September 19 (2002)," he complains.

The young "warriors" claim that as soon as the civil war broke out, the army disappeared, leaving them to defend themselves.

The mangled wreck of a UNHCR ferry boat is a bleak reminder that less than a year ago, these refugees were being repatriated to Liberia, which appeared to have returned to peace.

Before withdrawing, the Ivorian army blew up the boat, much to the chagrin of humanitarian workers, who wonder why they did not just remove the engine.

Unhappy

George Emway II, the Liberian refugee leader in Prollo, is not happy about this arrangement either.

But he points out that he, and about 5,000 other refugees, do not exactly have a great deal of choice.

"I did not leave Liberia of my own accord, and I'm not here of my own accord either," he says.

"If the requisite agency comes today and says the refugees should move, believe me, we'll be ready!"

It's imperative that we get these people off the border Anne Dolan UNHCR field worker

Back in Tabou, the local army commander, Captain Addy, tells me they do occasionally patrol the area.

But he is clearly not worried about the proximity of the Model forces.

"Now concerning Liberia, we don't have any security problems, because we are securing the border.

"One thing for sure is the fact that, since the Model are busy over there, things have calmed down over here," he tells me.

Humanitarian workers are not so sure. They fear a looming protection crisis for refugees.

One aid worker, himself a former Cambodian child soldier, tells me conditions are ripe for recruitment of children.

UNHCR field worker Anne Dolan has been lobbying authorities to provide a secure camp site to build a camp for 10,000 refugees.

"It's imperative that we get these people off the border," says Ms Dolan.

Model rebels make frequent visits to Prollo village for supplies

Although many of the refugees have come to Tabou, there is still a larger percentage left at the border for what she describes as security reasons.

"It's just not acceptable that they stay there long-term. As Liberians tell me, any new rebel splinter group goes through its honeymoon phase, and has more of a humanitarian aspect.

"Although they are not bothering people right now, I'm told that slowly but surely they will turn into a more typical Liberian force."

A Catholic missionary who just returned from Harper thinks the honeymoon may soon be over.

He reports that food warehouses were recently looted by another faction of rebels who took supplies to their headquarters in northern Liberia.

As for the Liberian refugees, they just pray the new camp is built, before the rebels get hungry.