Liberian Women lead the way for refugee rights in Ghana

Since the United Nations began a program for repatriating refugees in late 2004, a few thousand out of the roughly 40,000 have agreed to be repatriated to Liberia. Voluntary repatriation to Liberia from Ghana was supposed to end in June of 2007.

But in June 2007, repatriation was extended one more year and the U.N. began offering $100 for each adult, $50 for each child. But most Liberian refugees in Ghana consider the package too small an inducement to go back to the country.

In early March of 2008, 500 of the refugees delivered a petition to the UNHCR, and the Ghana Refugee Board, saying they did not want to be integrated into Ghanaian society. Instead they demanded to be resettled in a third country, preferably in Europe. They also said they would return to Liberia only if they were provided with US$1,000 each.

On April 1, Liberian refugees in Ghana, mostly women, protested for third country resettlement. The Liberian Refugee Women with Refugee Concerns--started a protest in a soccer field at Buduburam, asking for either $1,000 stipends or resettlement in a Western country. Women and children took the lead in protesting because outspoken men had previously been branded as troublemakers and rebels. The idea, he said, was that women and children might attract more sympathy and attention.

A coalition of human rights organizations has sued the Ghanaian government for "gross violation" of the rights of Liberian refugees in reaction to the stand-off over repatriations.

What can be taken from this story?

1. Geography and context matter: Guatemalan refugees in Mexico through the CIREFCA process in Latin America achieved their repatriation goals. This begs the question: if it can be done once, why can it not be repeated again?
2. Refugees become political through a process: it further confirms my earlier post about how the asylum system politicizes refugees
3. Women are effective political actors: women can sometimes manipulate the refugee system better than men and use their refugee label as leverage because of their femininity. They are seen as more vulnerable by the media and consequently can use this image to gain more attention for their cause.