Democracy in the form of electoral process has been effective in most Western states. However, most African states have not seen the effectiveness of this process, with violent uproars having been evident instead. Electoral processes in Africa have been synonymous with civil war and power struggle.⁽²⁾ This has been evident in states such as Kenya after the elections of 2007⁽³⁾ and Zimbabwe during and after the 2008 elections.⁽⁴⁾ This behaviour has become ‘normal’ amongst African nations and it seems elections are an obstacle for African leaders such as Robert Mugabe to remain leaders of their countries.

Ivory Coast is another of the countries in Africa that has been characterised with violent tensions after the elections of November 2010.⁽⁵⁾ The implications of these tensions on the economic, social and political sphere have been detrimental to the country’s growth and international peace and security. However, of interest is the implication on the social sphere of the affected country and neighbouring countries. In civil wars or brewing tensions, neighbouring countries suffer the same fate as the state at war within itself. Since the outbreak of political violence in Ivory Coast in November 2010, Liberia has also taken crucial strain because of the number of refugees that have arrived on its shores. This issue of refugees raises a number of concerns for the Government of Liberia.

This article analyses the refugee crisis that could erupt in Liberia if mediation processes in Ivory Coast are not successful. This article also discusses health and safety issues and possible civil tensions in Liberia that may arise due to the projected refugee crisis. The projected crisis will be based on literature and evidence illustrating the issues that rise due to forced migration.

Health hazards on the rise

During political violence, the main attention is on bringing about peace and reconciliation, with minimal attention being given to the people forcibly migrating from their countries of origin. The interest of the investors and political stability take first preference, and often the most affected (civilians) are last on the priority check list. Forced migration is an important aspect of international peace and security and within this, one of the most important areas that needs focus is the health crisis.

Migrating forcibly from a country that is politically unstable raises health issues for the country of destination. This is not only true for forced migration, but because of globalisation, health security can also be compromised. People moving from one place to the next raises health hazards because diseases are transferred from one state to the next.⁽⁶⁾ This is even more dangerous when people are forcibly removed from their country of origin because there are no health checks performed at the borders. Some people do not even pass through the border; they instead pass through dangerous routes to escape the political instability fearing for their lives. Important in this case is that human beings carrying diseases can transfer them easily into another country.

This is a problem that Liberia will be faced with because refugees from Ivory Coast will be cramped in tents together and they can easily spread diseases among each other and to the rest of the Liberian citizens. Diseases such as HIV and AIDS can for example be transferred through sexual intercourse, while tuberculosis can be contracted without any sexual interaction if not properly addressed.⁽⁷⁾ There is a possibility of sexual activities between the refugees and the citizens as time progresses; hence health checks must be done for health security purposes. The Minister of Internal Affairs in Liberia, Harrison Kanwea, warned that Liberia expects approximately 100,000 refugees from the Ivory Coast. However, until recently, about 22,000 people have fled to Liberia, and this number is on the rise every day.⁽⁸⁾

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is focussing efforts on providing aid to the refugees in Liberia. Currently, mediation in the Ivory Coast is hitting a deadlock, and even more refugees are expected to flood Liberia. Most of the refugees are women and children, hence sexually unrelated health issues are also important to note. Sanitary issues for females, feeding mothers and young children can cause a health hazard.⁽⁹⁾ Therefore, if sanitary issues and communicable diseases are not properly addressed, health security in the refugee camps and for the people of Liberia could be compromised. The proposed way forward is that the Government of Liberia and the UNHCR should work together in providing health screening for the refugees.

Safety for refugees should be another major priority. This was evident in South Africa, where South African citizens attacked Somali refugees claiming that refugees take their jobs, business and women. They claimed that refugees agree to work for lower wages than South Africans causing a loss of jobs for national citizens.⁽¹⁰⁾ However, this is not the concern; the issue is that refugees were not safe and are still not safe in South Africa because of unpredictable xenophobic attacks against them. Therefore, another concern for the people fleeing from Ivory Coast should be their safety.

Possible civil tensions in Liberia

Liberia itself has a history of political violence, and in the past, Ivory Coast has accepted refugees from Liberia. In 2003, Liberian refugees in Ivory Coast where in danger after anti-Liberian sentiments sprouted. They were attacked at the call of Laurent Gbagbo with approximately 40,000 Liberians in danger.⁽¹¹⁾ This history could be a trigger for a violent outbreak against the Ivory Coast refugees in Liberia. The Government of Liberia should be on guard so that it can prevent any possibility of civil tensions in Liberia.

At this point, revenge is not something that is thought of by Liberian civilians; however when frustration and feelings of anger, resentment and revenge take over, the possibility of civil tensions in Liberia may increase. A recommendation to prevent this situation is that there should be additional security for Ivory Coast refugees while peace talks are under way. The international community should also push for mediation processes to be successful so that the refugees can return to Ivory Coast.

Conclusion

Health and safety issues discussed are important to deal with immediately where refugees are concerned. However, the issue of possible civil tensions can only be prevented if the peace talks are not stalled. Hence, the safety of the refugees should be of utmost importance and the peace talks should be pushed towards being successful, also to avoid the outbreak of violent tension in Liberia, as a spill-over from the current crisis in the Ivory Coast.

NOTES:

(1) Contact Precious Ncongwane through Consultancy Africa Intelligence's Africa Watch Unit (africa.watch@consultancyafrica.com).
(2) Chabal, P., “ A few considerations for democracy in Africa”, in International affairs, Vol. 74, Issue 2, 16 December 2002, p. 289-290
(3) “Kenya’s cabinet learns the ropes”, BBC News, 9 May 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk.
(4) “Post-Election Violence Increases in Zimbabwe”, Amnesty International, 17 April 2008, http://www.amnesty.org.
(5) “UN Human Rights Council condemns post-election violence in Ivory Coast”, Deutsche Welle, 23 December 2010, http://www.dw-world.de.
(6) Baum, F., “ Health, equity, justice and globalisation: some lessons from the People’s Health Assembly”, in J Epidemiol Community Health, Vol.55, 2001,p.613
(7) Ministry of Health, Refugee Health Care; A Handbook for Health Professionals, Wellington, 2001
(8) Konneh, A., “ Liberia Expecting 100,000 Ivory Coast Refugees, Wants Help, Minister Says”, Bloomberg, 29 December 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com.
(9) “As number of Ivorian refugees in Liberia tops 22,000, UNHCR speeds up aid delivery”, UN Refugee Agency, 5 January 2011, http://www.unhcr.org.
(10) “Victory on Livelihoods”, UC Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, 13 December 2006, http://www.refugees.org.
(11) Davenport, K., “Alert raised over Liberian refugees”, BBC News, 13 February 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk.

Written by Precious Ncongwane(1)