Leymah Gbowee: Peace warrior for Liberia

Leymah Gbowee of Monrovia, Liberia was featured in the July issue of Guideposts, that lovely little magazine about Christian faith in action. For 14 years, Liberia’s military dictatorship along with the armed rebels against it had made the country a battleground.

Ms. Gbowee’s story begins on a steamy day in Accra, Ghana, during peace talks which were rapidly disintegrating. That was the day she ran out of hope despite the fact that it was due to her efforts that these peace talks were even occurring.

Leymah Gbowee founded a movement called Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace. She started with the women because it was the women of her country who were fed up. Fed up with the fear that raged rampant across the land. Fed up with military strong-arming. Fed up with rebels recruiting their children.

The movement started with praying and singing in a fish market in the capitol. Eventually, their numbers grew to such proportions that the then military dictator Charles Taylor had to meet with the women. They demanded that he enter peace talks, and much to their astonishment, he agreed.

That horrible hot morning of hopelessness occurred eight weeks into the peace talk process. It was the morning Ms. Gbowee realized that the dictator did not have, had not had, and would not ever have the intention to create peace in Liberia. When he was indicted for war crimes by an international tribunal, he fled back to Liberia leaving even less motivated henchmen behind to do the negotiating.

Leymah had been working for peace for many years. From their fish market singalongs, she’d forged a partnership with Liberia’s Muslim communities, with churches, with mosques all over the country, recruiting women to say, “Enough.”

That dreadful day she avoided her own compatriots, so disheartened was she, and went to check her email. A click on the Yahoo news site sent her reeling. “Mortar Bombs Hit U.S. Embassy in Liberia. More than 60 people dead, and many more injured.” That was the moment when Leymah’s anger bloomed.

Instead of staying outside the negotiations as the women had been doing for weeks, she marched into the hotel leading a parade of once-again fed-up women. They sat on the floor outside the negotiating hall blocking the doors. There were more than 100.

Suddenly, they heard over the loudspeaker, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the peace hall has been seized by General Leymah and her troops!” Guards approached threatening Leymah and accusing her of obstructing justice.

General Abubakar came to the door of the hall. Leymah said, “General Abubakar, these woman and I are not moving one inch until those men in there promise to take these peace talks seriously.”

One of the rebels pushed toward the door and tried to get past the women. They wouldn’t let him. He began to kick at the women. General Abubakar said, “I dare you.” He went on, “If you were a real man, you wouldn’t be killing your people. But because you are not a real man, that is why these women will treat you like boys. I dare you to leave this hall until we have negotiated a peace with these women.”

Two weeks later, the warlords signed a comprehensive peace treaty that pushed the dictator, Charles Taylor, from power and established a new government.

So what is to be learned here? That peace-work is tireless and endless, that we do get disheartened, that peace has room for anger, that anger is sometimes all that keeps us going, and that if we truly want peace, we have to work for it. Day by day. Hour by hour. Minute by minute. Slow, steady, sure of each step.

I think if she were next to me right now, Leymah Gbowee would say, “You see, peace is inevitable. The only question is when.”

There is a documentary about this story called Pray the Devil Back to Hell which won the award for best documentary at the TriBeCa Film Festival. Go to praythedevilbacktohell.com to screen the movie.

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