RPCV Denise Barrett evacuated from Mercy Corps assignment in Liberia
Read and comment on this story from The Oregonian on RPCV Denise Barrett who works for Mercy Corps in Liberia. Barrett was among three aid workers for Mercy Corps, a Portland-based humanitarian organization, evacuated from Liberia as fighting worsened in the West African nation. As panic grips a convulsing nation, foreigners can have a hard time deciding when it's too dangerous to remain in a place where turmoil and desperation are normal. Humanitarian workers such as Barrett, who originally went to Liberia in 1988 as a Peace Corps volunteer and speaks the country's pidgin English, often have the best sense of when to go. Barrett decided to leave as insurgents closed in on the capital and as the boom of artillery punctuated conversations in the embassy compound. Two European colleagues subsequently were evacuated on a French warship to Ivory Coast. Read the story at:
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Liberia aid director remains dedicated
06/12/03 RICHARD READ
Denise Barrett noticed that some of the Navy Seals who arrived Sunday to secure the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, wore civilian clothes. The commandos, fresh off the links in Germany, carried euros, a currency they had trouble exchanging.
Barrett, Mercy Corps' Liberia director, might have appeared equally casual, having survived a previous evacuation, a bombing and one night as a hostage. But Barrett, 40, of Seattle took events as seriously as the Seals, who soon donned battle gear. She flew out to safety in the helicopter the Seals rode in on, reaching Sierra Leone and ultimately Washington, D.C.
Barrett was among three aid workers for Mercy Corps, a Portland-based humanitarian organization, evacuated from Liberia as fighting worsened in the West African nation.
"It's a high risk to be in that country, but when fighting breaks out, you really can't afford to be there," Barrett said Wednesday. "When security conditions improve enough, we'll be on the first plane back."
Liberians fear a bloody battle for Monrovia, a city of 1 million. A three-year rebel offensive gained momentum last week when a joint U.N.-Sierra Leone court charged President Charles Taylor with war crimes for allegedly aiding Sierra Leone's notorious rebels.
French helicopters swooped in Monday to fly 535 fleeing Americans, Europeans and other foreign nationals to a French warship off the coast of Liberia. They arrived Wednesday morning in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
As panic grips a convulsing nation, foreigners can have a hard time deciding when it's too dangerous to remain in a place where turmoil and desperation are normal. Humanitarian workers such as Barrett, who originally went to Liberia in 1988 as a Peace Corps volunteer and speaks the country's pidgin English, often have the best sense of when to go.
Barrett decided to leave as insurgents closed in on the capital and as the boom of artillery punctuated conversations in the embassy compound. Two European colleagues subsequently were evacuated on a French warship to Ivory Coast.
"It was quite sudden," Barrett said. "I've come back to the states with just a small backpack and my computer."
Barrett views her absence as an inconvenience, interrupting projects she directs for Mercy Corps.
Mercy Corps began working in Liberia in September 2002 with the launch of a five-year, $12 million program financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The organization is trying to build civil society in Liberia, helping to strengthen local nonprofit agencies.
Barrett has a master's degree in development management and experience working in Liberia for the United Nations and the Lutheran World Federation. She views her profession as a calling and wants to continue supporting the West African nation's transition to peace and development.
"It's hard for me to just do an ordinary job, I guess," Barrett said. "I've tried to do something like business or something simple." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Richard Read: 503-294-5135; richread@aol.com Click on a link below for more stories on PCOL
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Liberia; NGO's; Service; Safety and Security of Volunteers
