Existing comment:
I Could Not Help Them:
The de facto leader of the woman's movement in Margibi County in Liberia is an unassuming 61-year-old woman known as Mrs. Slocum. A nurse who also serves as a midwife, she works full time in a family planning clinic in Kakata, the capital of the county. In her spare time, Mrs. Slocum, who had eight children, founded the Margibi Women Development Association.
Mrs. Slocum carried on her work throughout the war despite being displaced so many times that she has lost count. Two of her daughters were killed. Despite her efforts to leave the past behind, many painful memories remain with her:
"The walking and, literally, the falling and dying on the road is what affected me most. The children would just drop and die. From hunger and from exhaustion brought on by walking great distances. Some of them died on their mothers' backs. The mothers would call out to me, but I could not help them." |