Displaced by War, Liberians Grow Own Food

Quaye left his home in the southeastern county of Maryland and settled in Monrovia during Liberia‘s civil war. He and his family live with another large group of people who were displaced by the fighting. "I am serious," he emphasized, seeing I was surprised at the number of people living with him.

"We are about 100 persons living in this house." He said they were from different counties, squatting in the 10-bedroom unfinished building and could not go back home because life in their rural communities is difficult. "The road is not good and the hard time is too much in the bush," he said. I watched as the children had lunch. They seemed to like the cassava. It’s usually boiled and a little pepper sauce added.

The garden around Quaye’s house has a variety of crops, including cassava and potatoes. The women set basket traps in the nearby swamp to catch fish. "We get a lot of fish during the raining season," one of the teenage girls said. "That’s what we cook."

Source: Allafrica