Pray the Devil Back to Hell: A Response
“Pray The Devil Back to Hell”
A documentary on the civil war and conflict in Liberia c. 1989
I regretfully cannot claim prior knowledge to the atrocities that took place during Liberia’s first-ever civil war. As I sat in silence absorbing as much information from the documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, I noticed, within myself, a gradual progression of empathy for the women speaking and being filmed, and especially those who were too disturbed by their experiences and scared into silence that they elected not to speak out. I was deeply bothered by what I viewed, and a few tiny tears crept out of my eyes, rolled down my cheek, settling on the palm of my hand, which my heavy head (full of thought) rested in. After witnessing terrible, life-altering brutalities (their husbands’ murders, their daughters’ rapes, their towns’ numerous pillages, and being victims of verbal assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, and humiliation), a number of courageous women united in an effort to protest the unfair treatment and the unacceptable life-in-fear which Charles Taylor, Liberian President at the time, had created and maintained since 1989. The strength, resiliency, level-headedness, good nature, and perseverance of the women were so enormous that I could only wonder, “How is it possible, especially at a time like this?” I could not fathom the strength this alliance of women protesters in Liberia had achieved and maintained through the singular focus of ridding their cities of the constant rape from “protecting” military forces. By far, the most outstanding of these characters (in my personal opinion) was Leyman Roberta Gbowee, the cofounder and executive director of the Women in Peace and Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa). She led a peacemaking rally and protest, with the help of friend, Vaiba Flomo, at an empty market yard. Local women gathered here, wearing all white (a signal of peace), holding signs asking for the end of constant rape and living in
A documentary on the civil war and conflict in Liberia c. 1989
I regretfully cannot claim prior knowledge to the atrocities that took place during Liberia’s first-ever civil war. As I sat in silence absorbing as much information from the documentary “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”, I noticed, within myself, a gradual progression of empathy for the women speaking and being filmed, and especially those who were too disturbed by their experiences and scared into silence that they elected not to speak out. I was deeply bothered by what I viewed, and a few tiny tears crept out of my eyes, rolled down my cheek, settling on the palm of my hand, which my heavy head (full of thought) rested in. After witnessing terrible, life-altering brutalities (their husbands’ murders, their daughters’ rapes, their towns’ numerous pillages, and being victims of verbal assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, and humiliation), a number of courageous women united in an effort to protest the unfair treatment and the unacceptable life-in-fear which Charles Taylor, Liberian President at the time, had created and maintained since 1989. The strength, resiliency, level-headedness, good nature, and perseverance of the women were so enormous that I could only wonder, “How is it possible, especially at a time like this?” I could not fathom the strength this alliance of women protesters in Liberia had achieved and maintained through the singular focus of ridding their cities of the constant rape from “protecting” military forces. By far, the most outstanding of these characters (in my personal opinion) was Leyman Roberta Gbowee, the cofounder and executive director of the Women in Peace and Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa). She led a peacemaking rally and protest, with the help of friend, Vaiba Flomo, at an empty market yard. Local women gathered here, wearing all white (a signal of peace), holding signs asking for the end of constant rape and living in