LIBERIA- The Cannibals’ War
August 1996 - 11 mins
10:00:00
US Helicopter
Since April 6th last year, the small West African country of Liberia has been cut off from the world - but for 2500 US marines and naval & air support. Clearing their guns as they fly in they never know what to expect. US links with Liberia are strong and relate to the countries origin in the late 1800s as a haven for freed US slaves.
00:33
Fighters
Until peace was once again restored last week the fighters were controlling downtown Monrovia for the first time in this war.
00:46
Instructions given by Commander
This time I’m moving on the enemy. I will continue until we reach the bridge and cross. I’m not turning back.
00:57
Fighting
This war resembles no other. Many of the fighters believe they are invincible to bullets. And sometimes that they do not even need guns, any old drainpipe will do.
01:06
Man warding off evil with swish
A strong belief in African voodoo, or Juju, underpins much of the recklessness of this war.
01:13
Sound of gunshots and fighter walking along Fighter: We love the music. This is music. They play it fantastic.Interviewer: We’d call it the sound of death?Fighter: Yes but it’s the sound of music to us.
01:22
Killed fighter
But in reality the spirits give these young fighters no extra protection.
Burning building and dead bodies
Death is of course inevitable in these very real battles.
01:35
Looters running along street
But for many young Liberians it’s not the killing that counts. Opportunism thrives. There’s not a shop or building in Monrovia that hasn’t been looted.
01:52
Greystone displaced camp
In the US run Greystone compound 20 000 displaced people have been sheltering. It’s also here that many of the looted goods turn up in stalls scattered throughout the compound.
02:07
Tina walks into house
Next door to the Greystone camp Tina, a nurse, recently arrived home to find her house ransacked. Monrovians have weathered this war since 1990. Many Liberians like Tina have suffered it all before and she now feels desperate to see an end to the mayhem.
02:28
Tina Beeley
Senior Nurse I have now been here for 3 wars. I was first affected in Girlie Street in 1990 like this and I’m really discouraged about working and re-establishing my life. I’m sure all Liberians feel that way. We are so tired of this war. We all want peace. We want to live a normal life.
02:50
Skinny Fighter
Thus far, despite a series of cease fires, fighting has always resumed. Each time more ferociously than ever before. And now there are ominous signs that these young fighters are engaging in another type of atrocity, cannibalism.
03:02
Cannibals Road Block
At an NPFL check point two dead bodies lie in the middle of the road. Exhausted NPFL fighters rest after a hard battle. They told us the dead fighters were captured alive.
03:17
Major Vamu SharifNPFL Soldier
Around about 6 O’clock we were attacked. They all came to loot. They were going all around here, naked. They came to loot the construction compound. We managed to arrest 3 or 4 of them alive.
03:39
Bodies & Fighters
Then the fighters said that they killed the captives and removed their hearts and livers to eat later. Some said they prefer the meat cooked but their commander, Major Vamu claimed that he eats it raw.
04:01
Major Vamu Sharif
Anybody who is your enemy, you can eat him. If I know there’s somebody who wants to kill me I’ll grab you. I will eat you, raw. Yes.
04:13
Fighters
We eat it! We eat it! We eat it! I’m Lieutenant Colonel Tempra, I am going to eat this Lieutenant General’s heart, he’s a rebel.
It’s an ambiguous and harsh practice. It’s also West African Juju. Evil magic, which only helps to kill more Liberians.
04:37
Howard Civilian bystander
You know just as you cook normal soup like black pepper, onions, seasoning, all the ingredients or groceries that will make the soup real nice and they will cook it. But it isn’t all the soldiers that would eat that particular meat, there are only certain members of the group that will eat that meat, mostly from some ethnic background.
05:01
Charles Richard
Liberian Journalist A large number of fighters are involved in this practice. They are doing that because they believe that by killing the enemy and eating the enemies heart they will overcome him, and that all the power that lies in the enemy is now in you. They also do it to show that they are the strongest person. These are some of the reasons they do that. But all the factions have been practicing that but it is something that most people do not know about because it is done mainly on the front-line.
05:30
ECOMOG on streets
Last week the peace keepers, ECOMOG, flooded the streets of Monrovia with 2000 extra troops. For now the fighters have been forced off the streets - confined to their looted cars. But it will not be easy for ECOMOG to contain the wild childishness of these young warriors. There’s a fearless naiveté which makes them awkward to deal with.
05:54
ECOMOG soldier following boy along street
This time the peace keepers have been prepared to use force to drive the fighters from the city centre.
06:04
ECOMOG and fighters
There’s a tense standoff, with ECOMOG increasingly nervous about dealing with the factions.
06:14
Jim Nenger
ECOMOG Chief of Staff You’d be surprised if some of them came to sit at the table with you and told you that they were cannibals and had participated in those kinds of brutalities, you wouldn’t know it. They speak normally like any normal human being. They discuss intelligently.And I must admit we negotiate with them, they talk sensibly.
06:41
Charles Taylor setup
Charles Taylor leads the most powerful faction, the NPFL. The cannibalistic scenes filmed were amongst his own troops but he distances himself from such practices.
06:54Charles TaylorNPFL Leader We have heard of these acts in the field, on the part of the other side, outright overt cannibalism, and as you mentioned, brutality. These are issues of war.
Fighters shelter from rain
As the West African rainy season sets in, Taylor’s cross-dressing supporters are now have to lay down their arms. They are Liberia’s native people, and they feel colonized and carry a deep sense of injustice.
07:30
Charles Taylor
NPFL Leader There is no organized civilized war. Death is death whether you humanely got shot by a bullet, whether someone said I’m going to shoot you, or whether it was a stray bullet - death is death. The solution is to stop the war and everything stops.
07:54
US Helicopter
The US has for the first time been caught in the front-line of this war but the battle ships off the coast cannot stay forever. For now they are supporting both ECOMOG and the tottering Liberian government but the US says another setback would make them reconsider.
08:15
William Milan
US Ambassador to Liberia I think the faction leaders have not had the political will, or have not had the good faith, to carry out their side of the Abuja agreement ergo we are putting into place some sticks - as well as the carrots we’ve had out their for some time. The first stick being travel sanctions. We’re hoping other countries will follow our example on that.
08:40
Cannibalistic Youngsters loot and leave
Back at the NPFL check point where the grisly cannibalistic scenes were earlier filmed the fighters are grumpy. They’ve been told to put down their guns and leave the city. They’re going, along with whatever loot they can hurriedly gather. They remain unashamed by the ethics of cannibalism.
08:57
Cannibalistic interview It tastes like real meat. If you taste it you will like to eat it every day. I think next time you come to visit you can taste it for yourself, see how it tastes. Do you want to see some pieces? No, they’re not here now. They’re at the Cameron Base.
09:22
Looters leave with full truck
Once the loot is loaded they bid farewell to Monrovia. Most of them are still young children but they’re taking home memories and conditioning that will haunt them and Liberia for the rest of their lives.
09:42
Nearby the evidence will soon vanish, until that is, the next round of fighting breaks out.
09:50
Doctor Isaac Moses Liberian Doctor
I’m looking at the long term condition of the state. If they are not rehabilitated now it will be a problem in the future. Because when these people reach adulthood they will be the future leaders of this country. Can you imagine? People so vicious, hostile and uneducated now leading you?
10:16
Food in market
As Monrovians again come out onto the streets life is getting back to normal. How long the country remains in peace depends on the warlords and their wild supporters. But there are issues raised on the front-lines of Liberia which can’t be ignored. Ordinary Liberians have already suffered enough.
ENDS 10:42
August 1996 - 11 mins
10:00:00
US Helicopter
Since April 6th last year, the small West African country of Liberia has been cut off from the world - but for 2500 US marines and naval & air support. Clearing their guns as they fly in they never know what to expect. US links with Liberia are strong and relate to the countries origin in the late 1800s as a haven for freed US slaves.
00:33
Fighters
Until peace was once again restored last week the fighters were controlling downtown Monrovia for the first time in this war.
00:46
Instructions given by Commander
This time I’m moving on the enemy. I will continue until we reach the bridge and cross. I’m not turning back.
00:57
Fighting
This war resembles no other. Many of the fighters believe they are invincible to bullets. And sometimes that they do not even need guns, any old drainpipe will do.
01:06
Man warding off evil with swish
A strong belief in African voodoo, or Juju, underpins much of the recklessness of this war.
01:13
Sound of gunshots and fighter walking along Fighter: We love the music. This is music. They play it fantastic.Interviewer: We’d call it the sound of death?Fighter: Yes but it’s the sound of music to us.
01:22
Killed fighter
But in reality the spirits give these young fighters no extra protection.
Burning building and dead bodies
Death is of course inevitable in these very real battles.
01:35
Looters running along street
But for many young Liberians it’s not the killing that counts. Opportunism thrives. There’s not a shop or building in Monrovia that hasn’t been looted.
01:52
Greystone displaced camp
In the US run Greystone compound 20 000 displaced people have been sheltering. It’s also here that many of the looted goods turn up in stalls scattered throughout the compound.
02:07
Tina walks into house
Next door to the Greystone camp Tina, a nurse, recently arrived home to find her house ransacked. Monrovians have weathered this war since 1990. Many Liberians like Tina have suffered it all before and she now feels desperate to see an end to the mayhem.
02:28
Tina Beeley
Senior Nurse I have now been here for 3 wars. I was first affected in Girlie Street in 1990 like this and I’m really discouraged about working and re-establishing my life. I’m sure all Liberians feel that way. We are so tired of this war. We all want peace. We want to live a normal life.
02:50
Skinny Fighter
Thus far, despite a series of cease fires, fighting has always resumed. Each time more ferociously than ever before. And now there are ominous signs that these young fighters are engaging in another type of atrocity, cannibalism.
03:02
Cannibals Road Block
At an NPFL check point two dead bodies lie in the middle of the road. Exhausted NPFL fighters rest after a hard battle. They told us the dead fighters were captured alive.
03:17
Major Vamu SharifNPFL Soldier
Around about 6 O’clock we were attacked. They all came to loot. They were going all around here, naked. They came to loot the construction compound. We managed to arrest 3 or 4 of them alive.
03:39
Bodies & Fighters
Then the fighters said that they killed the captives and removed their hearts and livers to eat later. Some said they prefer the meat cooked but their commander, Major Vamu claimed that he eats it raw.
04:01
Major Vamu Sharif
Anybody who is your enemy, you can eat him. If I know there’s somebody who wants to kill me I’ll grab you. I will eat you, raw. Yes.
04:13
Fighters
We eat it! We eat it! We eat it! I’m Lieutenant Colonel Tempra, I am going to eat this Lieutenant General’s heart, he’s a rebel.
It’s an ambiguous and harsh practice. It’s also West African Juju. Evil magic, which only helps to kill more Liberians.
04:37
Howard Civilian bystander
You know just as you cook normal soup like black pepper, onions, seasoning, all the ingredients or groceries that will make the soup real nice and they will cook it. But it isn’t all the soldiers that would eat that particular meat, there are only certain members of the group that will eat that meat, mostly from some ethnic background.
05:01
Charles Richard
Liberian Journalist A large number of fighters are involved in this practice. They are doing that because they believe that by killing the enemy and eating the enemies heart they will overcome him, and that all the power that lies in the enemy is now in you. They also do it to show that they are the strongest person. These are some of the reasons they do that. But all the factions have been practicing that but it is something that most people do not know about because it is done mainly on the front-line.
05:30
ECOMOG on streets
Last week the peace keepers, ECOMOG, flooded the streets of Monrovia with 2000 extra troops. For now the fighters have been forced off the streets - confined to their looted cars. But it will not be easy for ECOMOG to contain the wild childishness of these young warriors. There’s a fearless naiveté which makes them awkward to deal with.
05:54
ECOMOG soldier following boy along street
This time the peace keepers have been prepared to use force to drive the fighters from the city centre.
06:04
ECOMOG and fighters
There’s a tense standoff, with ECOMOG increasingly nervous about dealing with the factions.
06:14
Jim Nenger
ECOMOG Chief of Staff You’d be surprised if some of them came to sit at the table with you and told you that they were cannibals and had participated in those kinds of brutalities, you wouldn’t know it. They speak normally like any normal human being. They discuss intelligently.And I must admit we negotiate with them, they talk sensibly.
06:41
Charles Taylor setup
Charles Taylor leads the most powerful faction, the NPFL. The cannibalistic scenes filmed were amongst his own troops but he distances himself from such practices.
06:54Charles TaylorNPFL Leader We have heard of these acts in the field, on the part of the other side, outright overt cannibalism, and as you mentioned, brutality. These are issues of war.
Fighters shelter from rain
As the West African rainy season sets in, Taylor’s cross-dressing supporters are now have to lay down their arms. They are Liberia’s native people, and they feel colonized and carry a deep sense of injustice.
07:30
Charles Taylor
NPFL Leader There is no organized civilized war. Death is death whether you humanely got shot by a bullet, whether someone said I’m going to shoot you, or whether it was a stray bullet - death is death. The solution is to stop the war and everything stops.
07:54
US Helicopter
The US has for the first time been caught in the front-line of this war but the battle ships off the coast cannot stay forever. For now they are supporting both ECOMOG and the tottering Liberian government but the US says another setback would make them reconsider.
08:15
William Milan
US Ambassador to Liberia I think the faction leaders have not had the political will, or have not had the good faith, to carry out their side of the Abuja agreement ergo we are putting into place some sticks - as well as the carrots we’ve had out their for some time. The first stick being travel sanctions. We’re hoping other countries will follow our example on that.
08:40
Cannibalistic Youngsters loot and leave
Back at the NPFL check point where the grisly cannibalistic scenes were earlier filmed the fighters are grumpy. They’ve been told to put down their guns and leave the city. They’re going, along with whatever loot they can hurriedly gather. They remain unashamed by the ethics of cannibalism.
08:57
Cannibalistic interview It tastes like real meat. If you taste it you will like to eat it every day. I think next time you come to visit you can taste it for yourself, see how it tastes. Do you want to see some pieces? No, they’re not here now. They’re at the Cameron Base.
09:22
Looters leave with full truck
Once the loot is loaded they bid farewell to Monrovia. Most of them are still young children but they’re taking home memories and conditioning that will haunt them and Liberia for the rest of their lives.
09:42
Nearby the evidence will soon vanish, until that is, the next round of fighting breaks out.
09:50
Doctor Isaac Moses Liberian Doctor
I’m looking at the long term condition of the state. If they are not rehabilitated now it will be a problem in the future. Because when these people reach adulthood they will be the future leaders of this country. Can you imagine? People so vicious, hostile and uneducated now leading you?
10:16
Food in market
As Monrovians again come out onto the streets life is getting back to normal. How long the country remains in peace depends on the warlords and their wild supporters. But there are issues raised on the front-lines of Liberia which can’t be ignored. Ordinary Liberians have already suffered enough.
ENDS 10:42