Tope Akinwande in Bossou, Guinea
When I asked to interview a refugee at the Bossou transit centre, about 10km from the Guinea-Liberian border, Martina Stevens, an 18-year-old Liberian refugee replied in battered English: "Will take you to Pappy Good Old Days. The Pappy know book-o-meaning (Bible). He is well learned, and he the only one who understand the big grammar (English) you speaking".
When he is not reading his bible or listening to news on his battered transistor radio, "Pappy Good Old Days", whose real name is David Crawford Siaway Jr, reminisces about the days when, in his words, "people crossed borders without fear of being roasted by a rebel's bullet".
His constant reference to a former peaceful region has earned him the nickname "Pappy Good Old Days". He is appreciated by refugees and regularly consulted when disputes arise among them.
David Siaway's calm and good humour belies his predicament. His life speaks for thousands of refugees caught between the conflicts of West Africa.
A US-trained economist and lawyer, David was working in a financial institution before fleeing Liberia in 1990 with 15 family members. They sought refuge in Sierra Leone before running to Guinea in 1992 when fighting erupted in their host country.
David and his family moved to Côte d'Ivoire in 1993 where they stayed till 1997. They returned to Liberia after the general elections with the hope of settling down and rebuilding their lives. However that was not to be, as fighting broke out between the Liberian government and the LURD group causing David and his family to flee again.
"For me, I had come home in 1997 to pick up the pieces of my life but I was disappointed when fighting erupted again," he said sadly.
This time around, David fled to Côte d'Ivoire where he stayed with 11 family members, having lost four of them during different flights. They were living in Côte d'Ivoire until November 2002 when the west of the country was taken over by Ivorian armed groups. They fled heavy fighting and moved to Guinea.
Asked what his plans were, David answered, "I would like to go to Ghana where I can at least be buried next to my first son who I learnt is doing some business there. He had the foresight of going to Ghana."
David smiled and said sarcastically: "Going to Ghana will not be a bad idea. After all I am a globetrotting refugee."
This article first appeared in Red Cross Red Crescent magazine
Related links:
West Africa: appeals and reports
Côte d'Ivoire crisis: emergency appeal for neighbouring countries
Population movement
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