Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ACCRA654
2007-03-22 17:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

REFUGEE REFERRAL FOR LIBERIAN REFUGEES WILMAH

Tags:  PREL PHUM GH LI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0654/01 0811705
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 221705Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4036
C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000654 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM GH LI
SUBJECT: REFUGEE REFERRAL FOR LIBERIAN REFUGEES WILMAH
MARTHA JACOBS AND TETEE JANJAYAMARS WILSON

REF: 03 STATE 326248

Classified By: REF COORD NATE BLUHM FOR REASON 1.4 (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000654

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM GH LI
SUBJECT: REFUGEE REFERRAL FOR LIBERIAN REFUGEES WILMAH
MARTHA JACOBS AND TETEE JANJAYAMARS WILSON

REF: 03 STATE 326248

Classified By: REF COORD NATE BLUHM FOR REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Embassy Accra hereby refers Tetee
Janjayamars Wilson and Wilmah Martha Jacobs to the U.S.
Resettlement Program, together with Wilmah's son, Tetee's
daughter, and four foster children whose mother was brutally
murdered in June 2006. They have presented evidence of fear
of persecution based on their political opinion as supporters
of former President Doe. The death of their mother Amelia
has deeply traumatized the foster children, who need to be
resettled to a third country. The perpetrator was Amelia's
husband, who set her on fire, trampled on their three-month
infant, and torched their house. He later confessed and
remains behind bars in Accra, awaiting trial. Amelia's
cousin Tetee and sister Wilmah have assumed responsibility
for the children's care, but Tetee is unemployed and Wilmah
earns only a modest income from braiding hair. End Summary.


2. (C) Post's refugee referral is for two linked cases. The
first case is comprised of Wilmah Martha Jacobs, DPOB: 01 MAY
1984, Monrovia, Liberia, who has taken refuge in Ghana along
with one family member:

SON: Mousa Dassama, Jr. (DPOB: 05 OCT 2003, Budumburam,
Ghana)


3. (C) The second case is for Tetee Janjayamars Wilson,
DPOB: 17 SEP 1975, Monrovia, Liberia, who has taken refuge in
Ghana along with five family members:

DAUGHTER: Musu Secret Scott (DPOB: 12 JUN 1997, Monrovia,
Liberia)
FOSTER NEPHEW: Bennigo Jacobs (DPOB: 10 NOV 1990, Monrovia,
Liberia)
NIECE: Diamond Chayee (DPOB: 10 JAN 1995, Monrovia, Liberia)
NIECE: Sam-Melia David-Etta Witherspoon (29 NOV 2000,
Budumburam, Ghana)
NIECE: William Etta Byrle Witherspoon (19 APR 03,
Budumburam, Ghana)


4. (C) JACOBS' STORY: Jacobs was living a large house in
Liberia with her extended family, including her sister
Amelia, who was the biological mother of the nieces mentioned
in para 3. At the time, a tenant by the name of "Brother
Harris," who was suspected of being a rebel sympathizer,
boarded with them. At one point, Harris had stopped paying
rent and the family had to evict him. Jacobs described her

father as a traveling salesman, an ethnic Bassa who was not
involved in politics. When fighting broke out on April 6,
1996, Harris returned to Jacobs' home to seek revenge but was
unable to force the door open. The entire family moved to a
different neighborhood and one year later relocated to
Mabakle. Harris visited the family again, forcing them
outside. He used a pliers to remove Jacobs' toenail but
scattered along with his four or five accomplices when the
Liberian army arrived on the scene. Jacobs, Amelia, and the
children fled to Danane, Cote d'Ivoire, and on May 12 arrived
in Budumburam, Ghana. In 2003, the two separated, with
Jacobs moving to Eastern Region, earning a livelihood as a
hairdresser. Two months after Amelia was murdered, Jacobs
returned to Budumburam to help her cousin Tetee Janjayamars
Wilson take care of Amelia's children. UNHCR believes it
would be in the best interests of the children to be
resettled with both care givers.


5. (C) WILSON'S STORY: Wilson, cousin to Wilmah and Amelia,
lived with her parents elsewhere in Monrovia, where her
father worked for the government as the head of the Traffic
Department within the Ministry of Public Works.
Consequently, her father was sought out by rebel forces who
came looking for him in April 1998, after the political
environment had changed. Fortunately, her father had already
fled to Guinea. The rebels forced everyone outside the house
and began beating the occupants. After hitting Wilson on the
wrist and the face, rebels sprinkled gasoline around the
property. It was then that the rebel leader received a
telephone call and left the scene without resorting to
further violence. Although the situation was difficult, her
father returned to Liberia around May 1998. Jacobs decided
to move to Grand Bassa County in September 1998, where she
remained for two years. In 2000, she met a friend who told
her that Amelia and Wilmah were in Ghana. On September 21,
2000, Wilson fled Liberia, fearing she would be killed
because of her father's association with the Doe regime. She
has remained in Budumburam Camp since that time, moving in
with the nieces and foster nephew mentioned in para 3 after
their mother was killed. Wilson is unemployed, relying on
UNHCR assistance. The nieces and foster nephew describe
themselves as equally close to both caregivers, Wilson and
Jacobs. Bennigo's biological parents are unknown; Amelia had
raised him as her own child from his infancy until her

untimely death nine months ago.


6. (C) Post has corroborated the family composition with
UNHCR and will arrange for a BID consultant to interview the
nieces and foster nephew. PRM has recommended that these
four children be included in Wilson's case for humanitarian
reasons, although they were not living together as an
economic unit in Liberia, their country of origin. Jacobs
claims to have another son, Trokon Flo, whose present
whereabouts are unknown.
BRIDGEWATER