Women in Liberia Biographies

Jackie Redd, Monrovia (Liberia)

In 1990, when Jackie was just 13 years old, she was abducted and raped by government soldiers. Soon after being captured, she escaped and discovered that her father had been killed by government soldiers – the same group that had raped her.

As a form of revenge and with few other options, she decided to join the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led at the time by the former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Jackie stayed with the NPFL throughout the first war and then joined the Anti Terrorist Unit, the government’s elite force when Charles Taylor came to power in 1997. She stayed with them until 2002, a year before the second war ended. One of her last roles with Charles Taylor was his personal body guard.

After going through the first DDR process in Liberia (1997), Jackie had little trust the second one would be worthwhile and decided not to participate in it. Jackie stays in close touch with many of the women formally under her command, and every chance she gets, she helps them out and advocates on their behalf.

She now works for the international organization, Search for Common Ground, in Liberia as a radio operator. She has feels blessed to have the opportunity to work with them. Jackie is a single mother with a son who is 18 years old.

Florence Ballah, Voinjama (Lofa County)

At the tender age of 14, separated from her family, Florence and six other women were captured by ULIMO soldiers in Lofa County along the Guinea border. Five of the women including Florence were raped and the remaining two were killed because they refused to be raped. Out of fear and with few other opportunities, Florence stayed with ULIMO as a cook and porter until the first war ended in 1997.

After experiencing the levels of violence that she did, Florence made every effort to stay out of Liberia’s second war which lasted from 1997 to 2003. Since then, Florence has participated in a Liberian organization called National Excombatant Peace Initiative (NEPI), which was set up by and for former fighters associated with the fighting forces to help in reintegration efforts. NEPI participated in the second Liberian disbarment process. They have also been engaged in human rights training of men and women formerly associated with the fighting forces.

Since she joined NEPI, she has been a spokesperson on issues related to women in Liberia. Florence is married with two children and her dream is to become a medical doctor.

Mickey Kesseley, Monrovia (Liberia)

During the first war, Mickey, at the age of 12, lived with her family in Bomi County in the northwest of the country near the Sierra Leone border. When Charles Taylor’s NPFL entered Bomi County, being a Muslim family, Mickey witnessed the brutal torture and murder of her father, brothers and sisters. She fled and was captured by NPFL soldiers.

After managing to escape to Sierra Leone, she stayed in a refugee camp where life was difficult. Being young, alone, and vulnerable, she joined ULIMO in the fight against the NPFL. She served as a female commander for small girls.

After the election that brought Charles Taylor to power, she and other former ULIMO combatants were targeted by government forces so she fled to Monrovia and joined the Liberian United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD). During this final part of the war, Mickey remained associated with LURD but did not actively fight for them.

At the time of disarmament, she went to the cantonment site, but it was overcrowded and people were fighting to enter so she left. Not fully informed of the benefits of disarming and fearful of the stigma associated with it, she gave her gun to someone else so they could disarm. Mickey is associated with NEPI. She is a single mom and is working at a local salon fixing hair.