Ivory Coast/Liberia: Empowering Ivorian refugees for eventual return

Tens of thousands of Ivorians fled for Liberia when civil war erupted at home in September 2002. Many subsequently returned to Côte d'Ivoire, where a ceasefire agreement signed in May 2003 held until violence broke out again in November last year. Many of the Ivorians remaining in this part of Liberia work in the fields of local farmers, produce charcoal or do odd jobs for a living. They live peacefully among the local population, who benefit from the health post in Pleebo camp and who share natural resources like water and firewood with the refugees.