By Linus Flomo
/Bassa
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) and the Grand Bassa County Administration, formally unveiled a new memorial marking the site of the December 24, 1993, massacre.
The event drew local leaders, survivors, and grieving families to a moment of reflection and resolve.
The massacre site, now transformed into a space for remembrance and community reflection, was officially handed over to the people of Behn Town during a ceremony led by Superintendent Karyou Johnson, Administrative Officer James W. Duen, and County Attorney Paul Philip Jarvan.
According to an official statement from the Grand Bassa County Administration, the site commemorates one of the darkest days in the nation’s history, when rebel forces stormed the town and killed hundreds of civilians amid the chaos of Liberia’s protracted civil conflict.
“This is not just about remembering the pain,” Superintendent Johnson told the gathering. “It’s about ensuring that the suffering of our people is not forgotten, and that we protect the peace we have today. We must never allow politics or money to divide us or take us back to war.”
The Behn Town memorial is the first of nine civil war massacre sites across the country that will be preserved and turned over to local communities. The initiative, spearheaded by the UNDP and INCHR, is intended to foster national healing, promote reconciliation, and serve as a powerful reminder of the cost of conflict.
“These memorials are part of building a future that acknowledges the past,” said a representative of the UNDP. “They are meant to bring comfort to those who lost loved ones and help communities rebuild trust and unity.”
The Liberian civil wars, which ranged from 1989 to 2003, claimed an estimated 250,000 lives and displaced over a million people. As Liberia continues its post-war recovery, initiatives like the Behn Town memorial aim to turn sites of tragedy into spaces for peace and remembrance.
