DURING the past six years Liberia, a country about twice the size of Ireland with a population of 1.5 million, has been torn by a bitter civil war in which thousands of civilians have been slaughtered.
Vast resources have been expended, rightly, in bringing peace to the former Yugoslavia. But the remote black Republic of Liberia, with its small, impoverished population, its divided people and shattered economy, does not feature in the calculations of those with the power to help.
It did figure in these calculations previously. When emancipated slaves in America found "freedom" almost worse than bondage, the US government assisted their "repatriation" to west Africa.
The Liberian Republic, formed from an uneasy combination of freed slaves (Americo Liberians) and the indigenous tribal groups, was established in 1847. The West's next contribution to Liberia was in the early 1930s when the League of Nations attempted to establish a "protectorate" on the spurious grounds that slavery was being practised.
Western interest was again evident when large deposits of high grade iron ore were discovered. Subsequently, vast quantities of precious minerals were mined and exported directly, without any significant benefit to the local economy.
Earlier, some of the world's largest rubber producers farmed millions of acres in Liberia, providing poorly paid employment for Liberians, and reinvesting little of their huge profits in the country. With the slump in the rubber market and the exhaustion of Liberia's mineral reserves, the West again lost interest.
Liberia is in the news once more, not so much because Liberians are suffering but because westerners are at risk.
Irish missionaries, who have worked in Liberia since 1906 and remained there throughout this and previous civil wars, have done much to plead Liberia's cause overseas, but with little success. The Irish connection goes back a long way. The first Irishman to set foot in Liberia was almost certainly Edward Barron, who led a small team of Catholic missionaries from the US in 1842. His mission failed as did several other efforts during the 19th century. Liberia was an extremely difficult country for Europeans, the original "whiteman's grave", a territory with a hazardous climate, and with constant friction between the Americo Liberian ruling elite and the indigenous population.
Eventually, a team of SMA missionaries (Society of African Missions), led by Stephen Kyne from Mayo, set down roots in the first decade of the 20th century. They established themselves on the Kru Coast, the home of the renowned "Kruboys", sailors prized for their prowess by merchant fleets throughout the world.
During the first World War the Drus mounted a challenge to the Americo Liberian elite and civil war ensued. The role of missionaries during this period in protecting their people against undisciplined government soldiery, in negotiating with the government, and in providing food for the starving, was to be long remembered by the Krus and proved crucial to the success of the church in that region.
Since that time scores of Irish missionaries have worked in Liberia, providing much of the country's medical and educational infrastructure. Many died at an early age, victims of the yellow fever, blackwater fever or malarial fever. Many more were invalided home in shattered health incapable of further service in the tropics.
Today the church is established throughout Liberia, led by Liberian bishops and stuffed by a mixture of Liberian priests and religious, assisted by Ghanaian, Nigerian, Irish and American missionaries. Two of Liberia's three dioceses are unable to function because of the civil war.
The Archbishop of Monrovia, Dr Michael Kpakala Francis, who is isolated in the thick of the fighting, has worked unceasingly, at mediation. Several of the missionaries, dispersed from their dioceses, have gone over the border to Guinea to minister to the large number of Liberian refugees there.
The longest serving Irish missionary in Liberia is Father Lawrence Collins, from Co Cork, who has worked continuously in the country since 1954. Despite witnessing the most dreadful atrocities and having had his life frequently threatened, he remains at his post. His uncle, John Collins, was the first Bishop of Monrovia, working in Liberia from 1913 until his death in 1961.