Country: Liberia
Group: Gio/Dan
Date Finalized: 4/25/2020
Team: Vianney Mancilla (lead), Erika Walker, Colleen Clauss
The Gio/Dan people make up approximately 4.7% to 6.3% of the population in Liberia (Minority Rights Watch, n.d.). The Dan people are commonly known in Liberia as the Gio which stems from the word slave. Consequently, the Dan people prefer to be called Dan instead (Minority Rights Watch, n.d.). According to Minority Rights Group, the Dan people largely accepted the rule of the Americo-Liberians (n.d.). The rule of the Americo-Liberian minority is described as “oppressive” and began since Liberia’s independence in 1847 (Refugee Review Tribunal, 2010). In 1980, Samuel Doe and the Armed Forces of Liberia’s coup overthrew the rule of the Americo-Liberians (Refugee Review Tribunal, 2010). Doe’s coup was marked by a “violent ethnocide against those of Gio or Mano descent” (Refugee Review Tribunal, 2010). This was based on the “politicization of the Krahn (Doe’s own tribal group) against the Dan and Mano people” (Bulmer & Solomos, 2004). About 160,000 people had fled into neighboring Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, this marked the beginning of a refugee crisis which led to the displacement of approximately one-third of the total population by late 1990 (Minority Rights Watch, n.d.). The “violent ethnocide” the Gio/Dan experienced lacked details; nonetheless, the group was displaced in large numbers and specifically targeted during Doe’s rule. The data quality for the Gio/Dan would be a 1 for the lack of specifics.
Sources
- Bulmer, M., & Solomos, J. (2004). Researching race and racism. Routledge.
- Minority Rights Group (n.d.), Liberia. Retrieved from https://minorityrights.org/country/liberia/
- Refugee Review Tribunal. (2010). Liberia. Australian Government. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/11/NPP-NPFL-INPFL.pdf