Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Why is it that we seldom hear anything about films like this? I just finished reading John Dear's post in the National Catholic Reporter, inspired by the film "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," which tells the story of the women of Liberia, and of their nonviolent struggle to end the war in their country. A few tidbits:

"Liberia is a West African country of 3 million. American freed slaves founded it in 1847. But for more than a century, their descendents dominated the nation brutally. The people suffered under poverty and repression until, in 1989, civil war erupted. Matters grew worse; years of terror followed -- torture, rape, starvation and murder. By 2002, more than 20,000 had died; one in three was driven from his home.

"Then like thunder in a blue sky, the women of Liberia rose up. Together the women declared themselves sick of war, sick of rape, sick of starving. They wanted peace. And, against conventional wisdom, they worked for it nonviolently.

"The terror centered on Charles Taylor, at once a church-going Christian and a brutal tyrant. He came to power in 1996 -- a man, they say, who could offer you a warm smile, then order your execution. Some nights he led prayer services; the next day he ordered the massacre of his opponents. He conscripted battalions of young boys and gave them the taste of gratuitous killing. These were his death squads. Hiding behind them, he embezzled enormous sums from the national treasury...

"In June 2002, Leynab Gbowee had a dream. In it, she invited the women of Liberia to come to a church and there discuss how they might make peace. She awoke and pondered the matter and set about to make the dream true... They started off modestly, doing what they could. They prayed and fasted. Still, the killing went on. Rebels and warlords rampaged in the countryside; Taylor's death squads rampaged in the city. Everyone everywhere was terrorized. And in March 2003, the violence surged. Rebels went on a wide spree of rape, torture and murder. And thousands fled to Monrovia, the capital, and found asylum of sorts in makeshift refugee camps...

"April, 2003, conditions in the capital began to quickly deteriorate. Forces were converging, threatening total warfare. The organizers weren't sure what to do, so they opened their Bibles and read from Esther, heroine to her own people. The Liberian women were emboldened to do the same and fashioned a modest plan. Why not wear white, symbol of peace, and sit near the fish market, where Taylor often passed in his limousine?

"The sit-in was attended by 2,400 women -- the first time in their history that Christian and Muslim women had publicly acted together. They sang and chanted: "We are tired of suffering, we are tired of rape, we are tired of war. We want peace." Their banner read: "The women of Liberia want peace now."

"It was a gesture that put their lives at risk. They dared contest Liberia's perpetrators of violence. That is, the men. "We knew we were going to get killed," one woman says, "but by taking this action, we thought, at least we will have died for peace..."

It was a great story, and now I HAVE to see this movie!!