Guns, Fighting, Killings...Oh MY!

So yesterday was one of the most scariest days of my life. But I'll first start off when the night before. It was a good night out, my roommate just got back in from her week out helping other towns so we were celebrating her return by going to the UN club for some drinks. Next ting I know we are crashing at midnight. I was suppose to go to another town early that morning , but luckily enough I was too tired and lazy to get up and back at 6 to pack and walk the 30 minutes to where my ride was suppose to be. So I cancelled it and slept. (which was probably really good cause the rioting started from the road I would have been taking out) I went back to bed and got up about 8. Amanda and I discussed that I would go to the market that day since I didn't have anything to do. I went to the little stand outside my house to get eggs for my breakfast. Amanda went to the well to get water...we heard things but didn't know what was going on until a UN friend called us and told us not to leave the house. WE didn't really believe him, cause he's Liberian and he thinks everything we do it too dangerous. So Amanda went to the neighbors to investigate. Then we started seeing people run from the market, which is only about a 7 minute walk from our house. We saw one of our Liberian friends and he told us what was going on. Apparently a girl from one of the local ethnic group was chopped up to bits. So the other ethnic group got blamed for it so they went to set their mosque on fire. Then the other group, Muslims, started burning down churches. this morning I've heard it was 3 churches and the Catholic school. I know many more buildings were set a blaze, but don't know which ones. Around 10 o'clock we called Peace Corps and told them what was happening. Around 11 we heard about 10 to 12 rounds of gun fire. It was far from the house to not be too scared at that moment. So when Peace Corps called back we told them we wanted to get out of town. One of my biggest problems I have with Peace Corps is that they really don't care about your safety...they have a budget and want to stick with it. They didn't even want to come and get us, both the safety director and the country director kept trying to get Amanda and I to say that we felt safe. And never at one point did we. We told them to come and get us. That was a little before 12. They said they were going to send up a car. Amanda and I back a bag and left to go to our UN policeman's house for better protection and electricity. He came and gave us his keys since he had a lot of work to do. I felt that Peace Corps didn't care what was happening to us. We had to find our own shelter and thank god for all the friends we made. We get to Pita's, our UN plice friend around 12:20 PC calls around one to tell us if it's safe we we should move to the Swiss compound. The compound was in the opposite direction as the fighting so we left. All the while Peace Corp is telling us that they were coming to get us. Even at one point our country director told Amanda just to curl up to a good book and wait for Peace Corps to come and get us, they were going to do a wait and see approach. That wasn't sitting well with me, guns had fired, house and buildings were burning, people fighting everywhere, ...so that's when I set out the message that everyone should call Peace Corps Washington and tell them to do something about us. Then we started getting calls, our US military friend was trying to arrange a helicopter flight out for us and now PC was saying there were going to be sending a car to get us but it wouldn't be until tomorrow. At around dusk, the Nigerian riot police came to help the situation, their way of helping was to start shooting guns...they were so close to us that we ran for cover. At this point Amanda and I just look at each other from across the way, she took cover in the door frame where I took cover on the opposite side of the house in between two walls, and we both knew we were done. At the time we didn't know they were firing warning shots or that it was the riot police, all we knew is that our time could be up and neither one of us wanted it to happen. Our safety director called just after the shooting to tell us it was just the riot police. Still not comforting. We went to bed exhausted but uneasy. We both woke up in the middle of the night thinking what the hell had we done...And peace corps is completely FUCKED UP!!! then we got a text at 7 in the morning that they are sending a car out.. It will take them about 7 hours to get here.

In town they've set up a refugee camp at the hospital. Last night, most Liberians grabbed the shit that they had and peace the fuck out of town. They were carrying tv's and clothes on their heads. This morning I got a call from one of my students that he was hurrt in the attack. He's one of my better students, comes to my house all the time for extra work. Did his Math homework 2 times to make sure he got it all. He said he was hurt and can't walk at the moment. I know I need to go but don't know if I have the heart to leave my students. Most of them love to learn and are hungry for information. And I just feel horrible that they live in a country were such violence happens on a regular bases. Don't think I can stay here, even though I would love to...I'm pretty sure my family and friends back home would kill me. Too many things to think about...I need a vacation...