Americans don't pay enough attention to Africa. It usually takes a Rwanda to jar us into awareness. (Actually, it takes a movie about Rwanda before many of us know anything happened in Rwanda.) There always seem to be wars going on in various countries we've never heard of and have little to do with.

I expect many people don't even know about America's historical link with the nation of Liberia. It was founded in 1848 by freed American slaves that were sent back to Africa. Its capital city, Monrovia, is named after an American president. I expect even fewer people remember that there was a fourteen year civil war in Liberia that began in 1989. It was about city vs. rural, rich vs. poor, about ethnic groups, about control of natural resources. 200,000 people were killed in the war. It involved all the things we hate most about African conflicts, including child soldiers and blood diamonds.

In time, the women of Liberia rose up and demanded peace. Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the story of the efforts of the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) as they organized to help bring an end to the terrible suffering the war brought to nearly every family. One woman in the film tells us "There is nothing that should make people do what they did to the children of Liberia." The peace movement began with Christian women, but immediately also included Muslim women. "Can the bullet pick and choose? Does the bullet know Christian from Muslim?" asks one of the women.

The film spends little time on the conflict and its reasons. This is about the work done by the many women who have had enough of war. These are (at least the ones we see) women of faith who were determined to bring peace to their nation. They are women who risked their lives in a very dangerous environment. They marched for peace, but more importantly, they served as a constant pressure on both the government and the rebels. They not only pushed the country's dictator Charles Taylor to attend the peace talks in neighboring Ghana, they went to Ghana as well to make sure the peace talks made progress. And when the talks bogged down, they blocked the doors so the men inside who were supposed to be negotiating could not leave. They were not willing to accept failure. And in the end, they prevailed. The women—everyday women, some of whom were from the displaced person camps—won an important victory against armed, power-seeking men. But it was not so much a success for women, per se, as it was a triumph for their country and their people. We may well consider these women to be the Gandhis of our day.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the story of faith, courage, determination, community, and sacrifice. It is a reminder that there is strength that can overcome even the power of violence. So often we feel powerless in the face of the evils of the world. Those with guns and bombs or even just fists may seek to rule over those they perceive as weaker. But these women of Liberia give the world a lesson that we all need to learn. As this film is seen in troubled places around the world, others are beginning to see their own story and may in time carry on the work of peace building in new contexts.