I lost my grandfather, father and brother within a year – ‘Refugee girl’ Irene Logan

Afro-soul/pop singer, Irene Logan has disclosed that death laid its icy hands on three of her relatives in a year.

Taking her turn on ‘Restoration with Stacy’, the songstress, born on February 16, 1984, in Monrovia, Liberia said the period was one of the most difficult moments for her mother who had to bear the pain of losing people she cherished.

“When I was three months old, my father died. I had an older brother who died within the same year. So within the year, my mum lost her father, her son and her husband,” she recalled, adding that her mother headed to Ghana with her afterwards as a result of civil unrest in Liberia.

According to the musician, her father died when he was 23.

“My parents got married really early. They were in love. My father was also very musical. He played the guitar, my mum sings. She was a big gospel musician in Liberia back in the day and the reason why we got to come to Ghana was because she used to travel across Africa, America and Europe to minister. One of the places she had come to was Action Chapel…,” she told host Stacy.

The 36-year-old stated that she came to Ghana in 1991 with her family on the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) flight.

Irene Logan was full of praise for her mother Tina Logan for how she protected her and ensured she saw no lifeless bodies during the war.

Oblivious of what was happening at the time, Irene said her mother was very tactical when they were fleeing the territory. At the time, she was only 7 years old.

“I spent a year in the Liberian war. I was very young so I didn’t really understand what was going on. When I heard gunshots, I thought people were clapping,” she recounted.

“I never saw a dead body, I never saw anyone being killed during the whole one year in the Liberian war. My mother made sure I was protected. When we had to move from one place to the other, she will say we’re playing hide and seek. She would cover my eyes… she is phenomena.”

Asked how different Ghana was from Liberia when she touched down, Irene said she found it difficult to adapt because Ghana and Liberia have different cultures.

She said: “One thing that was different was the language. The accents were different… I wasn’t used to the dialect, some cultural practices were different… I’m left-handed and in Liberia, it’s not a big deal to use your left hand so coming here, I had to learn and unlearn a lot of things.

“It was difficult growing up in Ghana as a refugee. I was only a child who wanted to live. It was difficult making friends because there was also the perception about Liberians in Ghana… I was always a refugee girl.”

Irene Logan emerged winner of Stars of the Future season 1 reality show held in 2006.

Watch the full interview below: