Ready to be Counted!

This morning a nice man named Sylvester came by from LISGIS - the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services - to mark our home in preparation for the 2008 Census. Liberians are to be counted for the first time since 1984!

Interestingly, the 2008 Census will not only focus on the number of people, but also on the quality of our housing, and other socio-economic conditions. Data collected will be used as a tool for development - helping the government and its partners form policies and appropriate programs to help us reduce poverty and meet the Millenium Development Goals.

I'm so glad my family is here at this time in our history, ready to be counted!

University of Liberia Student Protest

The next time I hear that some angry group has started a riot, I'm going to take it with a giant spoonful of salt.

I was there in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, when hundreds of University of Liberia students took to the streets. They did it in support of their professors who are on strike until they get the 9 months of salary owed them.

Here's how events really unfolded, at least from where I stood:

The beginning of a peaceful protest. The students were chanting "No more rhetoric - we wan lehn! No more rhetoric - we wan lehn!" I took this picture from my car, intending to make a sad commentary about the students and the obviously deplorable state of education as evidenced by the way they talked. I didn't think I would see the group again, but a little later in the afternoon I had to go back in their direction.
Police were standing on the Capitol By-pass and redirecting cars to the Jallah Town Road. Not understanding what was going on, I drove past them and headed towards Tubman Boulevard, the main road (the only road) that goes past the University and all the way through Monrovia. Near the Mansion, Police tried to stop me again, but by then I could see the crowd up ahead and told them I wanted to go and take pictures.
Students held up placards and yelled out their convictions and pleas. A couple of memorable messages were "No University, No Liberia", and "Give Me Education or Give Me Death." I spoke first to the guy who had the "No University" placard. Tom T., a sophomore in Public Administration. He told me, very passionately, what the protest was all about and what he meant by his message: If Liberia's highest institution of learning does not get what it needs for education, Liberia will fail as a nation.
The arrival of some armed security personnel in vehicles with a mounted gun caused a change in the crowd. Students seemed to become more fired up, and some started addressing their concerns directly to the police, as if they caused the problem or could actually do something about it.
I didn't understand the show of force. Guns for ex-combatants demanding money, yes. But for students asking for a decent education??
The trouble started when the Nigerian UNMIL soldiers arrived and penetrated the crowd, unprovoked.
Fights and confusion broke out as bewildered students were pushed and beaten. I could not believe my eyes.
Students jumped over the fence and fled back to the University, a handful of them throwing stones and a glass bottle in anger.

As I walked away from the scene with another photographer and the last of the crowd, more officers rushed at us, one of them hitting my colleague's camera with a baton. Moments later, as the photographer was pointing out the culprit to other security personnel, a crazed, blood-thirsty UNMIL soldier came running up and assaulted him with his rifle - hit him with it quite viciously, no questions asked.

When I got back to town and heard that University students had "started a riot", I could only shake my head in sorrow.

I'm still floored by the behavior of the "Peacekeepers", but also very proud of the Liberia National Police Officers who for the most part were calm and respectful from beginning to end.

Wrototown on Fire!!

On my way home, I saw a large black cloud of smoke in the distance, and knew it had to be something serious. Sure enough, opposite the Fish Market near the Old Road junction, Wrototown was on fire. Big orange flames engulfing several houses made of bamboo mat and sticks, while hundreds of young men continued watching a football game on the nearby field. By the time I got my camera and returned to the scene, 12 houses were completely burned up, save for the zinc roofs.




This man braved the smoke to dump buckets of water on the fire in an attempt to save his own mat house...
...but for Christine Harding, it was too late. Her house was one of those consumed by the fire.
Bamboo, sticks, straw, and paper. Terrible building materials in a country where people must use candles for light and coalpots to cook! Rumor has it that a single piece of red-hot coal started the blaze.
A few possessions saved. The fire didn't get them, but the rain tonight might. And some people who weren't at home will never know whether their things were burnt or stolen by looters pretending to help.

A Welcome Sign

On my way back from Mali a month ago, I was in transit in Ghana, where this large sign greeted us at the airport. After the initial surprise I had a good chuckle, and thought others would too.
The Welcome sign was funny at first, with its suggestion that paedophiles go elsewhere. But then it was also sad that we have to put such warnings up at all. I decided not to post it earlier, mainly because it wasn't really a "Liberia Story." Now I share it in a different context:

Maybe in Ghana the problem comes mostly from foreign visitors, but here in Liberia young girls are sexually assaulted very often by family members or familiar people in their communities. I recently heard the case of 7-year-old Sarah (not her real name) who lives with her Uncle and his wife and 18-year-old son in their rooming house. Sarah has to share a room with her 18-year-old cousin, who rapes her several times a week and has been doing so for over a year. All the tenants in the Uncle's rooming house know this, but are afraid to speak out in case they get kicked out. Those who have expressed concern have already been warned by the Uncle not to "spoil [his] family."

Liberia, like Ghana, has passed into law "harsh penalties" for such crimes, but the reality here is that these crimes, especially when committed within families, are often kept secret. And when they are caught, criminals, even murderers, often do not pay the prescribed penalties.

What will happen in this little girl's case?

Luckily, the young woman who told me about this situation does not live in the rooming house and is not afraid to confront the Uncle. Today she told me that she'll speak out again when Sarah's own father comes down to Monrovia next month, and that the Uncle is starting to get worried because of her intervention. This is good news in a way, but July is still weeks away and I worry about the girl constantly; a rescue mission should not be so slow and should not leave the child in care of her abusers once they know a process has started.

There are currently excellent nationwide campaigns against rape and gender-based violence, but, like Ghana, we need to be serious about prosecuting the criminals. I believe we should also prosecute the adult enablers (too often mothers and aunts) who look away and allow children to suffer sexual abuse.

We've got to do more for little Sarah, and we've got to do it more quickly. Real justice in this case will be a welcome sign of our now so-called commitment to child protection.

Lone Star vs. Cameroon

Football. Liberia's great love and our strongest unifier.

The Antoinette Tubman Stadium was packed with Lone Star fans for the African Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Lions of Cameroon. The game was preceded by much controversy and numerous street protests, though, by fans who didn't like the line-up of players. "It's foolish to let an all-local team play against Cameroon," they said. "We need some of our international stars to play if we want to win this game!"

Well, they were right. Cameroon won 2-1, with a first goal from midfield that left everyone speechless with its awesomeness.

What struck me most about the day, though, was the security put in place to deter or deal with rioters. Guns, tanks, teargas and riot gear everywhere!

Well, it worked. We all left the stadium in one piece, unified in our disappointment.



United Nations "blue helmets" - and I guess I should add "blue caps" - keeping the peace

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf greets the players of both teams


Cameroon's second goal goes up on the scoreboard

Police Inspector General, Beatrice Munah Sieh. Almost didn't recognize her out of uniform!

Liberia's finest in their spiffy new uniforms and riot gear

Nigerian police officer wearing teargas canisters on his jacket

Liberian Girls Celebrate Africa

The girls of St. Theresa's Convent celebrate African Liberation Day with poetry and history readings, dance, song, and a display of African fashion.

This Can't Be Good!

At a guest house in Bong County: The cord for the TV was too short to reach the outlet, so the managers came up with this solution. Tell me if I'm wrong...but this can't be good!

When there are no working gas pumps, gas station attendents have to suck a bit of the gasoline up through the tube to get it flowing, and then quickly put the tube into the tank. (That's a one-gallon mayonnaise jar in his hand). This can't be good!

We were heading to Gbarnga at 120km/h (!!) when I took this photo of the taxi in front of us. This can't be good! Actually, this is not an unusual sight upcountry, and often the drivers even let one or two people sit on the hood. Gosh, where are the police officers when you need them? Oh, that's right - they don't have cars.

Shelter by Nature

Obadiah Gondolo is building a house out of sticks. He will make the walls out of mud, and the roof out of palm thatch. The whole process will take three weeks, and will cost him nothing since the kind landowner has let him have the small space in her yard for free.

Obadiah learned how to make a shelter out of nature's gifts when he enrolled in a free vocational training program offered by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in 2005. "JRS really did well for us," he says, referring to himself and the 30 others who were in his class. "It's the first institution that really taught me something useful."

Obadiah and his family (wife and two children) look forward to moving into their new place, which, though small, will also include a little shop. They are among the last Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) still living in a nearby IDP camp in Salala, Bong County. Obadiah is from the Salayea District of Lofa County, but has chosen not to return until he graduates from high school. Because of the long civil war, however, he is still an 8th grade student at St. John Elementary and Jr. High School. "Before I go back to Lofa I will also learn to be an automechanic," he adds.

(Salala, Bong County, March 2, 2007)

Jerrilyn - Our Star is Rising!

Sold by a caregiver in exchange for a fish during the Liberian Civil War (yes, people were that hungry), Jerrilyn Mulbah was taken to live with an old woman in Saclepea, Nimba County. She was there for 2 years while her mother searched endlessly for her. Finally, someone recognized her picture as the little girl who sang in the Children's Choir in a Saclepea church.

Well, just look at her now!

Just as I knew she would, Jerrilyn made it to the Top 10 in the Idols West Africa singing competition. Our Liberian nightingale took the audience off its feet with a song by Aerosmith and won the most votes from callers in participating African countries.

If you live in Africa, catch the excitement on M-Net or Africa Magic. If you live elsewhere, visit Idols West Africa to see the auditions and Top 24 performances.

Fisherwomen at Work

I met a lovely group of women in Bong County using a fascinating method for catching fish. They line up their handmade nets, then wade towards them using their hands underwater to shoo the fish in! They will do this almost a hundred times to get enough little fish for a day's meal. (CARI Compound, Sunday, February 25).

Jerrilyn Mulbah: Liberian Idol

I've been watching the auditions for Idols West Africa and mostly laughing my head off at our aspiring singers. A couple of days ago though, a Liberian girl grabbed my attention and had me in tears and jumping for joy at the same time. Her name is Jerrilyn Mulbah. A sweet and pretty 23 year old with a beautiful voice and songwriting talents. She lives in Calabar, Nigeria, and has made it into the Top 24. Jerrilyn will soon be competing for the Top 10. Look for her story and see her audition on the website, and be sure to call in your votes when she performs in the next few days with Group 2! (and please forward this post to all your buddies!)

International Women's Day: A Sit-In at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia

The all-female Indian police contingent served as security along with female officers from the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the AFL (Armed Forces of Liberia).

Photo taken from inside the Temple of Justice, where a woman is not allowed if she is wearing pants.



Mrs. Massaquoi and the Girl Guides of Liberia. The three fingers signify honor to God, Country, and Self.




Perhaps change should begin with modification of this discriminatory and exclusive motto written in large letters on the Temple of Justice. How long will we allow it to remain as it is? Language is powerful. Simply remove the word "men" and everyone will begin to feel the difference as the new motto sinks into the psyche of our society: "Let Justice Be Done To All."