General: Liberia > Reviews (2)

A secular essay on Liberia...

Liberia is a beautiful republic with a fascinating history, based on the repatriation of slaves from America mixing with the old tribesmen. She is in west Africa, sitting next to Sierra Leone and Guinea to the north, Côte d'Ivoire to the east and Atlantic Ocean to the south west.

The land is flat by the ocean, but it rises steeply into a chain of plateaux and on to a mountainous inland country region of around 4000 feet above sea level that is evergreen rainforest in the south and deciduous rainforest in the north.

There is a very small population inland, as most of the towns and villages are near to the ocean. The flat land is around ten to fifteen miles wide on average. There are many rivers running down from the jungle to the sea.

Liberia is equatorial and very humid. There are two rainy seasons (June/July and October/November) when it rains so much that travel is almost impossible. On the flat coastal lands it is normal to have 70 inches of rainfall in a year compared with about 20 inches in London, but in London it rains on days throughout the year, whereas in Liberia all this rain falls in the four months of the rainy seasons, so you can imagine the deluge! Temperatures are always around 80 to 85° F.

Before the civil war started in earnest her economy was based on farming. Because of the rivers there is much fertile land and plenty of water for crops that included figs, cotton, mahogany hardwoods, and palms, but much of the economy was based on the production of rubber for the Firestone Company, which had a huge investment in Liberia and was the country’s biggest employer.

Now, the country has to rely on foreign aid to prevent the people from starving, but we used to export coffee and cacao. The people have gardens in which they grow bananas and vegetables, but mostly sweet potatoes. The various palms that are grown are used for soap oils and palm fibres

There was also much mining of iron ore, and this, together with rubber was the major export since independence. Before independence, the biggest export was slaves to the Americas.

We used to have many pygmy hippopotamuses, and proud herds of elephant, and buffalo, but these animals, as well as the monkeys, and chimps have suffered because of the civil war and are now very few in number.

The Liberian people are from different cultures including the Kpelle tribe which is about 25% of the population, the Bassa, the Gio, the Kru (who are ocean boatmen), the Vai. the Mande and Kwa tribes. There is also a small group that was descended from slaves who returned from the United States. We are known as Americo-Liberians and although we are only about 5% of the population, we were in charge of building the country and running the public services.

Of the two million Liberians, at least 25% are forced to live in exile

Monrovia (named after US president, James Monroe) is the capital and the important seaport of Liberia with about half a million souls. Buchanan, was the railway town, carrying iron ore to the ships from Mount Nimba mines before the civil war.

Other large towns are Harbeland and Yekepa .

The people of Liberia lived in harmony for many years, and many marriages took place between tribesmen and Americo-Liberians. Before the war, up to 10% practiced Christianity, but only God knows how many Christians are there now.

In Liberia, many people from the towns and villages speak English, but about half speak in other African languages.

Like in your loving and tolerant country, we had free education for everybody between 6 and 16 years of age, but now there is no education at all. Most people you meet cannot read or write; only about one third of the people are blessed with literacy skills.

Since the civil war, industry has stopped, because of the fear of persecution and the fact that most of the business and professional people have been forced into exile.

The Liberian dollar used to be worth the same as the US$, but is now worthless. The US dollar is legal tender and preferred by everybody.

There are not many cars in Liberia – in fact there is about one car for every 300 persons! None of the railways work now.

Roberts International Airport is to the east of Monrovia but I think only Air Guinée uses it because it is too dangerous for foreign airlines.

The reason you hear of Liberia is because of “Liberian-Registered” merchant ships, such as oil tankers. This is because it is very cheap to register a ship in Liberia, not because the ships belong to Liberia or Liberian people!

Liberia joined the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) about ten years ago and they kindly sent in forces to try to establish a provisional government. Within weeks, rebels had assassinated President Doe.

There is a lot of illness in Liberia, especially malaria, tuberculosis, yaws, leprosy and AIDS. The people do not have very long lives, men die of old age at only 56 years, women about 61 years. There is a very high infant mortality rate with over 20% still born or die soon after birth. There is no welfare system, and few hospitals. Each doctor has about 30,000 patients.

If you go to Liberia, you need medicines against the diseases, and nothing that runs off electricity – Gillette razor and a wind-up radio are a good idea, so that you can shave and hear the news if you need to be evacuated in an emergency. It is a good idea to have the radio on BBC World Service all the time so you can hear if there is an evacuation, and always follow the instructions very carefully. You will probably meet at one hotel and be evacuated from there by helicopter to the airport, or to a ship waiting off shore.

Do not drink the water, and if you buy bottled water, always insist that you open the bottle yourself or you will be given tap water that looks the same but is poisonous. Brush your teeth with bottled water, and eat only things that have been cooked for a long time and are very hot. In this way you will not catch a disease.

The following is sound advice from your Foreign Office:-

We advise against all holiday and non-essential travel to Liberia and against all travel to the north west.

The Foreign Office strongly advises against all travel to the north west of Liberia (Lofa County) and to Liberia’s borders. The situation remains unstable, with increasing levels of violence perpetrated against the civilian population. Visitors to Nimba County should also seek up to date advice before travelling, and exercise particular prudence. Apart from the North West, other parts of the country, and the capital, Monrovia are generally calm, though outbreaks of lawlessness are unpredictable and could occur at any time. British nationals may not be the direct target of civil unrest, but could quickly find themselves caught up in the consequences.

Following the imposition of UN sanctions against Liberia, British nationals should be especially careful to avoid any activity, that draws unwelcome attention from the Liberian authorities.

UK nationals should be aware that President Taylor accuses the UK of committing atrocities in Lofa County. The UK is not providing support (including arms) to the Liberian dissidents. But these accusations have been widely reported in the Liberian press and are believed by many people in the Government and security forces.

TERRORISM

Given the UN sanctions against Liberia and the high profile British presence in Sierra Leone, there is a risk that UK nationals or organisations could become targets for RUF sympathisers in Liberia.

LOCAL TRAVEL

Those who do travel to Monrovia should exercise caution at all times. Visitors should not travel outside Monrovia at night. Public transport is neither reliable nor necessarily safe. Visitors should carry ID at all times.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Visas and yellow fever certificates are required for entry to Liberia. Foreign journalists must apply for accreditation 72 hours in advance, producing letters from employers including clear terms of reference for the assignment, and must wait 24 hours on arrival before accreditation is approved.

HEALTH

Visitors should seek medical advice about endemic diseases. Malaria, yellow fever and AIDS are amongst the risks. Hospital and medical facilities are of a poor standard. The main government hospital is closed at present. Full insurance covering medical treatment and accidents should be taken out.

GENERAL

It is advisable to have insurance cover for cancelled flights and unexpected losses such as stolen cash, credit cards, passport or luggage. There is no mains electricity or water in Liberia. Power is supplied by generators in Monrovia but is limited in wider Liberia. The heavy rainy season, which lasts for several months between May and October makes travel to outlying areas both difficult and hazardous.

CONTACT DETAILS

There is no British Embassy in Liberia. The British Honorary Consul in Monrovia is Mr Roy Chalkley; (tel: +231 226056). The nearest British Embassy is Abidjan: (tel: +225 20226850/51).