Wednesday, August 14, 2013

"Once Liberian Always a Liberian" is the Future

My good, good Sinoe boys listen up! Dual citizenship is a GOOD and A BAD idea.

GOOD: Because that will give us Liberians with other citizenships a chance to have a voice in issues happening in Liberia and our people. We would be the voice to the voiceless. We would be able to take part in elections, constitutional changes, etc.

BAD: The Liberians in Liberia that left here with Green Cards are there treating our people like slaves and animals already. Can you imagine what treatment they will give them if these same people are citizens of another country especially from a western country like America? My poor people will suffer even more then they are now, and we all know how lawless the country already is, it will get worst. My people, it will get so bad that another uproar amongst the dual citizens and the ordinary Liberians will take place. For that reason and that reason only, I am NOT ready to join for dual citizenship for Liberians. We Liberians don’t know how to handle STATUS and POWER. I am not going to fight for anything that will bring more harm to my already suffering people that I love, love so much!


Your non-Sinoe people do you all see how well we behave with one another, take note oh. We can agree to disagree because we are very smart people and we know plenty book. You want your baby to be smart, born them in Sinoe!!!!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Coming out of Africa

When I arrived in the USA, Washington, DC to be exact some hundred years ago I had no idea I would still be here in the great US. My plane landed at Dulles International Airport November 1. It was very cold with snow all over the place, I thought someone had left a very large freezer open and all the ice felt out that day. I was dressed in my Sunday best from Liberia; got to meet my stepfather for the first time. He though I could not speak English so he tried making signs towards me to follow him. I thought he was unable to speak so I followed his directions and got in the car. We got to the house and I did not see any kids playing in the yard like in Liberia or did not see anyone for days on in. I wanted to go back home to my grandparents where all my friends where. For a good week, no one came to the door, the kids did not come to get me to go out and play, I must have cried myself to sleep many nights wishing to go back home. To make matter worst, the food was really bad, the palm butter did not taste the same, the rice nor the fufu smell the same so each day I cried to be send back to Liberia and each day I was told it will get better.

Seven days after my arrival was the first day of school, talk about culture shock; I had no idea the kids did not wear uniform, that the teachers were more afraid of the kids then the kids of the teachers. Lunch for me was not anything of what I was used to seeing on my plate and did not eat until I got home. The first thing my home room teacher Mrs. Lynch told me was “let me know if anyone make fun of you or tease you for the way you speak”. I started to tell her that if I understood what they were saying (Black English) in the first place maybe I would.

The first question one of the students asked me was “how does it feel to be wearing clothes”, to God, I am not lying. They wanted to know if I lived close to Tarzan in the trees and how does it feel to sleep in a house with electric and water. Another wanted to know how I ended up with an English name like Roberta, and was I still afraid of white people, by the way, this was the 70s. They wanted me to speak “Africa” to them, which I still find insulting since Africa is a continent and not a dialect. Even today, I run into adults “blacks” of course still want me to speak Africa to them. I usually give them that “get your stupid self from out of my face and find a library” look and act like I did not hear them. Never seeing Tarzan on TV in Liberia I had to find out who was Tarzan a white person that lived in a tree in Africa and why should I be afraid of him. Then there are the boys who think been from Africa means you know nothing about dating or sex and try to take advantage of you. I felt like everything I knew about my country was a dream and of no reality what so ever; it seems like the white men had washed my country away and replace it with a town unknown to us in Liberia. But the funny part, the whites have never once asked me any of those stupid questions, why, because they know the real true but keep it away from their free slaves hoping they will stay after hearing such stories about where they the slaves came from. It worked. Worked to the point that they think Africa is the worst place to live, even the educated ones is afraid to go to Africa and still make fun at us for various reasons.

I am now hearing from Liberian teens that they are no longer been asked those stupid questions, thank God because these Liberia-war-kids would not have answer nicely. The one thing that seems to interest them now is the names coming out of Africa, so I decided to open this jar of “worm” to educate myself on the subject.

What is in a name: When we are born, we are given name(s) then we are given our last name. In most African counties, your names have meanings, this is not always the case in Liberia, and we tent to give our children English names, bible names and what has been labeled as country names. But really, what is in a name? And why is it so important to us Liberian. One might argue that your name tells us what part of Liberia you are from or your ancestor background; but is it really? Let look at the many ways we get our names in Liberia:
if you are an indigo female married a Congo man, then does that make you a Congo woman?
If you were brought up in a Congo home and carried their last name or last and first sometimes, does this make you a Congo person?
If your last name is a Congo name and you married an indigo man, does this make you an indigo?
How do we know when and where our name start and stop for the beginning of Liberia to now?
Who told us we were Congo because our last name is an English name or we are indigo because our name is an indigo name?

As Liberians some of us are very proud to be called Smith, Thomas, Johnson, Dixon, on the other hand we are also proud to be called Gbeh, Konneh, Sueh, Toun, etc, but really why are those names so important to us, did we not have indigo names before we were bought and sold and then got English names? Is it that we want everyone to know we were slave at one point in our life or we were never slaves by our names? Why have a lot of us not change our name back to where we actually come from? What makes the “white” slave name so important in Liberia or the indigo name after Tolbert Administration? As Liberian, we have indigos that were raised by Congo and carried the Congo names but as soon as the war started when Doe got in, they all ran to the department of public record and changed their names back to their indigo names, some of which they themselves can not pronounce correctly. Why did they choose to change their name? Were the Congo names not good enough? Was the country name a sign of ownership of the country? What made some people to change their names and others to keep the names they already had? Should we have changed our names as soon as we landed in Africa? What impact great or small would it have had if we all had names from the same group? Would we have had the 15 years of war in Liberia? And which groups of name we should have kept the free slaves or the indigo?

Everyone let me know your thoughts

Have a blessed day!

The reasons we (Liberians) are dying slowly in America!

Ever wonder why our people in Liberia look better, younger, and happier then we in America do even with the high poverty and jobless economic going on in Liberia? Well its simple, they are eating better foods, drinks and work less stressful jobs unlike us in America.
FOOD: I checked many of the food we eat in Liberia and compared it with the average food in American restaurants, its no amazement why as soon as we enter this country, our blood, sugar, and heart rate shoot straight to the sky. This is why the older we get the more medications we find ourselves on in America. The average adult age 45 takes at lease four different types of medications per day in America. We Liberians love to “when in Rome do as the Romans” so therefore we are joining the ban wagon and hopping on the medications train in America. We are having high blood, strokes, heart diseases, mental illness (ok, this one is from the white folks stressing us out) and diabetic. Then there is the weight gain and gain and gain. The average person weighting 150lb should have no more then 50g carbohydrates, 1,200 mg sodium, 5g saturated fat, 5g fat, 1,500 calories and 0g trans fat per day. Look at this meal in America - Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler - 2,500 calories, 49g saturated fat, 6,520 mg sodium, 157g carbohydrates. And to think you have not had the real meal yet, this is just the appetizer to get you started. Let add the actual meal, Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger - 1,820 calories, 4 g saturated fat, 4,410 mg sodium. This one meal is enough to cause the average 50 years old male a stroke or heart attack. And this is just lunch. Add breakfast, dinner and snacks and you are a walking dead man/woman living in America.

EXERCISE: The most unloved E word in America. The reason it takes our people a long time to gain weight in Liberia is they walk a lot and most of the time they are carrying something or someone while walking. Liberians exercise in America, please! Every Liberian I know in America has a car or two or three, so walking is out of styles for us, not so? There are few of us that show our faces at a gym here and there and pay the monthly fees and take our medicines each night before bed. But look at our people in Liberia, they get their exercise and it’s free and they don’t even know they are exercising.

BEHAVIORS: We Liberians need to go back home or start living the way we do at home here in America so we can get the opportunity to eventually retire and move to Liberia and not die here. We need to leave some of the American “way of life” behaviors and continue our Liberian way of living, like walking, eating more boiled foods like our soups, instead of running to the pharmacy, run to the African food store. Instead of eating out, eat in and cook it your Liberian way. Instead of Applebee, go to Kendajah you will live longer. Instead of vegetable oil use your palm oil and don’t believe anything the white man told you about your country’s food, its all lies!

REST: Stop working two to three jobs to pay for a house you hardly live in, its unhealthy and add years to your life. Instead of living in a big house you cannot afford, down size your home to fit your one-job income. One of the best moves I ever made in my life. I do not do the “two-job” thing because I love my sleep and my Guinness on weekends. I see a lot of my friends living in large homes with 4 – 5 bedrooms, 3 ½ bath, large oversize TV but when you call their homes they are never home. The kids are raising themselves why, they are doing weekend or weekday live-ins or at some minimum wage job to earn extra money to buy gas for work because their mean job can only pay the mortgage. Get rid of people, places and things that ill you. If they cause you pain and stress, they are not good for you no matter what you think you are gaining from them? Get some sleep, the parties were there before you were born it will be there when you die, get your rest.

FAITH: If you are a Christian/Muslin and your church is not fulfilling you, find another church, there is one on every third corner in America. Say your prayers daily; say it out loud sometimes so you hear what you are praying for. Call a pray line, a friend of mind introduced me to one and I love it. Call a pastor for prayers, Lord knows Liberians have a lot of pastors in our mist, call on them. If you have not been to church in a while, this is the perfect time to go back. If you love God, admit it, for peace sake, say it loud, let God be your Alpha and your Omega in everything you do. When I am about to do something or say something I am afraid of or not sure of or I am somewhere I am not comfortable, I repeat Psalm 23rd out loud, by the third times I feel like someone took a warm blanket and wrap me up in it. At that point nothing moves me or get in my way because I know it is well with my soul!! My boss said when he hears me repeating Psalm 23rd; he stays out of my way. I really don’t know what he means by that and have never care to ask!

INCOME: Pay yourself FIRST, meaning save your money and stop wasting it on needless things. Why are we buying $300.00 purses or shoes and suits, do you think the white man will love you more if your total outfit you are wearing cost you a thousand dollars, I think not, actually he will most likely think of you the same way I do – you are a stupid idiot and should be slapped. Look at how Michael Jordon dresses and compare it with how Bill Gates dresses. From their looks can you tell who has the most money? No, you cannot because Bill Gates pays himself first and does not waste his money; Michael on the other hand, pays Christian Dion first.

LOVE: This word scares the piss out of most Liberians especially our men because it was never taught to us, we learn it as we got older in life or accidently felt into it. When was the last time you told your spouse you “love him/her”? I am sure most men reading this are saying to themselves, “what does she means I am paying the bills am I not?” Great, pay the bills, but also tell him or her how you feel and why you feel it. If your marriage is not working fix the problem, if the kids are pulling your hair out, (boy can I relate) seek help for them and for yourself as well. We all need a place to go and just spill our guts from time to time. Find your “happy” place and go there as much as you need to. Have sex; in fact have plenty of sex, best stress medicine there is. Now, I did not say go cheat and crazy, I am talking about you and your mate, I also did not say “mates”. Anyone that ever had a good relationship with me will tell you, if I can have sex every day or even twice a day I will. Have it in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, outside, in the car, have sex. Enjoy each other every day of your life, we will take the “thing” with us when we died so enjoy it before it gone, have sex with your mate! You know the old saying “if you are not with the one you love, love the one you are with”. Humans are the only creatures that shy away from love and sex. The animals have sex anytime and anywhere, we see them doing it all the time why not humans???

Every Liberian wants to come to America whether to live or visit. If only they knew what we know now they would get their acts together and stay home and enjoy their lives because there are actually living better then we are. Liberians are very smart people, we are not born smart, we do not work that hard really, it’s because we have limited resources to work with that makes us smart before we get here, not so? Now, why do we come here and join the ban wagon……….Let stop this kind of living and do what is necessary so we can retire and go HOME to LIBERIA!!! Everyone have a great weekend and remember God loves you!

If you are interested, take a look at what you are actually eating in American Restaurants:
The 20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America
20. Worst Omelet

IHOP Colorado Omelette

1,890 calories
47 g saturated fat
4,200 mg sodium
130 g carbohydrates

19. Worst Breakfast

Cheescake Factory French Toast with Bacon

1,849 calories
65 g saturated fat
3,114 mg sodium
98 g carbohydrates

18. Worst Sit-Down Appetizer

Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler

2,500 calories
49 g saturated fat
6,520 mg sodium
157 g carbs

17. Worst Thai Salad

California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad with Fresh Avocado

2,238 calories

16. Worst Pizza Slice

Sbarro Stuffed Pepperoni (1 piece)

960 calories
42 g fat
3,200 mg sodium

15. Worst Wrap

T.G.I. Friday's BBQ Chicken Wrap

1,720 calories

14. Worst Tacos

On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Creamy Red Chile Sauce

2,350 calories
152 g fat (31 g saturated)
4,060 mg sodium

13. Worst Sit-Down Burger

Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger

1,820 calories
46 g saturated fat
4,410 mg sodium

12. Worst Sit-Down Kids' Meal

Cheesecake Factory Kids' Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

1,803 calories
86 g saturated fat
876 mg sodium
70 g carbohydrates

11. Worst Chicken Sandwich

Chili's Buffalo Chicken Crisper Bites

1,620 calories
100 g fat (21 g saturated)
5,380 mg sodium

10. Worst Food Invention

Domino's Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl Pasta

1,480 calories
56 g fat
(24 g saturated, 1 g trans)
2,280 mg sodium
188 g carbs

9. Worst Chinese Food Meal

P.F. Chang's Crispy Honey Shrimp

2,110 calories
70 g fat (10 g saturated)
1,815 mg sodium
290 g carbs

8. Worst Fast Food Seafood Meal

Culver's North Atlantic Cod Filet Meal (3 pieces)

2,121 calories
135 g fat
(21 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,568 mg sodium

7. Worst Sit-Down Ribs

Outback Steakhouse Baby Back Ribs (full rack)

3,021 calories
242 g fat
(90 g saturated fat)
4,648 mg sodium

6. Worst Pasta Dish

Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta

2,819 calories
77 g saturated fat
1,008 mg sodium
184 g carbohydrates

5. Worst Steak Dinner

IHOP Top Sirloin Steak

2,380 calories
42 g saturated fat
5,220 mg sodium

4. Worst Fries

Five Guys Fries (large)

1,464 calories
71 g fat (14 g saturated)
213 mg sodium

3. Worst Side Dish

Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Wedges

760 calories
53 g fat
(17 g saturated, 13 g trans)
963 mg sodium

2. Worst Sweet Drink

Cold Stone PB&C Shake (Gotta Have It size)

2,010 calories
131 g fat (68 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
880 mg sodium
153 g sugars

1. Worst Sit-Down Dessert

Outback Steakhouse Chocolate Thunder from Down Under

1,911 calories
88 g saturated fat
135 g carbohydrates

Roberta Williams

To Dennis and All:

Let Abdulaye Dukule tell us how many of his family members (immediate & distant), childhood friends, children etc. were raped, given drugs and deadly weapons at age 7 years or so and turned into killing machines, made to rape their own mothers, sisters, brothers, made to flogged their fathers, made to watch the opening of their pregnant mothers stomach, made to watch the raping of their mothers, sisters, aunts etc., made to watch the beheading of their fathers, made to watch the sodomizing of their fathers, older brothers, uncles  in their presence, made to burn down their villages, in the name of promoting their political masters. Let Abdulaye Dukule tell us how many of his daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, nephews cousins, brothers, uncles, etc., are now being constrained to engage in disgraceful acts such as prostitution, robbery or black money scams just to make a living in Liberia today. We have to be careful how people justify their actions especially when it has brought about more than 250, 000 deaths and the destruction of the nation.

People like Dukule who are making this justification will never know how it is to have your entire family killed, a love one still missing, see dogs eat the remains of a love one, or watch your 9 years old daughter gang raped in your presence. They will never know or feel what it is for children to watch their father sodomized by fighters in their presence because they wanted to destroy his manhood. Dukule brought his daughters to the States as babies and because he is not from Liberia originally therefore, none of his siblings or relatives lived in Liberia to have been victims of the carnage. What has happen to Liberia is not a matter to be trivialized. The arrogance and lack of sympathy for victims by those that directed and implemented the suffering makes it harder for people to move on. It is easier to heal when the one who has hunted you can express remorse and amplify this gesture of remorse by good deeds. I will leave you guys with just a couple of the stories that have hunted me to this day whenever the issue of victims of the war is raised.

1. At the Public hearings of the TRC in Gbarpolu County, a slender woman in her 40s weighing about 1.30 lbs. testified that when NPFL fighters entered the town, some how they were told that the lady and husband had some money. The lady and her husband were obviously hard working farmers, they had a saw mill, a large farm and a son who was finishing high school and his parents were saving to send him to Monrovia for college. The fighters grabbed the women and husband, tabae (to tie both arms in a duck like form behind the back until both elbows are touching each other so that the chest is protruding outward. In this position, if one should just apply a little pressure on the chest with any sharp instrument, the chest will burse open) them, and started beating them up asking them to bring their money. The woman said she did not know where the money was and the man said he did not have any money either. The fighters continued the torture of these poor people.

The lady testified that after a while when they still could not say where the money was, one fighter exclaimed to his colleagues, "your leave them, I know how they will tell us where they are hiding the money". The fighters then proceeded to take the woman to a tree. They tied her upside down in the tree butt naked. They spread her legs apart, got hot kanyon pepper, grinded it and used a spoon to shove the pepper into her private part. When she blocked out, they put her down, wasted water on her, revived her and started asking her questions again. When she still could not say where the money was, they put her back up the tree again and began the pepper punishment all over. She blocked out for the second time and for the second time, they put her down, revived her, continued the interrogation and when she still could not say where the money was, they put her back up the tree and resumed shoving the pepper into her private part. As the previous two times, she blocked out. They took her down from the tree and revived her again. But by this time, the husband who was being beaten and made to watch the torture of his wife, finally told the fighters where he had hidden the family money and other valuables. When the fighters were approaching the town, the husband took all the money and other values they had in the house, put them in a pig foot barrel and went to his farm, dug a hole and buried the barrel there. He never told his wife because he felt that if he had done so, she would have told the fighters under pressure to save their lives.  The woman told the TRC that her husband's only dream was to have his son sent to Monrovia to attend colleague when the war was over thus, he was hiding the money for that purpose. The fighters went on the farm and took the entire pig foot barrel but luckily, spared the lives of the woman and husband. Unfortunately, the fighters  forcible recruited the couple college bound son as a fighter. The story ends on a sad note because the boy about 19 years old at the time went with the fighters and never retuned home. He is still missing. 

2. I headed the women's project on the TRC and during Statement taking, we realized that initially most of the statements from women were coming from urban women. The women in the villages were shy to participate heavily in the process. Their husbands and partners were also preventing them from coming to testify to the TRC. To encourage more traditional women to participate in the process, I wrote several projects targeting indigenous women. One of such project was a three day workshop with the "Zoes" in all 15 counties. We co-implemented this project with the traditional women association headed by one of the Chief Zoes, Mama Torma. The even was held at the traditional village in Dudu Town on Bomi High way. For one week I was in Dudu town everyday organizing with the women for the workshop. We had transported at least 72 Zoes from the 15 Counties for the project. They stayed at the village for 3 days for the workshop. During those days, these traditional women leaders, healers, head of their communities and the voice of traditional women began telling their stories. Because they were speaking in the various vernaculars, we had interpreters. One of the women, very beautiful and stately, stood up to share her story. She was one of the Zoes from out of town. She estimated her age in 2007 during the workshop to have been about 81 years old. She narrated that when NPFL fighters entered their town, they captured her and kept her in her house with them. She estimated their ages to have been between 17-23 years of age. She said they told her "Oldma, we will not kill you because we need you to care for us". She became their cook, was washing their clothes and they were raping her and gang raping her repeatedly several times a night, all four of them for months until the place change hands to another fighting force. It was particularly heart breaking when she beat her chest and exclaimed looking up into the sky that what hurts her the most was that all of the boys were the ages of some of her grand children. She said the 17 year old fighter was the most brutal and would rape her several times in one night. Sometimes they would beat her while gang raping her. All  the while this grandmother was telling her story, I had my head bow down the whole time, I could not look her in the eyes. I felt so humiliated as a woman, I was hurt. Finally at the end of the workday when we had our entertainment period, I pulled her aside and hugged her tightly and cried on her shoulders like a baby, I just could not imagine her pain and humiliation. But, I could not help noticing that these women carried themselves with such dignity and grace in the face of what they had suffered. Today, their scar is still raw due to acute poverty and the rejection some of them are facing form their communities. At least if their livelihood had improved, it would assist them heal a little. But their state of poverty and to see their perpetrators become the lords of the land and the rich ones, must be so painful for these people.  

3. During the Public hearings in Grand Gedeh County, a young girl in her early 20s came to testify. You could tell that she came from a middle class traditional Grand Gedean family. Her father was a local pastor. She was the only girl of three boys. She and her brothers were gifted students and in classes ahead of their ages. They went to private schools. She would have graduated from high school at age 17 had it not been for the war. She was articulate when she addressed the hearings and conducted herself with such grace as well. The girl testified that when the NPFL fighters entered Zwedrew, they came to their house and demanded that everybody come outside. They came outside and the torture began. She said the fighters told her father that they were going to take her away to be their wife. Her father started pleading with them to spare his virgin daughter. She was only 16.  Finally one of the fighters said to the father "You love your daughter so much, if you want us to leave her alone than give your life for her to show how much you love her" The father started pleading now for his life as well. The fighters insisted that was the only bargain they could reach with him, that he much give his life to save his daughter from rape. Finally when the father realized that the fighters were serious, he agreed to their proposal. He was going to give his life for his daughter's pride. However, he asked them to grant him one request. He wanted to be killed behind his church. The fighters agreed to the father's request and took the entire family behind the church where they beheaded the father and forced the mother and her children to watch. Unfortunately, after the murder of the father, the fighters grabbed the young girl and gang raped her at the same spot. The girl said when they were raping her, they said to her " your father was a stupid man to die for woman business". When the young girl testified, she blamed herself for her father's murder and cried bitterly stating that it was because of her that her good father was killed. She could not forgive herself. Unfortunately, the tragedy of this family did not end with the killing of the father and raping of the daughter. They also raped the mother and took away the two sons as fighters. This once promising Liberian family was now destroyed.

4. When Ali Syllah came to the TRC Diaspora Hearings in Minnesota to testify on behalf of his family that had suffer so much during the war, Commissioners and perhaps the audience were not prepared for what he would say. But as Ali, a very bright an articulate young man did his family proud when he passionately narrated how their father and two brothers were killed by the INPFL fighters in Monrovia and the difficulty he encountered while trying to get the rest of his siblings out of Liberia and into Sierra Leone. Ali spoke about how they were hunted down in Monrovia to be killed by fighters simply because they are Mandingoes. The hearing officer had to call for  recess because Commissioners were crying and members of the audience were also crying . There was not a dry eye in the auditorium of Hamlin University that day where the hearings was held.  I remembered walking over to Commissioner Oumu Syllah and hugged her for a long time tightly not wanting to let go as if wanting her pain to disappear. All commissioners had experienced the war and have our own stories of pain but, hearing the story of grave suffering of a colleague by a family member was so vivid and compelling.. After her brother's testimony that day, I began to look at Commissioner Oumu Syllah in a new light. I have always loved Oumu but all of a sudden , I realized how much stronger she was and how gracious she is to remain the kind of decent person that she is in the face of such adversity. I have asked myself several times, how will I react if someone killed my father the way Oumu lost her father so foolishly, simply because they are Mandingoes and her father was prosperous after all of his hard work.

5. When LPC fighters captured Maryland, they took a prominent woman who was an active member of the community, stripped her butt naked and carried her on the beach. They lay her on the sand, spread her legs apart and shoved sand in her vagina while the entire public was watching. She blocked out. some locals later when to her rescue after the fighters left. The fighters some of whom were from her community told her that "they were not going to kill her but when they were done with her, she would kill herself". We got this story when I headed the Women's town hall meeting and workshops in Harper, Maryland County in trying to encourage women to come to the TRC. When we were there working in 2007, this particular woman was not coming out in the public and if she had to go to the market, she either went early in the morning when people were not really up and about or she went late in the evening when people were leaving the market ground. She told me that she was "ashamed" to come to the TRC, therefore, I went to her house and met with her. Her story was so public, it was the talk of the town.


Most of the time when people like Dukule give these kinds of excuses for the violence, it is because they are beneficiaries of the violence as in the case of Dukule, or they bare some responsibility for orchestrating the violence, or that they implemented the violence, and it would be easier for them to move on with their new lives if they are not reminded about their handiwork or if the rest of mankind just ignore that such violence ever existed or in the case of Dukule's argument, the violence was a necessary end to get rid of another evil. People can believe what they want, but they can not make people like us believe what they want. That is the power we have.

I was awarded the "Liberian Woman of Courage" Award from the USA Embassy in Monrovia in 2008 in the category of the State Department's International Women of Courage Award as a result of work done with women during my years as a journalist working with women in the war and while serving on the TRC. I was the first journalist on the scene of the Carter Camp massacre and the Lutheran Church massacre. I have seen and experience a lot therefore, these people can not fool me. I hope more could be done to help grass root women address the issue of poverty and the injustice they have suffered.


Massa Washington


Friday, May 31, 2013

Fatal Plane Crash: Liberia Could be Liable for Death of Guinea Chief of Staff and Entourage

Five months in counting after a fatal plane crash which killed the Chief of Staff of the West African nation of Guinea and his entourage near Liberia’s Robert International Airport (RIA) on February 11, 2013 en-route to attend that country’s Arm Forces Day celebrations, unblemished revelations gathered through investigation conducted by this outlet confirms that Liberia could stand liable for the death of the Guinean Chief of Staff and his entourage.


According to the findings of the investigation fetched from sources in authority of Liberia’s airport and aviation managements but requested anonymity, unveiled huge tray of incapacity, share recklessness, and calculated deception designed to shield Liberia’s obligation and responsibilities required of it like every aviation nation.

The investigation found that the aviation industry requires that if an aircraft has a failure or fire on the Final Approach, the receiving airport must have the navigational capabilities and know how to vector the plane unto the runway through the shortest and safest route but dishearteningly, the Roberts International Airport did not have and does not have the fire and rescue equipment that were capable of responding within minutes to mitigate more loss of lives by having on time responses to remove passengers from the burning jet.

On the contrary, Liberia is yet to have these emergency equipment at the airport despite several request made by the airport former Managing Director, Ellen Corkrum, a major in the United States Air Force and commercial pilot but the airport and government intentionally misleads the aviation industry and the flying public that these equipment are in operation at the airport.

Further investigation reveals that Delta Airlines developed and tested the RNAV GPS approach into the airport and upon completion, it received (Federal Aviation Administration) FAA approval and clearance. The system enhances the pilot’s ability to bring the plane to the runway even if there is an engine failure or fire under a zero visibility condition. The pilot must use their judgment to guess whether they are on the runway touchdown zone or short of the runway as in the case with the Guinean plane. The RNAV GPS system is the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) which alerts the pilot when the aircraft is approaching the ground or obstacles not within the runway the plane is positioned to land.

Delta Airlines gave a one million ($1 million) system to the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) with specific directives to publish the approach procedure in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) for use in Liberian airspace by all aircrafts arriving and departing in keeping with Liberia’s obligations and responsibilities to the International Civil Aviation Organization (IACO). The LCAA and Liberian government are yet to publish this all important procedure but put the aviation industry and the flying public, including Delta Airlines under the impression that the procedure is published and usable by all aircrafts.

In the event of adverse weather, the RNAV GPS precisely guides the plane to the runway and unto the touchdown zone even if the pilot is unable to recognize any identifying runway markings or lights germane to pilots. The RNAV GPS is also used in the military, it enhances pilots’ ability to bring aircrafts to the runway under zero visibility conditions. Where the RNAV GPS fails the pilots must use their judgment to guess whether they are on the runway touchdown zone, or just short of the runway as in the case with the Guinean aircraft.

Other disturbing evidence gathered from the investigation further uncovered the Roberts International Airport does not have the Very High Omni directional Radio Range Equipment (VOR) which must be available at airports for aircrafts for navigational aid to monitor an airplane’s position during approach to touchdown on the runway. Though the VOR approach is published only on paper, the equipment is not available at the airport and does not exist.

Liberia in essence is deceiving the aviation industry, the flying public, and specifically pilots that they can tune up the VOR and expect its guidance to the runway and when pilots develop their flight plan, long before taking off from their departure airport and is expecting to make a VOR approach, they subsequently realize later when approaching the runway that they realized the VOR system is not available and really does not exist.

Unfortunately, according to our investigation, in December 2012, after discussion with Delta pilots and a drive around at the airport’s ground, they discovered and revealed the lapse and upon review of the airport’s approach plates (the map design to guide from the air into the airport to land), Liberia continues to deceive pilots of the existence of this procedure but in reality the airport does not have the equipment.

The investigation unraveled yet other mind bulging evidence that in the absence of what pilots expect to be at an airport, like navigational equipment, runway availability, fire and rescue, etc., an airport has the responsibility for releasing such information and ensuring that it is published in NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen). The NOTAM alerts pilots of such things as hazards, closed runways and taxiways, inoperable navigational aids, airspace restriction, inoperable approach and runway lights, obstruction on the runway—such as asphalt debris which could slash tires or be ingested into engines, etc.

On the contrary, the Roberts International Airport does not again have the NOTAMS have not been published by Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), is responsible for publishing the NOTAMS. Apparently the LCAA has developed some obsolete system to mitigate the conventional requirement where they punch in the NOTAMS but do not ensure that it is disseminated through the channels that pilots can access through the web site is maintained by the US military and opened to the public and to all pilots across the world. Evidence indicates that the airport’s last published its obsolete NOTAM was May 2011 even though NOTAMS are published on a daily basis, depending on the condition of an airport.

In view of these findings, Liberia could stand liable for the death of the Guinean Chief of Staff and his entourage because if an aircraft engine fails, especially just short of the runway, the receiving airport is obliged to have the aforementioned NAV AIDS and suitable runway and if these equipment are not available at the receiving airport as the present calamity the Roberts International Airport, consequently the nation becomes a contributing factor to the deaths.

In air crash investigation, the investigating body identifies a sequence of events that either lead to, contribute to or mitigate the crash. Our investigation revealed that some international stakeholders and governments are taking a renewed interest in the Guinean plane crash in Liberia having discovered the gross aviation violations and deception by the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority and the government. Sources close to the Liberia Aviation Authority hinted our investigation on anonymity that the former LAA acting managing director had authorized an audit of the airport navigational, electronic, fire and rescue runway and other systems. The audit revealed serious lapses that threaten the lives of US and other military as well as civilians flying in and out of the Roberts International Airport which could result in an international ban on the airport and ultimately posing a devastating effect on the country.

Our investigation found that the office of President Sirleaf’s Deputy Chief of Staff openly discussed a copy of the report that was addressed to her and has sparked queries in the United States provoking pending investigation by aviation authorities and officials of other countries, some of whom have already contacted the former Managing Director of the airport, Ellen Corkrum who was relieved of her post and is advised her to keep all relevant information in her possession under seal until the pending investigation.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Liberia Senate Directory: 53rd Session

Phone
Bomi
+231886 519 606
Bomi
+231886 516 644
Bong
+231886 974 298
Bong
+231886 449 150
Gbarpolu
+231886 918 660
Gbarpolu
+231886 518 595
Grand Bassa
+231886 510 121
Grand Bassa
+231886 510 873
Grand Cape Mount
+231886 515 866
Grand Cape Mount
+231886 556 298

Grand Gedeh
+231886 583 908

Grand Gedeh
+231886 520 215

Grand Kru
+231886 529 567

Grand Kru
+231886 510 137

Lofa
+231886 512 979

Lofa
+231886 534 976


Margibi
+231886 522 413

Margibi
+231886 471 449

Maryland
+231886 461 000

Maryland
+231886 715 554

Montserrado
+231886 530 919

Montserrado
+231886 510 741

Nimba
+231886 590 121

Nimba
+231886 703 500

River Cess
+231886 526 147

River Cess
+231886 420 575

River Gee
+231886 541 816

River Gee
+231886 601 550

Sinoe
+231886 548 678

Sinoe
+231886 515 931

Senator names and numbers, let's start calling them for Accountability!!!


I think we should all start calling and emailing these people so they know we are serious about our people well being in Liberia. The unnecessary deaths and poor health is too much in Liberia.

They are enslaving our people and don't see anything wrong with it. For instance, drivers in Liberia do not get days off or ever see their family, they work from sun up to midnight seven days a week. And they all look sick and are over worked. Same with the in-home housekeepers and babysitters.

Our food and human waste are fighting for space in the market place. Do you know some of the market people do not leave their products to go looking for bathrooms, they do it right there with the food right there! How can you build a market place and not think a rest room would be needed? We need to make these idiots accountable for their stupidity and greed or more of our people will die for nothing. Most government building do not have working bathrooms, how are our women taking care of their monthly female needs when they are at work? Not everyone can run across the street to use the white man supper market clean bathrooms to take care of themselves. We have a big problem in Liberia. We need all hands on deck, but we have to start by waking these officials up and letting them know we want to see them earning their salaries by doing right by our people.

It seems like they all park their education, experiences and morals at RIA and act worst then the ones you met in Liberia. Why is that? I couldn't believe how most of these "been-tos" are treating their own people. It blew me away to see some of the degrading treatment our poor people are getting from the so called educated and experienced!!! Ask any of them what their drive name is, they can't tell you. They called them "driver", what is that????? Did anyone in America called them "cleaning boy" or "nursing aid" when they were here?

If you ask me the war in Liberia is still on, its the rich  killing the poor by their greed, power hunger, uselessness and enslavement! Same difference!

If we don't do something we are just as responsible for the useless deaths and destructions as they are, not so?

Joke Of The Day

A little boy walks into his parents' room to see his mom on top of his dad bouncing up and down... the mom sees her son and quickly dismounts, worried about what her son has seen. She dresses quickly and goes to find him. The son sees his mom and asks, "What were you and Dad doing?" The mother replies, "Well, you know your dad has a big tummy and sometimes I have to get on top of itand help flatten it." "You’re wasting your time," said the boy. "Why is that?" the mom asked puzzled. "Well when you go shopping the lady next door comes over and gets on her knees and blows it right back up."

Liberians, I have few questions I would really like answers to

Please number your answer(s) to match the question(s)s you are answering.
1. What would happen if all of our Liberian non-for-profit organizations deleted their constitutions and by-laws? Most non-profit organizations outside of Liberians do not have constitutions and or by-laws. What would happen if we had no political jah-jah in our organizations?
2. What would happen if we did not put these titles before our Liberian people names? "His or Her Excellency", "Honorable", "chairperson", "Governor", and so forth and so on? If we call the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf, what will happen to us after doing so and what is the reason behind these titles anyway? Most places will say: Mr. Bush, president of the USA, not His Excellency Bush!!
3. What would happen if we really wanted to help our country Liberia and did it this way; instead of having hundreds of Liberian organizations going NOWHERE FAST? What if we divided the Liberians living in America by States and divide them by Liberia counties and terrorities. Here’s my madness: Take Liberia nine counties plus five terrorities equal fourteen areas, hopefully it is still that number from when I left. Divide that into the fifty states, which will give you 3.57 states per Liberia area. Let say, all Liberians in the 3.57 states take on one of those counties or terrorities and get together to re-build the area. Do you think Liberia will be on her feet by the year 2012? Again: 9 + 5 = 14 ÷ 50 = 3.57.
4. What if all Liberian government officials had to public a monthly "job" progress report with evidences to all Liberian newspaper? Do you think they will put effort into their jobs? What would happen if the public had the power to fire them for not doing their jobs or not doing it according to their job descriptions?
5. What if the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf was to ask each adult Liberians living outside of Liberia to send $50.00US to help re-build the schools in Liberia; how much do you think would be collected and how many schools do you think will be in the position to compete with the western world by the year 2012?
Everyone please have a blessed day and remember to answer the questions you truly can relate to.