Liberia: A Hell on Earth
Key Judgements (Summary)-
• The Liberian Civil War is over, but if you travel there it doesn’t seem true.
• Drug Addiction is a problem that effects kids.
• Liberia is one of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world.
• Unemployment is so bad, that children become prostitutes.
Background-
Liberian was originally a haven for freed slaves and escaped slaves from the US. They modeled their Constitutions after the US in 1847. Liberia was on track to solidify its national stability. But then, Charles Taylor and Prince Johnson dismantled the Liberian government in the 1990s after Assassinating Samuel Doe (Former President of Liberia). Charles Taylor was backed by the US, he was so corrupt that Liberia was plunged into chaos due to infighting between other Rebel Groups, of which he was once part of. The main outcome being, systematic rape, drug abuse in children, as well as, severe poverty in its major cities. Charles Taylor was tried for War Crimes in 2012, but many warlords are still active in Liberia.
Analysis-
The Liberian Civil War may be over, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t scars left
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No one gives aid to the people trying to rebuild Liberia after the Civil war, the Warlords are the community leaders. The UN mostly attacks the rebel groups and brands warlords as criminals rather than people with no other foreseeable future. Even a famous retired general, General Butt Naked, became a preacher after he converted to Christianity. West Point, part of Liberia’s capital of Monrovia, is the worst slum in the World! There are no toilets, people “shit where they eat!”. Malaria is a huge problem. Heroin and Cocaine are commonly sold, and kids consume most of the Cocaine and Heroin in
There was a war in Sierra Leone, Africa, from 1991 to 2002 where a rebel army stormed through African villages amputating and raping citizens left and right (“Sierra Leone Profile”). Adebunmi Savage, a former citizen of Sierra Leone, describes the reality of this civil war:
Warren. Ironically, shortly after his win, Warren resigned as governor to take a position as a Wyoming Senator thus placing Barber into the governor’s spot. Any other time this might be unusual to have this happen, unless you look at those Barber knew. Governor Barber happened to be not only classmate from the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, but was friends with Dr. Charles Penrose, who was the physician who accompanied the raiders to Johnson County. Barber, was very much aware of the plan that was taking place in Cheyenne and what was about to be executed by these invaders. In Bill O’Neils book The Johnson County War, he brings up a great point about the acting governor. In taking the position of the governor, he was
Zanotti, L. (2010). Cacophonies of aid, failed state building and NGOs in Haiti: setting the stage for disaster, envisioning the future. Third World Quarterly, 31(5), 755-771.
The United States is at war but this time it is not at war with a foreign country it is at war with itself, a civil war. Whatever the cause of the civil war does not concern us for the events and information that follow will focus on a battle that comes toward the end of the civil war not the cause of the war. The Savannah Campaign or the March to the Sea was important in the civil war but one battle in particular had more importance than the others did. The Battle at Fort Macalister, a Battle led by General William Babcock Hazen ensured the success of the Savannah Campaign and led to the eventual seizure of the city itself.
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...on people face a similar fate in Darfur….” says one website. They say that America made promises to prevent any more bloodshed in the country, but never held up that promise. “The Khartoum government has systematically obstructed access to Darfur and blocked international efforts to establish a relief program,” says the web page. Because of the lack of effort Darfur suffers from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. In all of these events the UN will take steps after to rectify the situation and prevent it in the future. There is little to no way to guarantee that these kinds of tragedies will never happen again, however the UN can make steps to improve the world’s response and overall international and national laws to prevent future case as best as possible. Which is why the UN continues to update policies to keep up with the ever changing times.
During the 1900’s two deadly wars were raging on, the civil war in Sierra Leone and the genocide in Rwanda. The civil war in Sierra Leone began in March 1991, while the genocide began in 1994. Combined these two wars killed upward of 1,050,000 people, and affected the lives of all the people that lived there. The conflicts in Sierra Leone and Rwanda occurred for different major reasons, but many little aspects were similar. Politics and Ethnicity were the two main conflicts, but despite the different moments rebellions and the murder of innocent people occurred in both places.
Liberia, located in the west part of Africa, was a settlement to native Africans in the 1800’s would eventually stablish a settlement consisting of thousands of individuals, freed or non-slaves. This was an attempt of resolving the moral issue of enslavement by colonizing Liberia with freed, or ex-slaves. Not only were freed black men transported across the Atlantic, but women as well. No provisions had been made to ensure equality as a foundation to colonize which causes the issues misogyny and with the lack of historical content of women in Liberia the need for further analysis it is noted that women were hardly acknowledged and only seen as an object in creating a bigger population needed
In 2007 human rights activist and author, Ishmael Beah, published A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier in hopes that it would bring an authenticity to the Sierra Leone civil war and tell his stories of the brutality that struck his nation in 1991, to his readers. After publication the text became a bestseller, named one of Time’s top non-fiction books of 2007 and Beah was nominated for a Quill award for “Best Debut Author of 2007”. However, previous to his release, his life was essentially a tragedy novel, filled with hope only to have it shattered days or even hours later. A civil war broke out in Sierra Leone in 1991 but Beah was not directly affected by the war until 1992 at the age of Twelve when the Royal United Front (RUF), a rebel
The Sierra Leone Civil War lasted eleven years and left Sierra Leone scared and unconstructed. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) bombarded the country but faced constant resistance from the Sierra Leone Military. Both sides relied heavily on child soldiers throughout the war and a projected 5,000 to 10,000 child soldiers were collectively used by both the Sierra Leone government and the RUF. These children forcibly entered into a life of violence and oppression, and they have since struggled to reintegrate back into society. Child soldiers have returned home with no family or future and many still face severe complications.
There was a 7 year old civil war from 1989-1996 (Schools, 2003). It was one of the bloodiest wars in all African history (Schools, 2003). More than 200,000 people died and it sent 1,000,000 people into refugees and neighboring countries (Schools, 2003). Many children were also fighting with Charles Taylor’s band of rebels (Schools, 2003).
Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society; founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa. An attempt at colonization in Sierra Leone had failed in 1815. Six years later native rulers granted a tract of land on Cape Mesurado, at the mouth of the Saint Paul River, to U.S. representatives, and the first Americo-Liberians, led by Jehudi Ashmun, began the settlement. In 1824 an American agent for the society, Ralph Randolph Gurley, named the new colony Liberia and the Cape Mesurado settlement Monrovia. Other separate settlements were established along the coast during the next 20 years. Soon, however, conflicts arose between the settlers and the society in the United States. By the time Joseph Jenkins Roberts became the first black governor in 1841, the decision had been made to give the colonists almost full control of the government. A constitution modeled on that of the United States was drawn up, and Liberia became an independent republic in July 1847. Roberts was its first president, serving until 1856. Liberia was recognized by Britain in 1848, by France in 1852 and by the United States in 1862. The Americo-Liberian communities eked out a precarious existence during the 19th century. Claims over i nterior territory were disputed not only by the indigenous Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or Malinke), Kru, and Gola peoples, but also by European states that did not recognize Liberian jurisdiction over the interior. U.S. support led to a series of agreements with Britain and France between 1892 and 1911, which marked the present boundaries. (Liberian control over the interior peoples, however, was not completely assured until the 1940s.) Loans from Britain and the United States partially eased the country's financial difficulties. Liberia declared war on Germany on August 14, 1917, which gave the Allies an additional base in West Africa during World War I (1914-1918). In 1926 the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company opened a rubber plantation on 400,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land granted by the Liberian government the year before. Rubber production became the mainstay of the nation's economy.
The United States is one of the leading suppliers of Foreign Aid in the world, and even though the US gives billions, European countries give aid money to the same countries, this causes many areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to be almost fully dependent on foreign aid. This means that without aid from other countries, they would not be able to support themselves at all. Foreign aid is meant to help countries that are struggling with civil unrest, disease, or natural disasters, it is not meant to help keep the country out of debt, but that is where more and more of the US and The EU’s foreign aid budget is going. The question is, does all this money actually go where it is intended? It should be going towards the government and to help the people, but in many cases, the countries government does not have the resources to properly track the flow of money. The countries in most cases have poor infrastructure and corrupt or oppressive leaders, not always at a national level, but in the towns and cities. So this means there is almost no way to oversee the flow of foreign aid through the country, all we can see is that their situations aren't getting any better and the countries are still impoverished. If this is the case, where are the millions of dollars going? Countries like Afghanistan and Iraq receive the most money from American foreign aid and European aid, yet they are still under oppressive governmental rule and there is still an extreme difference between the rich and poor. Garrett Harding’s theory of “Lifeboat Ethics” exemplifies how not giving aid to others will allow the strongest of society to thrive, while teaching the impoverished to help themselves. He believes that giving aid to poor countries will only make ...
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We are now a decade on from the August 2003 Accra Peace agreement which drew a line under 14 years of civil war and the oppressive dictatorship of Charles Taylor. The peace agreement bought a renewed chance of peace and stability after the atrocities that had been committed across the country. A post-war transitional government was established consisting of 76 members: 12 each from the three warring parties; Government of the Republic of Liberia, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). Other members from the remaining 18 political parties; seven from civil society and s...