As the Together Liberia team sets out on this project to empower Liberians to tell stories to their fellow citizens and the world, I"ve been inspired with confidence that media tools have the potential to transform lives and, potentially, the way the country operates. We"ve already seen that Liberians have taken steps to tell their own stories through the media and enable other Liberians to do the same. The Together Liberia team visited the headquarters of the Liberia Media Initiative for … [Read more...]
Day 1: Get hauled off by Liberian police for taking photos
David Trotman-Wilkins, (center/back row), still can smile after being forced by Liberian police to erase two photographs he took of the new U.S. Embassy in Monrovia. Over my career, soldiers and police have confiscated my film and digital images in Cuba, Honduras, Armenia, Malawi and Uganda. But this last time when we arrived here, it was David Trotman-Wilkins who inadvertently broke the law. His transgression? Taking two photos of the currently under construction U.S. Embassy. Here"s what … [Read more...]
Perseverance, Liberians Rebuild
Showing his national pride by flying his country"s flag, Christopher a taxicab driver with 5 children, rents his cab and must make about $1000.00 LD ($17 USD) each day before he begins making money to feed his family (l-r) Joseph M. Kangar a University of Liberia student has his registration papers examined by a student representative Peter Jallah, as he registers for classes during the summer class session, as students Eugene Clarke and Fedesco Luogon waits their … [Read more...]
Hope, Bit by Bit
Smiles, more smiles than before, that"s what was passing by as we drove into Congo Town Liberia. A hard life hardens the sweetest face and lack of hope keeps it there but things are changing, bit by bit, for the better. You know, I keep coming back to hope. This, as you can imagine, is a slippery commodity, shifting from individual to individual, circumstance to circumstance, let alone a whole nation. What do I know, an American coming along every now and then. I don"t care, I choose to see … [Read more...]
Voices of Liberia
I am definitely not in Kansas. Liberia is a strange mix of African and European influences in society and culture that for all intents and purposes is closest to being American. With a flag that is almost an exact duplicate of “Old Glory,” the red and white stripes and the blue field in the upper left corner, it would have made Betsy Ross proud of the likeness. A single white star adorns the blue field instead of the fifty that represent our state. Is Liberia the 51st state, should it … [Read more...]
Liberians make some noise
Monboe by SUprof As we lunched at the Krystal Oceanview Friday afternoon, our local guide and “fixer,” Francis Nyepon, leaned over to explain the swell of noise intruding from the table some 20 feet away. Was it an argument over a gambling debt? Girlfriend issues? A dispute over how to split the bill? Soccer fans talking "smack"? “You’re going to hear a lot of this,” Francis advised. “They’re talking about the election.” When we approached them, we discovered it was an impressive … [Read more...]
Traveling to Liberia
As we"re making our detailed plans about conducting this summer"s project, Together Liberia, all international participants will need to prepare for the journey. This post is intended to offer an outline of things to pick-up and research to be done. It is up to you to prepare for this trip, please do so. Questions? Ask! If you have other suggestions please add them to the comments below. Research Country Facts | CIA World Fact Book Historical Timeline | The US Library of Congress … [Read more...]
Together We’ll Tell Stories
Imagine a democracy where every citizen had his or her voice heard and that leaders had a place to go whenever they wanted to know what the people were thinking. Well such a place rarely exists and the citizens of Liberia have only recently begun to demand a seat at the table of decision making regarding the issues that most affect their lives. Together Liberia is all about letting the people tell their own stories and empowering Liberian journalists to uncover and report on the issues of the … [Read more...]
