Liberia

Liberia has Africa’s biggest runway and the biggest deep-sea port of West Africa. Monrovia is the only free port in West Africa. Before the war, Liberia was West Africa's center of commerce and transportation, and attracted industries like petroleum, paint, pharmaceuticals and cement. Many impressive buildings were built, along with the old University of Liberia (opened in 1862, university status in 1951), and a secondary school system, hospitals etc. However, the infrastructure has been largely destroyed by the fighting in recent years. The Snap shake is a typical Liberian handshake. The Firestone Plantation is the world’s largest one. Liberia is the first ever republic of Africa and has never been colonized. When peace has been returned, Liberia has much to offer, including friendly people, lush landscapes and some of the last remaining virgin rainforest in West Africa.

Monrovia
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Stream
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Rural village
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Centential Pavilion
Ph©to: Willem

Down Town
Ph©to: Willem

Pearls of Africa: Cape Mount and the story of George Weah, once World's best football (soccer) player.

Liberia was founded by Americans so that freed slaves could resettle back in Africa. Monrovia was named after U.S. President James Monroe, and was founded during his term by the American Colonization Society. The first town was established in 1822 on Providence Island. The settlers, or the Americo-Liberians, were engaged in a number of disputes with the indigenous population for many years. In recent years, Liberia has been recovering from fierce fighting lasting 8 years. Almost every news article ends by stating that "Liberia was founded by former U.S. slaves in the 1800s." and some Liberians beg to differ. To them, Liberia was never founded by American former slaves. And that's the mistake of some Liberian historians. From research, The Grain Coast (forcibly changed to Liberia) was where the American Colonization Society (ACS) landed America's former slaves. The fifth American president, James Monroe, once served as president of the ACS and so was Henry Clay, a one-time Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The ACS, along with some churches in Maryland and Philadelphia, were sick and tired of seeing free men and women of color hanging out demanding jobs and rights. Their former "massas" could not tolerate that and decided to deport them to the Grain Coast.

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Buchanon Port
Ph©to: Willem

War zone
Ph©to: Willem

Carrey Street
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Providence Church
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Caesars Beach
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Economy:

Before the outbreak of the Liberian civil war, agriculture provided a livelihood for about 70% of the population and accounted for roughly 40% of GDP. The rubber industry generated over US$100 million annually in export earnings and, directly and indirectly, provided employment for some 50,000 people. Important iron ore deposits had also attracted substantial foreign investment in the 1960’s and first half of the 1970’s, encouraged by the Government’s "open door" policy, and by 1975, Liberia had become the world’s fifth largest exporter. The export-oriented concession sector -- iron ore, rubber and timber -- generated about one-quarter of the country’s total output, most export earnings and about one-third of government revenue. However, Liberia’s growth rates of 6% in the 1960s and 4% in the 1970s, "characterized as growth without development" had relatively little impact on the overwhelming majority of Liberians, and mainly benefited a small urban elite. The military coup that brought Samuel Doe to power in 1980 brought in its train dismal economic management and mounting external arrears, and eventually resulted in a breakdown of Liberia’s relations with external creditors and donors during the latter part of the decade. The seven-year civil war wreaked havoc on Liberia’s economy, and caused most foreign businesses to flee the country.

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History:

Liberia is located on the southern part of the west coast of Africa. Its main ethnic groups include the Kru, Mandingo and Gola. There are also about 60,000 Americo-Liberians. The origins of the modern state of Liberia go back to the settlement in the nineteenth century of freed US slaves in Africa, partly in an effort to address potential social tensions which it was feared could develop in the US between freed slaves and existing slave owners (prior to the definitive abolition of the trade); and later partly to resettle in Africa those rescued from illegal slave ships as part of the drive to end slavery. Settlers started arriving in land purchased by the United States for US$300 from local chieftains in the early nineteenth century and, by 1830, numbered a thousand people. This new "land of liberty," named Liberia, continued to expand. The people united in 1839 to form the Commonwealth of Liberia under a governor appointed by the American Colonization Society, and, in 1847, the Free and Independent Republic of Liberia was proclaimed. The 1930s witnessed the penetration of the interior (inhabited by indigenous ethnic groups) by the Americo-Liberians, leading to the ultimate assimilation of these groups into the new nation. President William Tolbert was inaugurated the 10th president of Liberia in 1972. Social troubles in the late seventies resulted in populist rice riots in the capital city, Monrovia, and widespread looting and destruction. Tolbert was overthrown in 1980 following a military takeover by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. From 1980-90, when Doe headed the Liberia Government, corruption and economic mismanagement festered. In 1990, various rebellious factions (including one led by Charles Taylor) mounted an uprising against Doe, setting in motion the seven-year civil war that engulfed the country until 1997, when an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)-brokered peace returned to Liberia. Charles Taylor was elected to head a civilian government in July 1997, following democratic elections in which he captured 75% of the total votes cast. Charles Taylor was sworn in on August 2, 1997 for a term of four years. The next elections are due in 2003. The main challenges facing the Taylor Government were: to reconstruct Liberia’s shattered economy and rebuild its social fabric, a process which would require, from the outset, resettling and/or reintegrating vast numbers of refugees, displaced people and ex-combatants; to ensure that the peace process endures and that sustainable security is guaranteed throughout Liberia; and to lay foundations for economic revival and sustainable growth largely through sound economic management, good governance and creating a conducive, open and competitive climate for the growth of the private sector.

Under severe attacks of the liberation groups Lurd and Model, and after pressure from the International Community Liberian President Charles Taylor resigned as leader on August 11 2003. The official handover of power to his V.P. Moses Blah has been witnessed by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano and Togolese Prime Minister Koffi Sama. The day before Taylor delivered a defiant farewell speech in which he blamed the country's problems on the United States. At 6.15 p.m. he left Liberia to excile in Nigeria.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been chosen President of Liberia at the 8 November 2005 elections and becomes the first ever female president of Liberia and Africa. Having served as Finance Minister in William Tolbert’s True Whig government in the 1970s, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, also known as the ‘Iron Lady’, announced her intention to stand as senatorial candidate in the 1985 elections during the military rule of Samuel Doe. For a brave speech heavily critical of Doe, she was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, of which she served two short periods of detention, one before and one after the 1985 election, before fleeing the country. The years in exile until returning for the presidential race as standard-bearer of the Unity Party in 1997, gave her considerable international experience at the Citibank in Nairobi, the UNDP and the World Bank. She held the post of Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the UNDP, formulating development strategies for African economies, and was Senior Loans Officer at the World Bank. Although initially giving support to Charles Taylor’s 1989 invasion to oust Samuel Doe, Johnson-Sirleaf has been an implacable opponent ever since. Her non-involvement in the war and her financial expertise were a mainstay of her campaign message and she endeavoured to put across the image of an untainted, maternal figure. However, while her history of opposition to the Doe government was well known, she was also seen as a former minister of the Americo-Liberian dominated Tolbert government and, despite mixed ancestry, a member of the old urban elite. Charged with treason by the Taylor regime, she was quickly forced into another period of political exile, but has promised to contest the 2003 elections if at all possible.

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