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Effects of the Americo-Liberian Syndrome on the Indigenous-A Dilemma, Mandingoes As Case Study
Sep 22, 2007
Varfley A. Dolleh
 Introduction:
Political actors on the both ends of the divide, especially, from the aboriginal perspectives on the one hand, and the Americo-Liberians on the other hand, have been at each other throats in recent days trying to justify the merits and demerits of their actions, in the aftermath of the publication of an article, “The Reemergence of the Americo-Liberians Hegemony,” specifically, the pre and post 1980 epoch of the both political entities, necessitating an attempt in meticulously reconciling the both segments of the society, with the “Mandingoes” specifically being used as a case study.
Historical Connection:
In consonance with the spirit of humanism and the need to preserve the white hegemony, and the positive effects of the “Industrial Revolution”, it became essential to find a place of dwelling for African brothers and sisters that had earlier been shipped to the great land of the white man as slaves, enduring the worst form of human degradation. As a result, it was no surprise when in the 1800s, emancipated Africans were sent back to Africa, with some sent to Sierra Leone, while others came to what is known today as the Republic of Liberia.
It is saddened to note that in the Americas, they were enslaved, suppressed, depressed, demonized, criminalized, ostracized, and subjected to abject misery as though they were not human beings. With the memory of slavery fresh on mind, and the visibility of suffering and human degradation on their faces upon arrival, the indigenous felt despondent about their situation with the provision of dwellings one would execute for a suffering brother with no hope of survival. It was compassion with no dialect or identity, having lost every thing in slavery barely naked. As usual, they were accorded the needed African geniality deserving a lost family hoping that they would have been incorporated leading to building a prosperous society for every African, but the opposite.
Victims of Historical Circumstances:
It is a pity that our brothers and sisters having been emancipated from slavery we must be overly annoyed with them for their negative deeds. It must be understood that many of them lost their minds and intellects with only the ills and ingredients of cruelty and enslavement harbored as the sole legacy upon return to motherland. We need to be reasonable with them realizing that they are traumatize and still suffering from the aftermath of the repressive system they underwent for years. What is required from the indigenous is the will power to have our brothers and sisters cleansed so that they will be able to cope with the new reality of the 21st Century. You can see the level of development by other Africans, unlike our tentacle of the slaves who are still confused fighting to nourish themselves in the abominable institutionalization. It may take years, but with patient and commitment things could work out. It will take considerable length of time to de-traumatize them from the stigma of slavery. Why should one be proud as being referred as descendants of slaves? What prosperous about your lineage being connected to slavery? You see the irony; we need to help them, rid them from this false sense of glorification.
Mandingoes Factor:
Unlike other native tribes, when the slaves brothers and sisters arrived, they observed that the Mandingoes had made progress in trade and commerce, governance, conflict resolutions and warfare. Apart, they had vast Kingdom extending from “Bellima, Duala, up to Bupolu”. More besides, they were the most formidable tribe among the natives. As the settlers gradually established, they found out that unlike other tribes, the Mandingoes were immovable tribe that couldn’t easily yield to manipulation. It is common knowledge that they tried to persuade Mandingoes to be “Christianized” but to no avail. Apart, they tried to make the Mandingoes to alter there names but unsuccessful. They realized that the Mandingoe man was far superior and much more knowledgeable and smarter than them. The next thing was to have him lured to drinking and indulging in to contemptible crimes, again futile. As a consequence, they realized that the best way out was to marginalize this group of people as being alien. This was the beginning of the estrangement process that our people are experiencing today. They made other tribal groupings that succumbed to them to regard the Mandingoes as aliens. It was utter transgression at the highest level. They felt the need that they couldn’t single handily deal with the Mandingoes with out seeking the help of other indigenous. So the divide and rule technique was applied which is still being nourished today. Why only the Mandingo man under attack as alien, when almost every other tribe came from a neighboring country? The reason was simple to squash any would be dissent among the indigenous.
King Sao Bosso Kamara and the Settlers:
It is absolute ungratefulness the failure of the Americo-Liberians to positively grasp the role of the Mandingo King, Sao-Bosso Kamara in ensuring that they settled on the coast. It was him who ensured that the Bassa People upheld the agreement consummated with the settlers regarding a piece of land purchased. Had it not been for him, probably, they would have remained in a state of limbo with no mentioned of them in the anal of Liberia history. How can your host become a foreigner? “Having sold your land and eaten the money, the agreement as consummated needed to be upheld or I would have your head cut off”, says King Sao- Bosso Kamara. My genealogy is linked to this great King from my mother side. You can see the aristocratic nature of my inner making, which is not manifested in any way in my action, or treatment of my subjects unlike the Americo-Liberians.
His majestic, the enviable, illustrious, and memorable King reciprocated similar gesture, when the Golas told the settlers to relocated and give up lands occupied around the “Brewerville, Lott Carey, up to Suhen areas” or face the wrath of the tribe. Amidst the confusion and the inability to fight the belligerent tribe, they again, begged the Mandingo King to come to their rescue. “These people are our African brothers and sisters poor, malnourished, disillusioned, confused, coming from slavery with no means of survival and place of dwelling; if you don’t leave them, I will cut off your heads as I did to King Long John Peter”, says the formidable King. What a pity on the part of this Mandingo King? It was an expression of his munificence, which should have been reciprocated positively, unlike what is being portrayed today.
The situation of the Mandingoes in Liberia didn’t come as a surprise upon reading the positive deeds of this group of Africans. Since then, they have always been seen as a threat that could reawaken the consciousness of other tribes in being rebellious to the Americo-Liberian hegemony. This is how other tribes that became docile were made to blend the Mandingoes as aliens, nourished by successive generation up to the present. It may take lot of awareness program to undo the damages done by successive generation of rulers that have been mainly dominated by the same group of Americo-Liberians.
Heinous in cooperation:
Unlike the Mandingoes, the Americo-Liberian succeeded in incorporating other natives viciously as slaves in their own country. In short, they were avenging the ills of the white man. Upon visiting a town or village, they went to the head of a household and made him to understand that their way of life was terrible and uncivilized. For example, if your name was “Vanga Fambullah”, they told you that your new name was now on “John Tubman.” Or if your name was “Kebeh Yakpawolo”, you were told that your new name was “Mary Tolbert or Juliet Dennis.” That was the evil trend of the day amidst naivety on the part of the indigenous in yielding to this exploitation. Having done that, those natives were made to do slavery jobs that normally, they wouldn’t do under normal condition. Many lost their identity for fear of being accepted. Some were opportune to have married Settlers daughter forcing them to lose their origin. Many of these people are today left in the cold regretting for the mistakes.
False identity Crisis:
Up to now, many of these people are blindly parading the corridor of their ancestral homes carrying this false sense of glorification with out any remuneration to them. Even among the Mandingoes Community, we have seen people calling them selves, “Morris Sekou Sheriff, Thomas Mamadee Dukuly, Anthony Alieu Dolleh, Sam Yaya Donzo among others”. What do you want to prove by being counterfeit? In fact, one recently told me to join the demonic Masonic society in Liberia in order to be accepted. Another one told me to form part of the homosexual club. Complete nonsense. Why would I want to change my name or join the “Masonic or homosexual club”? I call on the natives to abhor these superficial and demonic establishments that will not carry them anywhere. Be proud of your self and eliminate the phony attachment to your names that wouldn’t serve you any purpose. Please, it is pure ignorance and absolute naivety. Listen, working in a Government if you are qualified is a right not a privilege. Apart, nothing last forever. What is destined for you shall see your face. Why must you attached names to your selves that the settlers children will not do? They don’t want to be like you. It is only you who wants to be seen as one of them. This is identity crisis and broad day insanity. Learn to say no, in the wake of newfound freedom. You have been redeemed from the state of bondage you were placed in. This is the time for enlightenment and transformation. Never again, will we surrender.
Casualty of the Congo syndrome:
I can vividly recall my days in high school at the Moslem Congress High School, in Monrovia, Liberia. One of my shortcomings was, wanting to be like students from the B.W. Harris High School. Amusingly, our uniform was no different from theirs. So every time I saw them walking, many days went among them pretending to be one of them. At times, I tore off the badge in order to openly impersonate. One of the reasons was the bullying being from a comparative English and Arabic School dominated by Mandingoes and Moslems. “Mandingo School mess up or (Fese), a cliché”, was the common statement from students from other institutions. I lost my self-esteem crying many days asking why did my father enroll me at the school? I didn’t know that in fact, I was better than most of those that mocked me, in that I learnt English and Arabic concurrently. Today, I am proud to note that it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I am ever more grateful to my parents for being steadfast and un- relentless. I am bilingual fluent in English and Arabic unlike my detractors. Many of those that were ashamed ended being drunks and liabilities to society. Upon graduation we all entered the University of Liberia making the utmost difference. The future is unknown, but our pace of development is far progressive unlike them.
Social promiscuity:
Talking to a friend yesterday, he asked me why we always want to married Americo-Liberian women unlike our own? I initially got irritated, but controlled my emotion realizing that what he said was the fact. I am a prey of this pseudo-representation. Growing up in Monrovia, we had on mind that those settlers fall out girls were the best. It was something to be proud of when one was told that you were dating a Congo girl. I saw many of my friends fighting desperately to be found in that corner. I blindly and naively thought that their motherly composition was different from our indigenous girls, especially, the Mandingoes. I can tell you it is an untold secret to be at ease with your self home. It was a terrible mistake and had to pay costly price for the shortcoming. Today, I am proud to note that in deed, our indigenous women are the best to marry, unlike that false sense of social miscalculation that destroyed the homes of many natives. There are many of our successful brothers that were in the vanguard of this social calculus that are regretting today. Never again, will I form part of this social bankruptcy. In fact, I am going to marry more than one wives in order to help fill the social gap in the wake of the marginal increase in the ratio of men to women.
In conclusion:
In the wake of this great unresponsiveness, I call on the indigenous to be mindful about their history, especially, the inhumane treatment underwent in the hands of the few self-proclaimed aristocrats. Never again, should we allow divisiveness to breed in our midst. We must forge unity amidst diversity in order to build our common patrimony. As we said before we are in the preparatory stage in constituting the “Consultative Committee” for the plan conference of the natives in readiness for the impending election that must be won by an indigenous.
Again, as usual we want to hear your thoughts at Varfley1@yahoo.com or (215)-666-2506, PA USA All rights reserved.
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