SEARCHING WITHIN OUR OWN SOULS 
By:  James W. Harris
November 4, 2004

       Once again, just this past week as the matter of fact, senseless violence has reared its ugly head in our ‘poor’ country, Liberia, particularly the bullet-scarred seaside capital city of Monrovia and its adjourning suburbs.

     At a very crucial time like this when the international community led by the United Nations (UN) is doing all that it possibly can to help us resuscitate our collapsed country, it is absolutely imperative that Liberians immediately refrain from doing anything that could derail the ongoing peace process.   After being totally destroyed by a few conscienceless Liberians and their criminal cohorts, Liberians should be more than grateful to the international community for coming to their aid.

     But instead of showing our appreciation and gratitude to the international community and working with them side-by-side to first stabilize our country and then revive it, a few disgruntled Liberians seem to be desperately bent on spoiling everything.  To them, violence is the only way to resolve any problem – a lesson that they may have learned sadly from their warlord bosses who in fact are responsible for our nation’s total destruction.

     To the contrary, violence alone even if it can be justified, cannot indeed resolve problems on its own.  In most cases, it exacerbates them instead.   That’s why Liberians will have to learn to restrain themselves when dealing with each other, as violence surely will take us nowhere.

     While the “real” cause of the latest carnage in the ‘red light’ district in the Paynesville area as well as other parts of Monrovia is not yet known, I’d like to call on the Gyude Bryant interim administration to set up a committee preferably made up of our various religious leaders, traditional elders and other prominent Liberians, to immediately look into this very troublesome matter. 

     Similarly, I’d also like to make a personal appeal to Jacques Klein, the Special Representative of the [UN] Secretary-General and UNMIL Chief in Liberia, to undertake a separate investigation that would be independent of the Liberian Government in order to find out basically two things:  (1) What really happened?  And (2), who were the main perpetrators?   The answers to these two questions along with their motives could go a long way in determining how peace could really be secured in Liberia without further disturbance.

     In my view, an independent investigation is needed simply because the present Interim Government just may not have the necessary resources, financial and otherwise, the wherewithal or even the kind of courage that it would take to do an impartial investigation of the matter at hand.

     With a lot of time and money spent already trying to bring peace to our bitterly divided country, it would definitely be disastrous if we were to allow a few selfish Liberians to have their own way by derailing the shaky peace process through the use of brute force and ancient tactics.

     And so, if there ever was a time for Liberians of goodwill to come together to avert another round of senseless bloodletting that has gripped our country for the past decade or more then that time is now!  This new violence, I may add, should serve as a wake up call for all of us to begin to sober up, especially those of us that haven’t done so already.

      This latest episode of naked violence should also send a signal to all of us as an indication that Liberia really isn’t yet secured as some would like us to believe.    But admittedly, one major problem with Liberians is that we like to fool ourselves and take everything for granted.   For one reason or the other, many of us would prefer to hide from the truth and live in fantasy rather than face issues head on and deal with them, as we should.  We always like to sweep our problems under the rug rather then find lasting solutions to them.   That’s why we just can’t seem to break the circle of violence that keeps on haunting us and destroying our once vibrant country even further.

     Since this latest disturbance in Monrovia and some of its surrounding suburbs, Liberians both at home and in the Diaspora, have been trying to put their own twists and spins on the violence, especially, what was responsible for it.  As usual, many of them were not even willing to wait until all the facts came out, while others choose to dismiss outright the notion that religion too could have played a role.

     “This is not a religious war”, declared my good-ole friend, Abdoulaye W. Dukule of the web-based magazine, the Perspective, although almost every news outlet that first broke the story had made some kind of reference to religion as being partly to blame for the mayhem.   Dukule could well have been very correct, but the thing is, that when something like this happens, it’s always good to wait until all the facts are in before making any declaration.  Because after all, even his own webzine (short for web magazine) had carried a story right above Abdoul’s article (“Liberia On Fire, Again”, November 1, 2004) proclaiming loudly,   “Religious Warfare In Monrovia and Kakata…”, the Perspective, November 1, 2004).  All I’m saying here is that in times like these we have to be very patient and open-minded, taking nothing for granted! 

     We should all remember that the world is not what it used to be ten or even twenty years ago.  It’s completely different today with ever shifting interests.

     But frankly, such dismissive remarks by a person of Adboul’s caliber seem to be more like a symptom of what is actually preventing Liberians from engaging in a serious and honest dialogue about their country.   In his article, for example, he (Abdoul) says also that “Liberians need reconciliation, they need to trust each other again and they need to reconcile their differences.”  All of the above are true.   But then again, Abdoul goes on to say that:  “None of this is however possible in the absence of justice.”  I agree with him too on this score.

     However, what I’d like to point out here is that justice also has to do with the “conformity to the truth, [to the] fact or [even] reason” – something that’s apparently lacking in many Liberians today, I’m afraid

     Unless Liberians can individually search within themselves and their own souls and drive away the demon of hate that has caused us to tear each other apart and replace that hate with love and honesty toward one another, it’s very difficult to see just how our one country could eventually overcome hate and move toward peace after more then 15 years of absolute chaos.

     In order to achieve peace, Liberians will first have to learn to be sincere and dead honest with each other, because that’s the best way to build or even restore trust.  And that trust, not to mention, must be based solely on what we do and not what we say.  The time for empty talk is just about gone.  It’s now time for action – positive action!

     As our now destroyed country still lies in coma on its deathbed waiting for its sickness to be thoroughly diagnosed like any other patient, it’s only fitting that we give it the correct medicine to prevent it from dying.  Honest dialogue, therefore, on the part of each and every Liberian, must become the main vehicle for finding the most adequate prescription for our ill country.

     In diagnosing our country’s many problems in this light, Liberians need to lay everything bare.  Everything must be put on the table for frank discussions, whether its about religion, tribalism, ethnicity, corruption, etc., putting aside our individual preferences and preconceived ideas about these things.  We really need to think soberly about what is currently happening to our country with the hope of opening a new dialogue.  We need to put away our own prejudices and make our natural differences the source of our strength.   Doing it any other way would only be pretentious or superficial!  At best, it will only prolong our nightmare.

     Given the present situation on the ground, the Interim Government or even the UNMIL could clamp down harshly or arrest any number of people.   But honesty, would such measures be sufficient to prevent another carnage from taking place in Liberia?  I really don’t think so!   What we need to do is to find out the actual cause (s) of the violence, then take the appropriate steps to fix it or them.

     This is where sound or good leadership comes in.  This is also where our religious institutions, elders and other prominent citizens have a significant role to play, doing away, of course, with egotism, opportunism and all the other negative vices that have been preventing Liberians from coming together as one people.   I must admit, though, that our religious institutions, notably, the National Muslim Council of Liberia and their counterpart, the Liberian Council of Churches, have done their best in the immediate past to keep religion completely out of the picture in our national crises.  And I strongly urge them to keep doing just that.

     On the other hand, we can’t totally ignore the possibility that our religious leaders too may be polarized just like the rest of our seemingly sick society.  But there’s always room for “honest” dialogue as we try to find solutions to our mounting problems.  As such, we need to look deeply within ourselves.

     In any case, notwithstanding, we must begin to separate the good guys from the bad ones in the literal sense.  This is very important as a single bad apple can ruin the whole pile – a rather simple fact of life.

     Obviously, we can’t go on indefinitely finding only artificial solutions to our huge problems.  As Liberians, we must together begin to find “real” solutions to our “real” problems instead of constantly taking everything for granted.   If we should fail to do the right thing for our country then I can say that it is doomed forever.

     Already, the NTGL has begun to point fingers at some so-called “unidentified individuals”, who it believes, “organized and financed” the latest riots, according to recent news reports.

     But actually, the government needs to do more than that.  What this interim administration or any future Liberian government really needs to do is to try and resolve some of the longstanding issues that have been plaguing our country, Liberia, and its badly traumatized people.  I’m talking about issues of mass poverty, crippling illiteracy, raw tribalism, continuing inequality, fairness, etc.

     In short, I’m referring to issues that generally give rise to discontent and envy which normally lead to senseless violence.  Finding lasting solutions to any of the above issues that I’ve just raised above would in turn deny the ammunition to all those who want to destabilize our country for their own selfish ends.  Resolving such issues would also help to contain supposed enemies of the Liberian state since they would have no other excuses to take on the government.

     Or, to put it more bluntly, the government really needs to start focusing on improving the socio-economic conditions of our people.  We know that this certainly is no small task, but it surely can be done with the right kind of leadership, commitment and foresight.

     To me, that would be the surest way to dig ourselves out of the mess that we find ourselves in today (thanks to the Bacchus Matthews and Charles Taylors of the world).

     Individually, though, Liberians need to look deeply within themselves (their very own souls), bearing in mind that “we’re all our brothers’ keepers” regardless of the few hoodlums, gangsters and losers amongst us.  I mean, we just can’t permit them to steal our hopes and dreams of a peaceful Liberia for all of us.

     In this regard, I’d sincerely like to appeal to all Liberians, especially those at home, to remain calm and patient as the appropriate authorities hopefully investigate this case of unwarranted violence.  I’d also like to urge them to desist immediately from further disturbing the already shaky peace that our people are presently enjoying – thanks to the UN and others who have assisted us so far.   But the fact still remains that the destiny of our country lies in our very own hands.

     At this very critical time in our nation’s turbulent history, we just can’t afford to let the bad guys win, because, after all, they’re not the only ones that have claims to Liberia – we all do, don’t we!