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IN
THE SPIRITS OF RECONCILIATION On August 28th, 2004, The Liberian
Mandingoes Reconciliation Conference Committee held a fund raising dinner
in Brooklyn, New York. The purpose of the fund raising was to raise some
money towards the airfares of the delegates coming from Liberia to attend
the three-day convention scheduled for the 24th through the 26th
of September 2004. Even though the expectation of having an overwhelming
and generous response from our community was not met, the efforts and the
results produced was not bad. The committee and its members that worked
for this, deserves commendation for their steadfastness. At least it moved
us some inches towards the objective. After all, “Rome wasn’t built in
one day.” And the Chinese proverb says that a thousand mile journey
begins with a single step. Taking all these into consideration, we must
pat the organizers of the August 28th event on their backs for
having the courage to do something for this worthy cause. Since the end of the ULIMO struggle the idea of
reconciliation among the Mandingoes in and outside of Liberia has been on
everyone’s mind but how to approach it has been the difficult part. Many
initiatives in the past have failed to materialize as a result of
intractable disagreements. Other factors of failure have been the weak
leadership demonstrated by those entrusted with the responsibility to make
things happen. It’s against this background that the Mandingo
Reconciliation Conference Committee undertook the current project. The
question is, can this committee succeed where others have failed? Whatever
the results may be, it’s obvious that the failure of the current efforts
will further dampen the hope of our people of ever forging a united front
to confront the many problems we have. This is why it’s absolutely
important that we succeed this time as a community. For the Mandingoes of Liberia, the ULIMO struggle was
a bittersweet experience. While the Mandingoes in general applauded and
supported the war efforts of ULIMO, not everyone approved the way its
chairman, Mr. Alhaji Kromah handled the affairs of the organization. Those
that opposed Mr. Kromah in any way were ridiculed and called all sorts of
names. They were labeled as “enemies of Mandingo progress.” Relatives
and friends that have been bounded by religious and cultural ties over the
years saw themselves on the opposite sides of this divide, and it was
often acrimonious. People viewed each other with deep suspicion. Then came
the election of Charles Taylor that sent most of the leadership of ULIMO
into exile. Some of those that had endured ridicule and humiliation under
Mr. Kromah might have thought it was their time to laugh finally, but
their laughter turned sour when Mr. Taylor and supporters continued their
policy of persecuting the ethnic group. This was a compelling reason for
reconciliation among the Mandingoes. However compelling the need for
reconciliation may be, the people have not demonstrated enough courage to
overcome the past and unite for the future. It’s on this ground that Mr.
Mohammed Keita and other committee members on the current reconciliation
efforts have stood apart from others before them because they have
invested so much efforts and resources towards the objectives. As the date
of the conference nears, the committee still has a lot of convincing to do
as many have expressed their reservations as to the motives of the
committee members. Whatever that may be the short coming of this committee
so far, it must be commended for its bold initiatives. It can only be good
that those that think otherwise will approach the efforts with more open
mind rather than stay with the same mindset of viewing every attempt with
suspicion. For a community that has largely been apolitical, and
engaged mostly in trading and other economic ventures, ULIMO experience
was something new. It’s that political inexperience that made us to
regard as enemies those with opposing views. But we must learn from our
past mistakes that caused us to see each other as enemies. We must respect
each other even if we disagree with each other. As we say all these,
let’s trace the current reconciliation efforts to our recent past. Back
in 2002 when Limany invited Mr. Alhaji Kromah to serve as a keynote
speaker for one of their programs, it set off a firestorm of controversy
between those for and against Limany’s decision. There were acrimonious
email exchanges between the two sides, with brothers and sisters
responding from Africa, Europe and America. Some people who have never
said anything public before were energized to say something this time. It
was during this program that your humble servant underscored the need for
reconciliation within our community. Both sides of the divide embraced the
call for reconciliation. This positive response led to the setting up of
Amara Konneh committee which was charged with the responsibility to draw
up the agenda for future reconciliation among our people. The Amara Konneh
committee produced a brilliant document that has now become the conference
charter for the forth-coming program. All those that have gone through
this document can attest to the clarity of the vision expressed and it
will certainly agree that indeed our time has come. With this in mind, let
us seize the opportunity to serve our people.
 Towards this end, I will urge the committee to
aggressively move and engage key elements in New York, New Jersey,
Philadelphia and elsewhere. It’s clear that the Limany leadership is
behind the efforts, but it’s also imperative that Mr. Bangalie Donzo,
Mr. Varlee Keita must be persuaded to come on board. It’s in this same
vein that I will urge the committee to engage Mr. Omar Dolley of Quardu
Gbonie and Mamadee Kromah of Philadelphia Mandingo Association. In this
light, I will also urge that we welcome other people’s inputs. Together
there is a strong possibility that we will succeed.
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The purpose of this coming convention is not to do
anything that may be inimical to the over all interest of reconciliation,
peace and unity in Liberia. It is to formulate a common agenda as a
response to issues that affect our community in Liberia. The committee
members express the hope that this convention will better prepare us to
dialogue with other Liberians with whom we have had sour relationship over
the years. This is surely true and it’s hope that everyone will
understand this. Even though the collective leadership of the
Philadelphia-New York-Quadu Gbonie Mandingo Association of New Jersey may
have some reservation about the conference, the leaders must recognize its
failed efforts and rally behind the current efforts. There has been more
time, energy and resources pumped into the reconciliation efforts this
time than any time before. Indeed it’s absolutely necessary for all of
us to rally around for a great success.
