Scott Family Fellows: Views From Liberia

Missing the One-Armed Man

2008-04-02T16:30:16Z

Yes, it's true, I'd like to be able to vacation in Vegas. But that doesn't seem like a good blog entry for CGD, so I thought I'd write about something else instead. Though if anyone's looking for a blackjack buddy and has the scratch for the short hop from Monrovia, give a shout ;-)

A few days ago, I was in one of Monrovia's nicer hotels, using the wireless internet to get some work done (by which I mean checking out all my buddies' facebook updates and reading stories on the NCAA tournament. I'm putting my Liberty on Izzo's boys as the sleeper pick).

I looked over at a dude a few tables over, and I could swear I recognized him - eventually I realized he was the husband of one of my colleagues, a truly wonderful woman who is really one of the engines driving things forward at the Ministry Finance. So I took a couple glances at him to be sure, then wandered over and said hello.

He wasn't the guy I thought of; but this being Liberia, he of course knew the man I had confused him for. He agreed that they looked alike, but pointed out that my colleague's husband - the man I had mistaken him for - has only one arm. He seemed to imply that people with a visibly obvious disability don't often get confused for those who are normally abled - and it's true that while I like to think I treat persons with disabilities and those without equally, I think it's hard to say I as a matter of course don''t notice seeing eye dogs, wheelchairs, or missing limbs.

But here I did exactly that, missing the missing limb (if only the double-negative here brought the limb back, eh?). At first I felt fairly dumb, as I'm known for the occasional idiocy in this regard (my family still teases me about a long ago confusion of ducks and swans). Then I felt good about myself - 'Dan, well done, you've really crossed a line in your dealings with persons with disabilities'. Then (and I suppose this timing says something about my solipsism - this is after all about the 20th "I" in this blog post) I started to think about the context.

In Liberia, while I don't know the numbers, a heck of a large percentage of the population is disabled, often the result either of the war or of poor nutrition. So many that I think it becomes commonplace; it is unremarkable to see someone with no legs pull up to the curb in a wheelchair, then use his arms to move into the store, parking his wheelchair at the curb (handicapped ramps are a few years off, as you might imagine). What's remarkable about this is how regular it makes disability. My uncle, who's blind, has spoken to me before about the awkwardness of explaining disability in America sometimes being as or more cumbersome as the actual loss of ability. Here, that's much less the case; the problem - which is certainly large - is centered more on the loss of capacity.

The hard part to figure is how to respond. Equality of access is, it seems to me based on no specialized knowledge of any sort, usually pitched in the west as a sort of Rawlsian human rights issue. All individuals, regardless of their physical state, ought have the opportunity to work, live, etc., to participate fully in the fabric of society.

Here, oughts don't play. No one ought make less than a dollar a day for hard work. No one ought to have gone through what so many folks here have dealt with for decades. But that's the reality, tragic though it may be. The question is what to do now - and the answer to that, it seems to me, needs to be a practical one. What investments are absolutely critical (I think of this as plugging holes in the boat)? Among those that aren't absolutely critical to ensure the ship doesn't sink, what has the greatest impact, and moreover changes the velocity of change, not just the level? (probably bigger sails, not cushy benches)

I find myself wondering if there isn't scope to reevaluate 'rights' as the foundation for pushing for equality. With so many persons living with disabilities, this is a big sector - a big market, a big share of the labor force, to exclude, with all the implications that has both on economic development and on security, in the peacebuilding sense (unhappy folks are more likely to want to scrap the boat and try their luck on a raft). Maybe inclusion is more like a sail and less like a bench than I would have thought; I also wonder if there isn't a space somewhere to focus explicitly on employment for the disabled, not as charity but as a money-making venture... of course, someone probably has, and I just don't know it (total research before writing this = 0),

But it does make me think about my feelings towards folks with disabilities here, and the foundations on which my belief in equal treatment does, and should, rest.

Here's your chance to become a fellow in Liberia!

2008-03-27T23:39:38Z

We have begun recruiting for the next round of Liberia fellows who will head out to Monrovia this summer! Are you a young professional with a Masters degree (e.g., an MBA, MPP, MPH, or a law degree) and one year of related experience, or a Bachelor's degree with at least three years of related experience? Are you flexible, energetic, willing to work long hours and do both influential and mundane tasks in a challenging environment with constrained resources?

The current Fellows provide support to senior Liberian government officials in the realms of policy, speechwriting, ministerial coordination and administration (particularly in areas related to economics and finance). You can read about their experiences on this blog. This round, we are recruiting at least one person with a background and interest in generating economic and employment opportunities for young women. Liberians are especially encouraged to apply!

Under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia is stable and is working to boost economic growth, improve life for all Liberians and move towards a more propserous future. Do you think you have what it takes? If so, please click here to see the complete job posting and to get information on how to apply. We look forward to receiving your application!

Stand Up and Be Counted

2008-03-21T13:40:59Z

March 21st: Today's a holiday here, not because it's good Friday, but because it's census day. Imagine how excited folks in the US would be if they got a day off for this!

The day, though, underscores the importance of data and the poor data environment in which the Government of Liberia, and its partners, operates.

A few months ago, I was meeting with a donor who said, essentially, "I'm concerned. This government's been in power 2 years and unemployment is still 85%!" Ignoring methodological concerns for the moment (are informal petty traders unemployed? What about subsistence farmers?) the simple fact of the matter is that this, as with many oft-quoted government statistics, is entirely a fabrication. Basically, if you got the right few people in the room once a month, you could change the official rate, based on no data whatsoever.

Yet look at those famous Penn tables, or check out the CIA world factbook, and you're left to believe that there are solid numbers everywhere.

We all know numbers can be used to lie, to mislead. But sometimes, having any numbers at all is misleading. It's led me to start wondering: What purpose should numbers - everything from GDP to growth rate - serve? It seems to me that the answer to this is to inform planning - by government, by partners, by those looking to use your country in a regression analysis (hopefully not involving probits, I still don't understand those) to figure out the impact of x on y cross-country. None of these aims is served by having false numbers - what is served, I guess, is the statistician's desire for one less blank, the analyst's desire for a more complete data set that will get that 5% CI '**' after results, or the GoL or on-the-ground partner's desire for one less awkward explanation when someone from outside, or the home office, asks a question like "How many people are unemployed?"

Today, though, is another step towards building knowledge, towards information. After collecting a good deal of data in the run-up to the PRS, the census should give us solid answers to questions like "How many Liberians are there in Liberia?" We're all looking forward to that as a first step to having good answers to questions, and building up the knowledge, and data, that will allow for better planning for the government and donors alike.

In the meantime, let's start pushing the US gov't for a census holiday...

Standing with Liberia's First Female President

2008-03-07T16:49:12Z

[This article was published in the Winter ‘07-‘08 Alumnae Magazine for Georgetown Visitation, an all girls’ college preparatory school in Washington, D.C. It is posted here in celebration of International Women’s Day, March 8.]

Once upon a time, I was certain I’d someday be Liberia’s first female president. It was a foregone conclusion in my mind.

I’d always had an affinity for the country that I’d left at the tender age of six, one year before a brutal civil war erupted. I believed that though I wasn’t in Liberia, Liberia was always in me. So why not go back and make broad-sweeping reforms in the country’s post-war state, I thought to myself.

I remember penning an overly ambitious biographical sketch for the Georgetowner in my senior year at Visi; the words just flowed like a stream of consciousness torrent. My teenage angst and romanticism had gotten the best of me, really, but I had a smidgen of hope that I could set the record straight—the Guinness Book of World Records, that is. I was certain that my tough exterior and sharp intellect would help me navigate and infiltrate the heavily masculine “all boys network” of African politics, or world politics for that matter. That was a 17-year-old’s wishful thinking.

Needless to say, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf beat me to Liberia’s presidency in 2005 when she surprised everyone by edging ahead of the populist favorite, soccer star-humanitarian- turned-politician, George Weah.
Now I work for her.

I serve as a bridge between the Liberian executive and the general public, a connector, a communications strategist, a filter. I’m an information disseminator, of sorts.

No doubt Liberia has become the epi-center of my life’s journey to date. My path to the presidency has taken some interesting twists and turns—from harboring ambitions about being the country’s first woman president to covering the November 2005 elections for a local D.C. community newspaper. My naiveté certainly never prepared me for the day-to-day challenges of a female head-of-state.

The problems are many and the triumphs tend to pale in comparison. I’m learning a hell of a lot about what it takes to repave the foundation of a broken country, with broken institutions. There are a lot of broken people here. Some walk around with physical, emotional and psychological scars and wounds from the war, others attempt to hide them under a slight veneer of indifference. We’re essentially all walking on gravestones, and the reminders of 14 years of conflict-ridden under-development are stark.

The laundry list of necessities weighs heavily like a cloak: restoration of infrastructure, poverty reduction, job creation, debt relief, truth and reconciliation, rebuilding governance and the rule of law structures, high crime rates, illiteracy, free compulsory education for all, under-reported HIV/AIDS incidence rates. All these challenges and more would keep any leader awake at night. That’s probably why President Sirleaf, in all her 69-year-old glory, is usually the last one to clock out of the Executive Mansion. The thrill of watching first-hand from the sidelines as she and her Cabinet handle the Herculean task of rebuilding Liberia has been the ultimate roller coaster ride, and perhaps one of the real perks of my job.

In just two years of Sirleaf’s presidency, she has paved the way for balancing Liberia’s budget; clearing the country’s arrears with the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank (one of the first steps in corralling Liberia’s ballooning $4.7 billion debt); restoring electricity to key pockets of the country’s capital after decades of darkness; renegotiating concession agreements with the controversial Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Liberia’s #1 employer to date, as well as securing a $1.5 billion contract with Arcellor Mittal, the largest steel producer in the world, to develop Liberia’s iron ore mining sector; restructuring the country’s military command; and instituting free compulsory primary education. These triumphs, and more, attest to the roving locomotive that is the Sirleaf machinery.

She’s a role model for many people, including me. The first time I heard President Sirleaf speak in front of a live American audience, I couldn’t help thinking, “She’s sharp, and a bona fide pistol.” The newly elected first female head of state in Liberia (and Africa) had to be that and more to pull off a victory in November 2005, against a slew of male candidates vying for the same political pie.

She has replaced history with a sobering dose of herstory.

She’s not alone. Whereas governments of the past have been mired in patriarchal fisticuffs over power, Sirleaf mitigated the masculine nature of Liberian politics by plucking five professional women from their former strongholds and placing them in high level government positions. Dr. Antoinette Sayeh, formerly of the World Bank, is currently Finance Minister, and Olubanke King-Akerele, formerly of UNDP, serves as Sirleaf’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. There’s also Varbah Gayflor, Minister of Gender; Etmonia Tarpeh, Minister of Youth and Sports; and Frances Johnson-Morris, Minister of Commerce. This feminization of higher politics parallels an increasingly active female electorate in Liberia, many of whom brought Sirleaf to the presidency by campaigning in local markets and influencing their children to vote for the woman affectionately dubbed “Ol’ Ma.” This prominence is not quite new: Ruth Sando Perry served as the first African woman head of state when she was appointed Council Chairman of Liberia’s ad hoc government during the Abuja Accords immediately before Charles Taylor’s election in 1997. But it is suggestive. The five female Cabinet ministers sit at the right hand of the ‘Ol Ma,’ accorded the same level of professionalism as their male counterparts. They speak with authority. They perform with a kind of legitimacy that was unheard of 20 years ago.

Liberia’s ethos has become a feminized ethos.:

Women, oh, women! Women, oh, women! What men can do, women can do it…What men can do, women can do it (better)! This is the chant often pulsating from circles of women, led by Liberia’s Gender Minister. With multi-colored lappas hugging generous curves and heads adorned with matching wraps, Liberian women often jump up, buoyed by these chants that legitimate their claim to a piece of the political and social pie. Yes, there’s a new energy in Liberia, and it’s primarily a feminized energy, an energy that exudes change.

Being a woman in Liberia nowadays is like waking up with a jolt from a long dream, and realizing that you were sleepwalking all along. Being female in Liberia nowadays is like claiming your own humanity as a birthright. Being a woman in Liberia nowadays is like recovering from a psychosomatic disorder, and realizing that you were conditioned to be handicapped.

But no more. Being a woman in Liberia nowadays is akin to a rebirth.

I see that rebirth everyday. Walking along Tubman Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in Monrovia, (Liberia’s capital), I see market women out on the streets selling candles, hot scalding ripened bananas, grilled fish, or even roasted peanuts. They are also in stalls, bartering for colorful fabric to be sewed by some of the most seasoned tailors. They stroll up and down with bundles strapped to their heads in the hot sun during Liberia’s merciless dry season. They are the country’s breadwinners. In the hustle bustle of city life, white-collar professional women dressed in power suits duke it out with their male counterparts for a space in rickety yellow shared taxis. They are heading to jobs that put food on the table. They are heads of households.

It never occurred to me why a single-sex education might be beneficial until I was plunged into a society seething with gender disparities, as are most societies in our globalized world.

It’s a testament to the fact that when you educate a woman, you educate a nation. We are the cultural transmitters, the incubators of history, a society’s mores and folkways. We are the conduits of peace and prosperity.
As a young Liberian woman who recently returned to the country in its post-conflict hey-day, I understand all too well how women have become the backbone of this country. President Sirleaf has shown me that you can be an ‘Ol Ma’ and ‘Iron Lady’ simultaneously. Gender, though a social construct, can be mutable and transformative.
My Georgetowner musings seem like eons ago, and a tad sobering. Being in the proximity of such strong powerful women is almost as thrilling, if not more so, than sitting in the throne of the presidency itself.

Thank goodness for life’s circuitous routes. Thank goodness for the feminization of politics.

Conor Hartman Quoted in the Media (Again)!

2008-02-22T17:14:54Z

In this blog posted by Kevin Corke, a NBC News White House Correspondent, Conor Hartman speaks about optimism and progress in Liberia.

Quote:

"I know it's hard to tell if you've just gotten here from the U.S. or from another African country, but Liberia has made amazing progress in just a short time," said Conor Hartman, an advisor to Liberia’s Internal Affairs minister.
"Liberia was at rock bottom, but with good governance and continued growth I think you'll continue to see a great turn around."

It's not hard for Hartman to be optimistic. Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-banker who is known affectionately among her people as the "Iron Lady," is making progress.

Read the rest of the original post that quotes Conor at MSNBC.

Scott Family Fellow Conor Hartman Featured in the Media

2008-02-22T17:03:42Z

Conor Hartman, a Scott Family Fellow working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was featured in this article from America.gov, on Feb. 21, 2008.

American Volunteer Helps Liberians Realize a Better Life
Development specialist Conor Hartman praises the country’s leadership

Monrovia, Liberia -- “Liberia is the kind of country I wanted to come to as an American to be of assistance,” development specialist Conor D. Hartman says.

Hartman, a Scott Family Liberia Fellow, is in the country for one year to make a difference as a special adviser to the Liberian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He has been in Liberia for seven months and has worked elsewhere in Africa, including southern Sudan.

Hartman told America.gov he thinks Americans “have an obligation to help move the Liberians from a long civil war situation into an era of stability, economic growth and development. If you look at countries around the world that are emerging from conflict, Liberia is the most promising of all, in no small part because you have the best leadership team and most qualified president, with a very capable Cabinet.”

Harvard-educated President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given by the United States, on November 5, 2007. Her government, Hartman said, “is committed to making [Liberia] a better country for young Liberians and Liberians who are unborn.”

“With that kind of leadership,” he said, “in a very short period of time they turned this from a very serious war and conflict situation to one where you have tremendous growth and investment happening.”

Since the end of the country’s civil war, the United States has helped Liberia revitalize its economy, strengthen good governance and the rule of law and deliver basic services, and has provided more than $750 million in direct support. The United States also funds one-quarter of the costs of the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Liberia.

Hartman, who is seeking to help Liberians who are less affluent than he is, said the country is achieving a high rate of economic growth under the Sirleaf government. Real gross domestic product growth rates were 2.6 percent in 2004, 5.3 percent in 2005, 7.8 in 2006 and 9.5 percent in 2007, he said. The statistics he quotes come directly from the Liberian government’s Draft Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

With the election of the Sirleaf government, Hartman said, the former banker has “turned this from a very serious, war conflict situation to one where the environment favors tremendous growth and investment”

From 1989 to 1996, one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars took place in Liberia, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing 1 million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries. The country endured many more years of uncertainty until November 23, 2005, when the Liberian Election Commission announced that Sirleaf had been elected the country’s president and the first freely elected woman president in Africa.

Significant growth in cement manufacturing and services has helped fuel those high economic growth rates, he said. A retooling of contracts in the country’s extractive industries -- such as rubber, hardwood, iron ore and diamonds -- is expected to bring even higher levels of economic growth to the country, according to the draft poverty report, as those sectors become more integrated into the country’s economy.

Commenting on the important links between the United States and Liberia, Hartman called those ties “very strong.” The country was founded by former American slaves in the 1800s, and during the war years in the 1990s many Liberians left for the United States, he said.

The Liberian government system was modeled on the American system, with three separate branches of government, and economic systems are based on the American model of free enterprise, Hartman added. For that reason, he said, “of all the places where America is investing money today, this is the one where I think we have the best chance of making a big difference and turning the situation around.”

Key attributes of the Sirleaf government, Hartman said, include good governance, transparency, accountability and a commitment to peace -- “all of the basic principles needed to bring in critical investment."

Liberia, “land of the free,” was founded by free African Americans and freed slaves from the United States. An initial group of 86 immigrants, who came to be called Americo-Liberians, established a settlement in Christopolis (now Monrovia, named after U.S. President James Monroe) on February 6, 1820.

Thousands of freed American slaves and free African Americans arrived during the following years, leading to the formation of more settlements and culminating in a declaration of independence of the Republic of Liberia on July 26, 1847.

Getting Ready for Bush

2008-02-19T17:03:40Z

On Thursday, President Bush will be stopping in Liberia for 5 hours to meet with President Sirleaf. Monrovia’s hotels are awash with American security and presidential advance teams. Roads that have sorely been in the need of repair are suddenly being torn up and re-paved – all because the motorcade will be passing over them. Fences are getting re-painted and decorations are going up on the unoccupied Executive Mansion. This is a big event for Liberia. Rumor has it that Thursday might even be declared a national holiday. On Saturday I attended a meeting of the traditional chiefs from the 15 counties. In his opening remarks, the chairman of the National Traditional Council said, “in Liberia, we have Jesus Christ. Not so?” The chiefs affirmed. “On Thursday, God is coming.” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Jesus Christ and President Bush is God. That’s one way of putting it.

Peacebuilding Fund Supports Liberia at US$15 million

2008-02-11T15:27:10Z

In mid-December, the UN Peace Building Fund (PBF) awarded US$15 million to Liberia for short-term, catalytic peacebuilding efforts over the next 18 months based on Liberia’s Peace Building Priority Plan, developed together by the Government and UN. Liberia is the first country to receive support through the 2nd window of the PBF; Burundi and Sierra Leone were the only countries to receive support under the 1st window. A Joint Steering Committee (JSC), co-chaired by the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (Recovery and Governance), and comprising members from government, UN, multilaterals, bilaterals, civil society, and the Liberian business community, will be convened in the coming weeks. The JSC is responsible for selecting projects and overseeing PBF implementation.

This is an exciting moment in Liberia’s post-conflict reconstruction. We are moving beyond the security aspects of peacebuilding (though this still constitutes a very important component of the priority plan) to address the underlying ethnic tensions, political environment and institutional weaknesses that are important to consolidating peace. We are making every effort to ensure that the PBF allocations are transparent, wisely invested and contribute to building capacity within Liberian institutions (both government and non-government) through strong partnerships with UN organizations. One or more of the PBF projects will be independently evaluated, and the M&E components of all projects will be examined closely to ensure that we learn what works best in this environment. More to come as the JSC selects projects and implementation begins…

Introduction and Inauguration of “Liberia in Pictures”

2008-02-07T17:00:46Z

My position in the Scott Family Liberia Fellows program is Special Advisor and Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position is dynamic and offers great insight into the workings of a Foreign Ministry that is looking to rebuild itself after decades of conflict and mismanagement.

The breadth of issues covered by the Foreign Ministry ensures that my duties vary greatly. On any given day I could be found in my small three-person office writing letters to heads of state, drafting speeches or devising ways to enhance Ministry efficiency and coordination. On those same days I would surely be trying to find ways to make copies or print in a building with inconsistent generator power and often no ink or paper; challenges to Government come in many forms.

On what time I have off I try my best to get out of the office, out of the house, away from the international crowd and into Monrovia’s streets and neighborhoods. I seek out the back roads where I can get an up-close view and hear anecdotes of the extraordinary yet utterly normal problems facing Liberians who struggle to rebuild their lives in a complex and demanding environment.

I don’t do this out of a voyeuristic desire to see how hard life can be in Monrovia. That is quite obvious even through a tinted car window. For me this is an education and an opportunity to humanize the development challenges here in a way that compliments my formal position in the Ministry.

When in the Ministry and dealing with high-level qualified government officials it is all too easy to forget the texture and magnitude of the challenges that remain in Liberia and those facing the majority of Liberians. From two floors beneath the President, figures such as 70% unemployment and 80% illiteracy become abstractions, as do entire categories of people, such as former combatants or the mentally ill. As an international, it is all too easy to fall into a closeted expatriate life, riding from air-conditioned flats in air-conditioned white jeeps to air-conditioned offices and back again, hardly hearing the sounds of the street. To be sure this is a Liberian reality too given the massive international presence. But this is not a balanced look at Liberia. I constantly push myself out of this comfort zone (and, on weekends, out of the hammock on my balcony). The results are some of the most enjoyable, memorable and educational experiences I’ve had here.

What I see isn’t all negative. To the contrary: I am constantly inspired, and frankly surprised, to see how positive many Liberians are. Even in some of the darkest boroughs, where one might expect hope to have dried up decades ago with the last flows of pipe-borne water or electricity, I see people who believe that a better tomorrow is possible. This is both a credit to the Liberian spirit and to the progress made by President Sirleaf.

My training as a photojournalist does not allow me to go on these little journeys without toting a camera and I am almost always accepted in the communities and allowed to move and photograph as I wish. This post will inaugurate the Liberia in Pictures section, a regular forum in which I hope to provide vignettes into “normal” Liberian life so as to give a fuller understanding of the context of the work we do here as Scott Fellows while also providing a visual side to the blog.

This first posting is a series of images I took during the 2005 Liberian elections, and is, in my opinion, a seminal moment in which hope was reborn. For background, in 2005 Liberians voted peacefully in the first truly free and fair elections in Liberia’s 160-year history. Harvard-trained economist Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defeated former World Footballer of the Year George Manneh Weah by a margin of nearly 20 points in a run-off to become Africa’s first democratically elected female head of state.

I was in Liberia at this time working with the United Nations Office for Project Services re-building badly damaged physical infrastructure, mainly roads and bridges. In October and November of that year I had the privilege to serve as an election observer for both rounds of the election. The eight images above capture some of the tension, excitement and hope that marked the historic moment.

To see the photos presented with their captions, please visit: http://www.cpoy.org/index.php?s=WinningImages&yr=61&c=28&p=2.0.

A Jack that Portends a Full House

2008-02-06T18:53:20Z

Last weekend, I decided to make good on a New Year’s resolution to explore this country – in 6 months of living here, I still have not slept outside of Monrovia (work always calls, unless I make an effort). Early on Sunday morning, I set out on a beach run with backpack, machete and fly rod strapped on – a journey to find salt flats holding some of the great saltwater sport fish: tarpon, bonefish and permit. A couple hours of wading through mangroves and shallow tidal areas yielded no results (just the wrong place…several hours up and down the coast, reportedly some of the highest concentrations of these game fish in completely pristine waters). I switched to fishing the pounding surf and soon was locked into a 20 minute battle with a 10 lb jack, which I gave to the local fisherman to supplement their small buckets of 5 inch snapper.

Liberia still hasn’t been discovered in the world of water sports and eco-tourism. The rainforests are untouched and full of wildlife, including chimpanzees, bush elephants and many other exotic animals. The rivers are full of mind-blowingly large catfish and the aggressive tiger fish. The salt flats are unparalleled for their concentration of game fish. The sport fishing in-shore yields jacks, grouper, barracuda and snapper that rival any place in the world. And even deep-sea fishing yields big results here – marlin and ahi tuna in good numbers and size (as long as we can keep the international commercial fleets from raping Liberia’s territorial waters, as they do today). My one jack on Sunday morning makes me wonder: when will Liberia fill its house with tourists to enjoy all these great natural wonders?

Observations from the Brussels Airport

2008-02-06T18:05:28Z

Hey, there. Dan Hymowitz, one of the new fellows here. I've been in Liberia for two weeks now. So far it's been an incredible experience and obviously there are lots of interesting things to report. But I'll use my first entry to describe something surprising (to me) I saw before I even landed in Liberia. The main route to Monrovia right now is a flight that leaves from Brussels. My plane from New York got in to Brussels about five hours before my connection so I had plenty of time just sitting around in the airport.

As other Monrovia-bound passengers wandered into the waiting area I found myself surprised by the types of things the other non-Liberians were traveling to the country to do: a couple from Alaska moving to a remote part of Liberia for a year to help rebuild the country's Jesuit college. A group of American couples on their way to adopt orphaned children. A man headed into the country for two weeks to train a class of Liberian ministers. And all sorts of groups of businessmen.

It's probably just a reflection of my background but, prior to seeing this, my notion of a "typical" non-Liberian waiting for that flight was a World Bank consultant to the Ministry of Finance or a young NGO worker helping to reassimilate recently returned refugees.

Admittedly, since arriving here, I have mainly been encountering that more "stereotypical" development worker. But fascinating to see there is a far broader array of rebuilding/aid efforts going on inside the country than I'd realized.

Presidential Recognition

2008-02-06T16:44:26Z

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf delivered her annual message to the National Legislature on January 28th to report on the state of the nation. After reviewing accomplishments under the four pillars of the interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (iPRS) – Peace and Security, Economic Revitalization, Governance and Rule of Law, Infrastructure and Basic Services - she said “[Liberia] continues to enjoy the confidence of non official partners…the Scott Family Fellowship and Senior Executive Service provide important support for the enhancement of our national capacity.”

Certainly credit and thanks go to Ed Scott and his family for starting this new program, which is clearly contributing in meaningful ways to Liberia’s development during this critical post-conflict period.

Beginnings of Regional Unity through Soccer?

2008-02-01T21:29:26Z

Just after the Guinean soccer team defeated Morocco in an early round of the Africa Cup of Nations (the equivalent of the soccer World Cup for Africa) dozens of young men ran, shouting and singing, through the capital’s central streets wearing faded and torn bandanas of tri-color green, yellow and red – the flag of victorious Guinea. No, this isn’t Conakry and these aren’t celebrating Guineans; these are Liberians in Monrovia.

The next day, while walking through the South Beach slum I began talking to the residents about the day’s Africa Cup matches, always an easy way to strike up conversation in a potentially hostile situation. Almost without exception they were supporting Cote d’Ivoire. Hours later, after Cote d’Ivoire soundly beat Benin, excited Liberians in knockoff Ivorian-orange jerseys were celebrating, giving the Guinean supporters of the previous day a run for their money as the loudest fans in Monrovia.

What struck me was not that Liberians would be highly energized about soccer, because they are indeed true soccer fans, but that the vast majority supported their neighbors Guinea and Ivory Coast (Sierra Leone, like Liberia, did not qualify for the tournament) over all other African teams, despite the recent bloody history among the countries of the sub-region.

At the same time, Nigeria, often seen as Liberia and West Africa’s big brother, couldn’t muster any support aside from the battalions of Nigerian peacekeepers. In fact, when walking behind the raucous Guinean fans I saw them divert from their victory lap just to taunt the driver of a taxicab who was unfortunate to have been caught in traffic while having a Nigerian flag draped on the hood of his taxi.

The teasing was friendly and the atmosphere happy, a sharp contrast to 2003 when groups of young men running down the street would have been a terrifying and potentially deadly sight. That year was the climax of Liberia’s 14-year civil war, which was decidedly regional in character. The most publicized example of the regionalized nature of the conflict is former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s ongoing trial in front of the Special Court of Sierra Leone. He is charged with 11 counts of violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity for, among other things, supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) militia in Sierra Leone, made infamous by brutally hacking off limbs of their victims.

Taylor was not alone in supporting cross-border fighters. Just as he was funding and arming groups that crossed into all three of his neighbors’ territory, Sierra Leone and Guinea organized the militia United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO). Guinea also backed the new group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD). Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo supported anyone and everyone willing to fight against Taylor, in particular the LURD faction Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). It is an alphabet soup of factions, all composed of drug-addled fighters recruited mainly from displaced youth from across the sub-region.

Nigeria on the other hand has played a more constructive role in the sub-region. Nigerian peacekeeping troops have featured prominently in Liberian life since the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) deployed the Monitoring Observer Group peacekeeping mission (ECOMOG) in 1990. Now, Nigerian soldiers comprise a key portion of the 13,000-strong United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeeping force that has helped keep the peace in Liberia since 2003. Perhaps more pervasive although subtler, is Nigeria’s cultural dominance in Liberia through music, television and clothing, which is rivaled only by American cultural influence.

Back in South Beach, I asked why they are all rooting for Cote d’Ivoire today and for Guinea the day before. “We are all brothers,” say the young men. “We must support our brothers.” If this spirit of togetherness can spread beyond the soccer field and gel into true sub-regional unity, it will be a good sign in what has been for all too long an example of a very dangerous neighborhood.

Scott Family Fellow Norris Tweah Featured in the Media

2008-01-10T16:14:06Z

This article features Scott Family Fellow Norris Tweah. It was posted on Western Michigan News, January 9, 2008:

WMU grad awarded fellowship to assist Liberians
Jan. 9, 2008

KALAMAZOO--A recent Western Michigan University graduate is the recipient of a $35,000 grant to work as a special assistant in Liberia as that African nation rebuilds from 14 years of civil war.

Norris Tweah, who earned a master's degree in development administration from WMU's Department of Political Science in 2006 and his bachelor's degree in communication in 2003, was chosen one of six Scott Family Fellows, a program run through the Center for Global Development. The program recruits young professionals to work for senior Liberian government officials with the goal of helping with reconstruction and development efforts. The six were chosen from among 230 applicants.

The grant program is conducted in cooperation with the Liberian government, and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf participates in choosing the assignments for the grant recipients.

In his role, Tweah is the chief of office staff and special assistant to the minister of information, Dr. Laurence K. Bropleh. His work focuses on writing project proposals, press releases and attending meetings on behalf of the minister. He also helps develop communication strategies for the Liberian government and the Poverty Reduction Strategy and supervises all employees in the minister's office.

"At the ministerial level, I developed the concept paper and wrote the project proposal/framework called `The Liberian Renaissance, Changing Minds, Changing Attitudes,'" says Tweah. "The concept takes some of its theoretical justification from such theory which asserts, `Unless democratic transitions are accompanied by distinct elite transition--from an experience of disunity to consensual unity in the case of democratic transition--they should be regarded as strictly temporary.' The Liberian Renaissance takes this theory further in advocating for a total societal transformation instead of just an elite transformation."

Tweah worked for the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia. He is a member of the board of directors at Able and Willing, an international foundation that builds schools in Congo-Kinshasa, and he is leading the organization's exploratory initiative for a micro-finance project to benefit urban women in Monrovia.

While at WMU, he received the Howard Wolpe African Field Research Award and twice received the Zoa D. Shilling Award. Tweah also studied at the University of Liberia from 1995 to 1999.

The Scott Family Fellow program is funded by a grant from the family of Edward W. Scott Jr., chair of the board of directors of the Center for Global Development. The program, announced in February 2007, is a collaborative effort between the Liberian government, the John Snow Inc. Research and Training Institute and the Center for Global Development.

Liberia Fellows Application Period Now Closed

2007-11-14T20:12:41Z

The period to submit applications for the Liberia Fellows or Liberian Law Fellows program has now ended. Thanks to everyone who applied! We received a total of 118 applications—29 for the Law fellows and 89 for the Liberia fellows program! The reviewers will start examining submissions ASAP and interviews should begin in two weeks. If you are not contacted for an interview or missed the application deadline, keep checking this site because we will be recruiting another batch of fellows in several months. In the meantime, you can continue reading blogs written by the fellows on their unique experiences working in the Liberian government. Stay tuned!