As i drove from Roberts International Aiport to WFP i became increasingly excited, the significance of the next few days, 26th & 27th of April for Liberia and Sierra-Leone in particular had me in all kinds of spaces. Writing a poem entitled BEAR WITH ME which dealt with the 11 years of war, Charles Taylor, the failure of the international community and modes of peaces, it all felt surreal that i would be spending the next couple of days in Liberia visiting my father, conducting interviews for an NGO, going to a Timaya concert and spending time with my dear cousin.
I kept probing my father for answers, so what do the people in Liberia think about the pending Charles Taylor verdict, are you excited, can you believe it comes a day before our 51st independence in Sierra-Leone, Dad Dad! My father does not respond, and in his quiet way just looks at me and says its complicated, but what we have learned in the past year is that the people are holding their leaders accountable, it is no longer okay to rule with impunity. In his diplomat mode my father evaded really answering any of my questions. So instead i decided talking with his staff, the help in the house would have to suffice, in fact it would probably be better. My father's driver seemed resentful, "too much money spent on this man, when they could have used that to help people who really need it. those who suffered. he hurt alot of people". He becomes quiet and pensive, i sense a deep hurt and surge of memories flow within him. I leave that conversation at that. My father's help, the guards in the house including the neighbor's help want him home. The security man says " they need to free him. he is liberian. if you respect God you respect your leader. he was our leader, i respect him". I try my hardest to hear his perspective and withdraw my judgement, as a Sierra-Leone this is difficult to swallow. I lost three uncles and my grandfather in the war, respect for Taylor, Sankoh or even Kabba isn't a word i'd use to describe my feelings towards them.
Driving down Monrovia, the place seems quieter (or so the driver says. After lunch i head to the fancy Mamaba Point Hotel and stop to amuse myself in the arts and craft stores slightly bummed that i would not be able to explore, question, and hold conversations with people around the city.
It dawns on my however that all of that probing, questioning doesn't matter. Taylor is found guild and thousands of people alive and deceased have received some form of justice today. As Sierra-Leone enters her 51st year of "freedom", i cannot help but wonder how her wounded psyche and spirit will forge on with less fear, more risk, more self love in building capacity for her people, developing her damaged economy, her fractured and ever so complicated and corrupt political body, and more importantly secure a sense of justice, freedom, abundance and peace in her people. Some may say she needs great leadership, others say she is already f**ked and better yet playing catching up, others say her people are too damaged to fathom much less foster innovation that can propagate real change.
I don't know or hold any answer, a fancy speech about strengthen democratic representational change or whatever else. Those sentiments are just what they are, sentiments. She, my beloved land has a long way to go and only she can inherently choose to forge forward, only she.
fambul dem this is how we do....
No comments:
Post a Comment