I
have had a lot of time to reflect on the occurrences of the Liberian crisis
lately, as well as the roles that people I meet every day had during this
time. We have watched quite a few
documentaries during PST, and I am glad that Peace Corps Liberia sees the
importance of us knowing the back story of the country we are serving in before
we get to site.
Today,
we watched the documentary “Iron Ladies of Liberia.” This film followed President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf as she completed her first year in office (she was elected in
2005). The scenes of Liberia in that
film were completely than the Liberia I have experienced in the last three
weeks or so; I am amazed and so incredibly proud of all this country has
accomplished in the last eight years.
Earlier
this week, we watched a documentary called “Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” Seriously, if you know nothing about Liberia’s
history and you can only watch one documentary, I want you to watch this
one. Please, just do it for me. The stories covered in the 90 minutes or so
of the film made me laugh, cry, and again, be incredibly proud of the Women’s
Peace Movement in Liberia. A short
synopsis? A women’s peace movement was
created, spanning the Christian and Muslim community in Liberia and neighboring
countries hosting refugees, to encourage then-President Taylor to agree to
peace talks with LURD, the opposition group hoping to oust Taylor.
These
women went to the fish market every day in Monrovia, holding signs saying how
much they needed peace, etc. until finally, Taylor agreed to host them. Once in his presence, they urged him to
attend the peace talks, to which he agreed.
The Accra Peace Accords were held in Accra, Ghana in August of 2003; unfortunately,
these talks continued for three weeks with nothing happening and
fighting/killing still happening in Monrovia and neighboring communities. Together with the Liberian women refugees in
Ghana, members of the movement traveled to the location of the peace talks and
effectively barred the men inside until an agreement could be made. Soon after, an agreement was made and Taylor
stepped down as President, taking asylum in Nigeria. (Just recently, he was found guilty under the
UN court system for crimes against humanity and sentenced to prison for 50
years. Part of this was due to his major
role in the blood diamonds trade in Sierra Leone.)
The
peace talks created a short-term government that functioned minimally until the
elections in 2005 (which were mostly run by the United Nations Mission in
Liberia – UNMIL, for short). The most
compelling part of this story, in my opinion, is the role that the women played
in the quick end to the war. After
fighting for 14 years, they were tired of burying their husbands, brothers,
nephews, sons, and friends; instead, they wished for a functioning, productive
country once again. They were effective,
too! Pretty inspiring stuff, if you ask
me.
As
a side note to the role of women in this country’s recent development… Today, we were visited by the Deputy Minister
of Secondary Education in Liberia. She
was in Kakata to attend a workshop held at the Teacher Training Institute here,
and she was gracious enough to stop by and chat with us briefly. In her talk, I learned a lot about the
current situation in Liberia, and a grim one it is.
Currently,
there are around 900 Liberian teachers in the country. Many of these teachers are high-school
dropouts or other individuals who are teaching simply because there were no
teachers for their children to go to school.
After the war, schools slowly opened up, but with a lack of educators,
it was hard for every class to function.
The ministry is trying to get a good grasp on the current educational
system, and in order to do so, they recently administered an “entrance exam” to
all currently serving teachers.
Of
the 900 teachers in the country, only 360 passed the exam. When the minister asked the person who
administered the test what level it was written at, the answer shocked
her. The exam given to teachers (many of
which are teaching high school) was written for a sixth grade level. Only one-third of the teachers in this
country understand anything at a sixth-grade learning level. My bachelor’s degree suddenly feels rather
important and my role in the community I will be in is suddenly very
intimidating.
We
have a lot of work to do here, and I am excited for my chance to see Liberia
grow in the next two years. I am excited
to make an impact in my school, both with the students and with the
currently-serving faculty, as well as make an impact in my community. I know we are supposed to wait until we start
our secondary projects, but I am anxious to get started now. Though teaching will be fulfilling, I am
excited to really become a part of my community through other projects and
interactions, as well.
To
the next two years,
Caitlin
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