About Liberia
“Land of the Free”
Map of Liberia
Background
Liberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a home for former African-American slaves in 1820 by the American Colonization Society (ACS). However, prior to the arrival of these freed slaves from America, there were the indigenous people. Many of the natives felt left out of many aspects and matters of the country. This created a schism that led to slow growing tensions that erupted first in 1980. In 1980, Liberia saw its first-ever coup led by the military. It was a bloody coup that included, not only the assignation of the president, but the execution of the cabinet ministers by firing squad. This ushered in a new era in Liberian politics. An indigenous leader now ruled the country, however, many still felt that power was too concentrated and abused. Many Liberians including non-descendents of the slaves, felt the need to supplant that regime that came into & still hung onto power since 1980. On December 1989, the country entered one of the worst civil wars in modern times. This civil war lasted for at least fourteen years.
The Civil War
From 1989 until 2003, Liberia experienced “one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars.” 1 During these 14 years, more than 250,000 people died, and 1.3 million were displaced.3 In addition, Liberians were subjected to “abductions, torture, rape, and other human rights abuses . . . on a massive scale.”3 Many were traumatized by seeing their families and friends murdered and raped.”3
The Liberian conflict captured the attention of the world particularly regarding the use of children in combat. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimated that “at least one in ten children may have been recruited into militias at one time or another. Many of the kids who were recruited and fought in the Liberian civil wars are now parents of children born either during or after the civil wars. There are attempts by the government in Liberia and other NGOs to rehabilitate and care for many of these ex-child soldiers who are now parents. However, many of the children born during and after the two civil wars are not receiving basic care. This is true irrespective of whether their parents were participants or non-participants in the civil wars.
Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), published in 2008, details the conditions wrought by the war:
The damage and negative consequences of the conflict were enormous. Commercial and productive activities ceased as various warlords looted and vandalized the country. Families were shattered; entire communities were uprooted; and social, political, economic, and traditional governance systems were destroyed. There was a massive exodus of skilled and talented individuals from the country. The economy completely collapsed. GDP fell a catastrophic 90 percent between 1987 and 1995, one of the largest economic collapses ever recorded in the world.
Agricultural production dropped as people fled their farms. . . . Basic infrastructure was destroyed. Many roads are now impassable, which seriously constrains economic recovery, as well as the provision of basic services such as health and education. . . . There was no electricity or piped water in the country for 15 years until the new Government turned on some water and electricity in Monrovia in July 2006. Unemployment soared, and poverty increased sharply, with nearly 64 percent of Liberians now living below the poverty line. Schools, hospitals, and clinics were badly damaged . . . Today there are only 51 Liberian physicians to cover the nation’s public health needs, approximately one for every 70,000 Liberians. About 70 percent of school buildings are partially or wholly destroyed, and over half of Liberian children and youth are estimated to be out of school. A whole generation of Liberians has spent more time at war than in the classroom. Public finances collapsed, with annual revenue falling to US$85 million, allowing per capita public expenditure of about US$25, one of the lowest levels in the world. [4]
After the War
Conflict ended on August 18, 2003,3 with “the arrival of international peacekeepers, the ousting of the Taylor government, and the signing of the Accra Peace Accords.”4 An interim government was set up until the elections in 2005.
In October 2005, both presidential and legislative elections were held, followed by a presidential run-off in November. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the vote and became “Africa’s first democratically elected female president.”1 Since then, the conditions in Liberia have been improving. The economy is growing, homes and stores are being rebuilt, roads are under construction, schools and clinics are reopening, and agriculture production is recovering.4
Following fourteen-years of brutal civil war in Liberia in which human lives were taken for granted, children became an easy prey. Many were abandoned, displaced, homeless, or orphaned. Some of those with parent/guardians, instead of being sent to school, children are forced into early marriages, treated, unwillingly, as house servants such as, yardboy, cook or kitchen servants. They wash clothes with their bare hands. During school hours and on school days, they are sent, forcefully, to sell goods for their parents/guardians.
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