Happy 161 birthday Liberia....

On july 26 1847 11 men, representing diffrent parts of the commonwealth of Liberia, and led by Hilary Teage, signed the Liberian Declaration of Independence. By signing the declaration of independence these men told the world that a new country, and the first free negro nation on the African continent was born. they were Samuel Benedict, Hilary Teage, Elijah Johnson, John Naustehlau Lewis, Beverly R. Wilson and J.B. Gripon from Montserrado County; John Day, Amos Herring, Anthony William Gardiner and Ephriam Titler from Grand Bassa County; and Jacob W. Prout and Richard E. Murray from Sinoe County.
So this july 26 we at home and abroad honored these patrioctic sons of Liberia for taking the first bold step in putting our country on to path to statehood.

Timeline of Key events in our country's history....

In 1822, groups of freed Black Americans from the U.S. settled on the coast of Western Africa with a grant of $100,000 from President James Monroe.

Because of the inhumane way they were treated in America, many of the free slaves, after the American civil war of the 1860s decided to come to Africa, and start a new life.

Free slaves in America preparing to come to Liberia in 1862.

The Elizabeth brought the first group of free slaves to Africa in1822 and settle on an island called perseverance island. today its called the providence island.



In 1847, these settlers established the Republic of Liberia, the first independent country in Africa, they would then call their capital Monrovia for President James Monroe.





Susanna Lewis, and seven other women design the Liberian Flag, also know as the lone star.

The Liberian president residence as it looked in 1850.

The Liberian cabinet in the late 1800s.



Liberian 2 dollars of 1880.


1917 - Liberia declares war on Germany, giving the Allies a base in West Africa.



The city of Monrovia at the turn of the century, it was partially destroyed by a German U-boat when Liberia joined America and the allies in the first world war.




1926 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company opens rubber plantation on land granted by government. Rubber production becomes backbone of economy.

1936 - Forced-labour practices abolished.

1943 - William Tubman elected president.

1944 - Government declares war on the Axis powers.



President Edwin Barclay of Liberia chats with U.S president F.D.R

1951 May - Women and indigenous property owners vote in the presidential election for the first time.

1958 - Racial discrimination outlawed.

1971 - Tubman dies and is succeeded by William Tolbert Jr.

1979 - More than 40 people are killed in riots following a proposed increase in the price of rice

1980 - Master Sergeant Samuel Doe stages military coup. Tolbert and 13 of his aides are publicly executed. A People's Redemption Council headed by Doe suspends constitution and assumes full powers.

1989 - National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor begins an uprising against the government.
1990 - Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) sends peacekeeping force. Doe is executed by a splinter group of the NPFL.

2003 August - Nigerian peacekeepers arrive. Charles Taylor leaves Liberia after handing power to his deputy Moses Blah. US troops arrive. Interim government and rebels sign peace accord in Ghana. Gyude Bryant chosen to head interim administration.

2005 23 November - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becomes the first woman to be elected as an African head of state. She takes office the following January.

The Beloved President of our proud nation continues to carry the hope of an entire country

Happy birthday Liberia, and Happy independence day to all my countrymen at home and all across the globe, our country turn 161 years old on the 26 of July this year, let us again reflect on the last 2 decades of our country's recent past, and pray for the almost 200,000 of our countrymen who died in a senseless war,all the while holding our heads up high, for the future holds nothing but possibilities, and always rembering the words of our national anthem, In union strong success is sure, we cannot fail, and that we are all in the same boat together, one nation, one people, and one commom destiny. God bless us all.

Increase in armed robberies causes concern.......

Monrovia, the Liberian Capital have been hit in the past week by violent crime waves that has left inhabitants fearing for their lives while the government admits the security situation is deteriorating.
In the past eight days at least 160 homes in Monrovia were attacked by armed robbers, according to figures collected by AFP, demanding money or valuables and raping.
Observers say most of the robbers are former fighters who fought in the civil war. Many have kept their weapons and find it hard to find and keep regular jobs in a country plagued by over 80 percent unemployment.

Former fighters Of the Liberian War are to be blame for many of these violent crimes.

The Liberian Police is poorly trained, many officers do not even carry firearms.

President Johnson-Sirleaf admitted that the security situation in the capital had deteriorated. She even said that some of the crimes were carried out by police officers assigned to protect the population.
"The general security situation is bad. The reason is that our own security for several reasons has not been effective. Certain police officers have just been arrested as the result of their own participation in some of these crimes," she said on State radio.
The only remedy to this problem in my opinion is to start hanging these people when they are caught. The government have to seriously start thinking about bringing back capital punishment, and really start fighting fire with fire. These people have already killed a lot of our people during the war and got away with it, they must not be allowed to get away again, enough is enough.

Liberia' Ellen Sirleaf Denounced Zimbawe's elections and called on the African Union to do same......

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speaking at a closed session today during the 13th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, has called on the African Union to pronounce the June 27th elections in Zimbabwe as not credible and declare the results unacceptable, if the Union is to maintain its credibility.President Sirleaf reminded Summit participants that the African Union Observer Mission declared the June 27th elections fell short of the accepted AU standards, and that this was a similar position taken by the Pan African Parliament and the United Nations Security Council. She urged Summit participants to take a firm stance as well: ‘All these persons and institutions cannot be wrong, cannot be conspiratorial as we may be made to believe,’ she stressed.She put forward Liberia as a case in point, saying the 1985 election was endorsed by Africa and the world, which frustrated the true will of the people of Liberia and subsequently engendered a fourteen year civil war that left over two hundred thousand persons dead. The Liberian leader called on the African Union to be courageous to say that ‘all is not well in Zimbabwe’ and that the request by SADC for a postponement of the June 27 Zimbabwean elections should be heeded.
The leaders of Botswana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone also were critical of Zimbawe's Elections and said the vote lacked legitimacy, and Botswana urged that Zimbabwe and Mr. Mugabe be barred from A.U. and SADC membership.

Robert Mugabe shamelessly arrives at the Summit.

The African Union is a useless organization.

The African Union summit in Egypt this year only proves how toothless the organization is, Robert Mugabe is a disgrace to Africa, and should have been barred from the summit, The people of Zimbabwe were denied their democratic right to freely choose whom they want to be president of the country and all the African Union summit did was to tighten Mugabe's grip on power.

The African Union summit in Egypt, attended by Mugabe, approved a resolution calling for him to negotiate with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the run-off election because of violence against his supporters.
The resolution fell short of the tougher statement wanted by some African countries.

Germany announced more support for Liberia's development.....

The German government pledged substantial funding to Liberian infrastructure projects Thursday at the start of a two- day visit by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Berlin.
In the presence of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul opened the international Liberia 2008 Poverty Reduction Forum this morning and announced that that German development cooperation support for Liberia this year would amount to a total of 15 million euros. 10 million of this will be provided to the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund, which focuses on infrastructure development.
In her opening statement, the Minister said: "Liberia's people have suffered terribly. They deserve the support of the entire international community. So we are pleased to be able to host this conference." She noted that in so-called "post-conflict countries" in particular, the international community needed to be involved on a long-term basis, thus contributing to peace.
Moreover, Germany will cancel Liberian debt amounting to 268 million euros. Liberia is one of the most heavily indebted developing countries worldwide. Since March 2008, the country has been participating in the international Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative.

German Chancellor Merkel and Liberia President Johnson-Sirleaf inspect the honour guard.

German Chancellor Merkel talks to Liberia President Johnson-Sirleaf during the welcome ceremony .

Members of President Johnson-Sirleaf delegation at the welcome ceremony in Berlin .

The Liberia Poverty Reduction Forum is being held in Berlin on 26 and 27 June 2008. At the conference, Liberia will present its Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Liberian government, donors and international institutions will discuss future goals and challenges in the area of poverty reduction and harmonize their efforts.

A Night of Partying........

I Tend to avoid going to Liberian Parties, not because i don't like to go, but because of the bad reputation that Liberians have made for themselves in the Minneapolis area.

Liberian gatherings, usually always ends in fights and mayhem, which is so shameful.

Some of these rebels who for some reasons where fortunate to come to the states, have brought their jungle mentality with them. And like the old parable back home says, when the monkey hands black its black there is nothing you can do about it.

With My boy Rannie In Minneapolis.

Today however i did go out to a couple of parties with my friends, and i must say i was very impressed, the parties were fun and peaceful. for the first time in a long time i was really having fun among my own people. could it be that our people are getting their acts together?

Peace corps to return to Liberia in september..........

The peace corps this week said that they are pleased to officially announce its return to Liberia and is preparing for the arrival of the first group of Volunteers in September 2008.
After an absence of nearly two decades, experienced Volunteers will be serving in the country through a program called Peace Corps Response.
From 1962-1990, Peace Corps Volunteers in Liberia were involved in every facet of the country’s development efforts, from education and health to agriculture and rural development until the program was suspended due to the Liberian civil war in the 90s.

Liberia and FiFa to investigate stadium tragedy............

FIFA and the Liberian Government opened an investigation this week into the deaths of at least eight people at a World Cup qualifying match in Liberia.

The tragedy happened before Liberia took the field against Gambia in a World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Monrovia.
The chief mortician of the city, Dominic Worlu, gave the reason for the deaths. In all, 16 people were taken to hospital.
Witnesses said the stadium was packed by noon with people who came in earlier to find seats for the match.
Worlu said illegal ticket sales might have led to many more fans being crammed into the stadium than the seating capacity allowed.
Football’s governing body Fifa said it was investigating the incindent.

In another development President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has declared this weekend as a period of national mourning in remembrance of those spectators who met their unfortunate death.

The 33,000-seat venue was built in 1987 and had been renovated after the country's civil war ended five years ago.
United Nations peacekeepers closed the stadium gates on Sunday when it became clear it was already over capacity after thousands had entered using fake tickets.
Eyewitnesses reported that some security staff sold tickets and took money from fans without tickets to let them in.
The deaths occurred after dozens of people fell from upper-level seats onto spectators below when a metal barrier gave way.
The match was played and drawn 1-1.