Pictures from Liberia in the 60s and 70s

1. President Tubman the 18 president

2. The Ducor Palace hotel in its glory days
3. President Tolbert the 19 president, and the former first lady is welcome at the white house by president Nixon
4. the temple of justice on capital Hill 1975

5. Traditional dancers in Lofa county 1968

Temporary protected status, Please give our people more time

On October 1 this year about 10,000 Liberians who have resided in the United states for more than ten years will be force to go home by the United states government, because the government now considers Liberia safe enough for her people to return. However i would like to point out that the State department own travel advisory is warning Americans to avoid travel to the country, because of serious security concern. so my question is, if its not safe for Americans to go there, how is it safe for thousands of Liberians with their U.S born children, who are U.S citizens to go there? the new government in Monrovia, is doing all it can to provide basic services, to the people already there, and with some difficulty i might add, how can they be expected to cope with the thousands more who will be force to go home. Monrovia is already overcrowded, unemployment is at 80%, the education system is in shambles not to mention the health sector, there is no way this is going to work, if this plan is implemented it will be a disaster in the making. Our people understands that there is nowhere like home, we are grateful to the United states for all it has done and continue to do for our people, all we ask is a little more time, to let the government in Monrovia, firmly put their feet on the ground. i have total confidence in the beliefs of freedom, and justice , two words firmly rooted deep in the foundation of this great nation, and just as the Irish came in the 1800 to escape famine, and the Jews in world war 2, to escape Nazi prosecution, Liberians will continue to be hopeful that the doors will be left ajar and not totally shut, that those words written by Emma Lazarus for the statue of Liberty: Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"will hold meaning for them too.

Its time we open the doors of citizenship to everybody.

I have always said the question of giving citizenship to other people who are not of negro descent is not only the right thing to do, but in terms of material and human development it also the sound thing to do. I consider myself a true Liberian, but this clause in the constitution always bothers me.

Article27

b) In order to preserve, foster and maintain the positive Liberian culture, values and character, only persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent shall qualify by birth or by naturalization to be citizens of Liberia.

As Liberians would say, what fish do you have to fry in this oil, the fact that the constitution bans other races, and only allow blacks or people of black descent to be citizens, can in some way be consider racism. i experience first hand the negative impact of that law in my family. my father who is Chinese pay all his taxes but could never own property in the country except through me or my mother. we have to look at this issue because today almost 90 percent of businesses in the country are own and operated by foreigners, one group in particular, the Lebanese, have been in the country for generations, they have children who were born there and consider Liberia home, if they can't buy property to build and invest would they keep their money in the country? these people are law abiding tax paying citizens, it is time we give them a fair shot at citizenship , it is not only the right thing to do, it is the moral thing to do.

My Take on Knuckles sex scandal

At a time like this when the President is doing everything to show the international community that we mean business, and that we are no longer the joke of west Africa, something stupid like this is done to embarrass her, at a time like this when the president is suppose to be dealing with important matters of state, she had to come and clean up this mess of a scandal, all because some horny minister who thinks he is a porn star was having the time of his life, having an orgy with young girls. Minister Knuckles should have known better, by being one of the president closest advisor he was a marked man with a bulls eye on his back , the enemies of the president, such as that good for nothing former speaker of the house Edwin snowe will used this as ammunition to go after her and do whatever he can to destroy her. i saw excerpt of his speech in which he talks about his family high moral values, but have i got news for that killer, please keep that B.S to yourself at least knuckles only had an orgy, but you mr snowe and your boss who now sits behind bars in Europe are directly responsible for thousands of death of innocent Liberians, you sir should be the last person to lecture anybody about morality, you guys ruin the country and took everything from us, you turn our beautiful capital into a big slum, you made us beggars when our country is rich in natural resources, so please sir don't lecture anyone about morality we know you are behind the distribution of those photos , just keep on waiting for your judgement, for i assure you, you and all your killer friends will pay dearly for all that blood you spilled if not in this world than the next.

Its time we make Liberia a tourist friendly distination.

Today a friend of mine who just got back from a two weeks vacation to Liberia, was talking about how the country needs to improve the service sector of the economy so as to attract more tourist, and visitors. we have always taken the tourism industries for granted in our economy, and i think it is time that the government take a serious look at this sector of the economy, our neighbors in the region such as Ghana have done a splendid job of making their country tourist friendly, as a result hundreds of jobs have been created. Liberia has beautiful beaches, lakes and waterfall, the sapo national park in the south east is one the most diverse and largest protected forest in the region, we can use these to our advantage, if only the government will pay a little more attention. I know the president has a lot on her plate right now, but think about this, it may be years before UN sections on our natural resources such as diamonds are lifted, so does it not make sense to explore other options? some countries in the world only depend on tourism for revenues, we are bless to not only have all these natural resources, but also a beautiful land, and a beautiful culture all we need to do is develop it and show it off.

My God what a DAY

Today was one of those days you just did not want to get out of the house, cities all across the State of Minnesota were hit by severe snow storms, it is one of those days i wish i was back home in Liberia sitting on one of many beaches around Monrovia, getting sunburn and watching the waves and palm trees gently move by the calm Atlantic's breeze. so i am going to do the next best thing clean the driveway, go to get some movies from the videos rental store, and just chill at home today.

The workaholic President

One can only imagine what it takes to be a President of Liberia these days, at age 65 the Liberian president shows no sign of slowing down, last week she was in the united states where she was hugely successful in having about 700 million dollars of Liberia 's debt forgiven, the president than went home, where she received a massive welcome all the way from the airport to central Monrovia by a grateful nation, for her leadership in helping to restore hope and respect to a nation that has known nothing but war and anarchy for years.

The next day she was off to Guinea, along with president Kabbah of Sierra Leone to see how they can be of help in stopping the political crisis in that country. and finally she is in Rwanda this week on a five days official visit as guest of President Paul Kagame.

One thing is for sure, the president hard work is starting to pay off, investment into the country is starting to pour in, government revenues increased about 20% as compare to the year before, and there is finally a sense that things are beginning to change for the better.http://www.traveltoliberia.com/