Being Grateful in 2007

Many Liberians are confused about the way things are going in a country that has witnessed 14 years of civil war and two years of relative peace under the leadership of a democratically elected government. It is this confusion that I am deavoring to ease with this piece. The piece made the Daily Observer Online Commentary column:

Many people will say that the President traveled too much this year; that the President should have stayed in Liberia and taken care of domestic issues; or that most of the reasons while the President traveled so much have no bearing on the lives of the people of Liberia. We all know in Liberia that when you plant rice, you don't start cutting or harvesting the rice one or two months later. You have to take care of the farm, especially driving the birds away, which takes months and months.
President Tubman never liked flying. And flying is not a pleasant thing. No one in his right mind will voluntarily jump into an airplane just for the fun of it. So if the President, Madam Sirleaf, is constantly in airplanes soliciting help from friends of Liberia, Liberians should thank God for the President and stop complaining. If you owe people, you cannot do anything for yourself. You are always worried until that debt is off your head. Most of the trips have been to ask countries that Liberia owes money, to wipe those debts away. As we can see, many of these countries have agreed to forgive us for what we owe them.
Many, many other things happened this year in Liberia, some good and some not so good. One good thing that happened is that electricity was brought back to some parts of Monrovia. Did you hear me? I did not say that the people of Voinjama, Lofa County were able to get electricity. I said some parts of Monrovia got light and some people, especially the students in those areas are happy. We need to thank the President and our friends who helped to make this small achievement possible. We have to appreciate the small things people do for us. By doing this, people will be encouraged to do more.
One other good thing that happened in 2007 is that we have not heard of the government sending opposition leaders to jail. This kind of thing can cause confusion in the minds of citizens. This kind of thing brings about distrust and lack of confidence in government. Can anyone remember what happened two years into CIC Doe's reign? Can anyone remember what two years into President Taylor's regime was like? We all can be grateful to all the stakeholders that 60% peace is back in Liberia.
Personally, one good thing that happened to me this year is that I sat in a room at a hotel in Washington, DC with the President of Liberia. I saw with my own two eyes the Medal of Freedom Award she wore around her neck. Sitting in a room with the President of Liberia does not happen to every ordinary Liberian. And for this, I am deeply grateful to the person who made this opportunity possible for me. For many, the medal means nothing. For me, being awarded the Medal of Freedom means the rule of law must be at the forefront of governance. It means before an action is taken, a lot of thoughts must come into play. Because the world knows that one has been given the Award for Freedom, it expects to hear the sound and see the sign of freedom in every nook and corner where that award is displayed. The spot light is on Liberia now and forever because of that award. All Liberians need to work for freedom for their people; not in a destructive sense, but in a way that the benefits of freedom will be seen and enjoyed by all.
One of the many bad things that continues to happen in Liberia in 2007 is the news that corruption is not going down, but instead, is in fact climbing into the sky. From Robertsfield to ELWA Junction; from Red Light to the Freeport of Monrovia; from the Gabriel Tucker Bridge to Buzzy (Lorma?) Quarters; from UN Drive to Capitol Hill, and from Broad Street to Camp Johnson Road and all the way to the Mansion, the news about corruption is not good.
What about places from Todee Junction to Butuo, Nimba County? What about places From Toe Town in Grand Gedeh to Rock Town in Maryland County? What about government entities from Owensgroove to Buchanan or from Suehn to Robertsport? Are the people who are working for government in Zorzor any better than those in Greenville when it comes to corruption?
As a Class III Border Patrol Officer with Immigration, I used to earned $133.33 per month. Now, I don't know what the situation is with the Class III Officer, but with $50.00 being the minimum Civil Servant pay, it is very difficult to preach a no-corruption sermon. A Wage increase will definitely help to stop the bleeding.
And finally, the last bad news that is still going on in Liberia in 2007, to me, is the FAWUL thing in Firestone and the LAC incident. In 1981 when President Reagan came to power in America, the Air Traffic Controllers went on strike. They were immediately fired by the president. There must be a lot of unemployed Air Traffic Controllers in the United States. For rubber tappers in Liberia, you can't do that. Even though people may think that rubber tapping is an unskilled endeavor, that is far from the truth. Rubber tapping is a difficult and dirty job.
A rubber tapper is a professional in his own right. Not every unskilled Liberian craves to be a rubber tapper. Owning a rice or sugar cane or cassava farm carries more pride, decency, and self-fulfillment. Being your own boss, with the help of governement, should be the theme of 2008. FAWUL should be given the go-ahead to continue to represent the workers of Firestone. Respect the choice of the workers.
Let the LAC issue be revisited. Let the people of the area get involved. Once our people recognize that they are part of the solution to any undertaking, there will be no need for distrust and lawlessness. The old way of ignoring reality must be wiped away from the old minds. Let's think big for our people and for the country. Anther thing that those in authority need to discontinue is stripping clothes off our people when they are accused of an offense. This kind of behavior is shameful and disgraceful.
We all should hope that 2008 will bring more jobs for our people. We should all hope that 2008 will see more people leaving Monrovia for places in other parts of the country to find jobs. This well help to reduce the crime rate and the hala hala we continue to hear in Monrovia. Remember, and idle mind is the devil's workshop.
Because we are all alive and able to enjoy peace in 2007, we can rightly say Merry Christmas to the President of Liberia and to the Government of Liberia; we can even say to ourselves, Merry Christmas and hope for a Happy New Year!