This year's ULAA election has captured my imagination, especially so that a lady who has given her all for the Liberian community, is a candidate for the presidency of an Organization that should mean something to the Liberian people, world wide. To change a system one must be a part of the change process. It is fabulous to sit and watch from the sideline. It is wonderful to sit and whine and allow others to fight for a shift in the mindset of those who prefer the status quo. Not me. The talent that just got ripened to allow me to express my gut feelings, continues to drive in high gear:
This memo goes out to Liberians who are begging for a tsunami-type change in the history and operation of ULAA (The Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas).
Fellow Liberians:
If all goes well, this will be my first time voting in a ULAA election...and I have been in this country for more than fifteen years...and in the Nation's capital, for that matter. ULAA's portrayal has not sat well with me...and if all was said and done, many, many people in the Diaspora will vouch that ULAA has been and continues to be dubbed as an elite organization. ULAA has been the springboard that catapulted many of its leaders to positions of power in Liberia. I hate to think that that was the original objective of this organization.
Most Liberians are frustrated and disgruntled with the ULAA leadership. The umbrella under which the thousands of Liberian organizations in America are supposed to find refuge, is riddled with holes...leaving Liberians soaking wet... like drowned rats..fending for themselves. Charles Taylor, past president of ULAA, did well in promoting the real image of the organization and its ideals. I was not here but I know Mr Taylor ended many of his speeches..to rousing ovations... with the words: In the cause of the people, the struggle continues.
In the cause of the people, the struggle continues were words that deafened the ears of Liberians in the 70s and 80s, and even the 90s. The PEOPLE of Liberia, 80 % of whom are illiterate and helpless, embraced and fell victims to the charade of a few. The dancing in the streets of Monrovia and other cities in Liberia; the elated feelings generated after hearing tricksters and war lords talk of a glorious tomorrow on BBC...all these and many others, turned out to be a farce and a great disappointment to the masses of our PEOPLE.
The end result of all the talks and the many great speeches was the killing of thousands of our PEOPLE, the people for whom the struggle was intended and for whose livelihood and welfare the drum beat could be heard far and wide.
I have never understood why the Bong Mines-Kakata highway was never paved. The distance is about 20-30 miles. The rumor mill had it that the government of Liberia took the money intended for the road and used it on something else. This brings me to the money collected for Liberian refugees in Ghana who were in dire need at a particular time.
Transparency and accountability have been the Achilles' heel for almost all Liberian Organizations in the Americas. Most Liberians are fed up with the destructive and corrupt politics of those who call themselves community leaders.The money that was collected for the Ghana Refuge crisis, with Mariah Seaton at the head, has not been accounted for and with great disrespect to us Liberians in the Diaspora, ULAA and its leadership has determined that a bunch of fools like us need not know what happened to the money that was collected by concerned members of the community. This is the kind of misstep that sends credibility down the abyss of no return. This is the kind of compunction and audacity that continue to drive away Liberians who are anxious to help.
Let's stop the joke. The real PEOPLE of Liberia are those in River Gee who continue to walk bare footed and can barely sustain themselves. The children in RockTown, Maryland County who are unable to buy uniforms for school, are the real PEOPLE we should be concerned about. The real PEOPLE whose livelihood we keep falsifying are those living in Belle Yalla, Gbarpolu County whose lifestyle have not changed since 1847. Yes, the real PEOPLE we should be talking about are those refugees who came to America and fell through the cracks all because ULAA was AWOL.
The time for politics as usual is over. The time and moment for social reawakening is now. Liberians around the world are in search of genuine and caring leaders who will see the great need to lift the PEOPLE of Liberia up from the state of destitution in which they find themselves. Character assassination and leaving no stone unturned at undermining those who are willing to sacrifice for the real cause of the PEOPLE, will not auger well for those of us who are bent on bringing about real change in the lives of the PEOPLE of Liberia.
Liberians, we are now at a cross road. We can either decide to continue to stand still and look around or, we can choose someone on ULAA's election day who will move this organization in the direction of the 21st century. That is why the same old, same old is just sickening. That is why the first half of the 21st century belongs to women who have long held the view and vision of a better society. That is why it is the right thing to do...on election day...to vote for Dr Mariah Seton...to take ULAA and the rest of the organizations under the umbrella to a completely different level of experience and existence.
The time for Liberians to mince words and ideas is history. We need to see things as they are and muster the courage to kick against evil tendencies. We should not continue to promote falsehood and blind following just for our own convenience. We are so shamefully backward in development projects that it is a shame we are the last to see this major ill.
Dr Mariah Seton has shown that she is a capable, trustworthy, and caring person who means well for Liberians in the diaspora and the motherland. That is why my battle cry at this time in history is: Seton/Curtis all the way to victory!
Why am I so optimistic? The reason has been pounded into recesses of my mind by the late Robert Kennedy, in his own words: "Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?"
Kweme
7/21-22/08
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