First Impressions of Liberia

Liquid Liberian Sunshine

Our Group of Peace Corps Response Volunteers

 Peace Corps Office, Monrovia

September 1, 2013

Roberts International Airport is Liberia’s gateway to the world. You quickly realize that you are not in Minnesota anymore. It is about 20 miles from the main city and was built by the US Army in WWII and has seen its better days. Certainly the most primitive airport I have been.

The drive into town is not unlike other third world countries. The vehicles are either Toyota Land Cruisers of the UN and NGO organizations, or small taxi cabs and motorcycle taxis which buzz about you like flies. Signs along the way announce the NGOs who are here to promote their particular cause, the exception are the signs talking about using “Ballots Instead of Bullets”.

It is the rainy season which means it rains more than anyone in the US can imagine, except in a hurricane. Monrovia gets almost 20 feet of rain a year. The good thing is it is cloudy asnd old Sol stays hidden awaiting the hot and dry season.

Liberians themselves are a friendly lot and the first thing you do when meeting any Liberian, male or female, young or old, is do the Liberian handshake which consists of various grasps, always ending with snapping the index finger and thumb off of the other persons index finger and thumb. Once done, smiles erupt and you speak lively and directly to each other.

The feeling here is that you are in different place, but not different. There are few who wear the colorful dresses and tunics. There is no music blaring, cars infrequently honk, there is only a scattering of panhandlers no electricity in the air. I guess for a country that has been through fifteen years of bloody civil wars, the people and country are just worn out.

I have tried to get a sense of what people says about their first African female President and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Ellen-Johnson Sirlef. The Peace Corps showed us several movies which made President Sirlif and Liberian women look like miracle workers. However a couple of people said that if Charles Taylor, the former civil war rebel, was released from prison in The Hague after being convicted of war crimes, he would easily win an election.

Liberia has no tourist business as such. Monrovia, its capital, does have restaurants and one hotel frequented by Westerners and Middle Easterners. The Chinese who are doing lots of development here in return for rights to extract iron ore seem to stay in their own Chinatown. The beaches are cluttered with trash with signs to urging you not to “Poo-Poo” here. The undertows make swimming very dangerous.

The U.S. dollar is the preferred currency. Most prices are stated in it so currency conversion is not an issue. If you need to convert U.S. dollars to local Liberties there are numerous street kiosks where you can make your transaction. Liberians don’t like small US denominations, so small purchases are done in Liberties or you get change of dollars and Liberties.

Like Peace offices in other parts of Africa, security is tight. The building in surrounded by a high wall with a gated guardhouse and 24 hour guards who inspect the undercarriage and motor of every vehicle One quickly gets the feeling that the Peace Corps is a welcomed and respected organization by officialdom and street people. The Peace Corps ID Card gets you through any checkpoint without delay.  Other than that, the building really doesn’t have much and resembles other Peace Corps offices.