December 3, 2013
A sudden private meeting was called today for the eleven foreign instructors housed at the university by the President of Cuttington University, Dr. Henrique Tokpa, with the subject being “Acquaintance meeting”.
Tensions are high, especially after a similar robbery occurred last week to a foreign instructor while he was sleeping. He was awakened as robbers shook his locked bedroom door after entering his house through an unbarred window. The university security guard scheduled at his site called in absent. This is the second time he was robbed, but the first while he was in his house.
After a lengthy talk about his own life and the traumatic history of Cuttington, he brought up the subject about the deteriorating and troubling security situation at the university. As he explained how this part of Liberia was the headquarters for rebel forces and how many of the men were soldiers, schooled in the ways of crime, it became evident, albeit unsaid, he was afraid of the prospect of not being able to get foreign instructors, but his own personal safety.
He told about the lack of money, especially unpaid government obligations, affecting physical security improvements and how a number of administrators were delaying their salaries to help pay for some immediate concerns. He said that just that morning he decided to half the responsibilities of the Administrative Director to whom security reports. The university was also considering hiring a private security company to replace it university security employees. Finally he mentioned a committee was established to investigate the security force.
I mentioned to him about my survey of students and faculty about whether they trusted the university’s security force and how everyone said security people could not be trusted, indeed were the cause of university crime. If this is the perception, then the university had a huge problem.
I said that I have extensive experience with security issues and that I would be happy to work with the committee on their investigation. I also said it was important to have access to the security department’s logs and personnel records. He welcomed the opportunity to have me be on the committee. As an aside, earlier that morning I had sent an email to the Peace Corps Country Director to see if he could inquire about allowing me access to records. He was off post and had not read the email.
I also mentioned to Dr. Tokpa I hoped an investigation would clear the security force and help to restore its stature, but if the security was implicated, the consequences for the university could be serious. He said he wanted to make the university a safe place like it was when he was a Cuttington student.
Peace Corps has security procedures and physical barrier requirements for its volunteers. Unfortunately, they were lax in my situation, now remedied. The other foreigners, mostly paid for by government of Nigeria, don’t have any such security requirements as a condition for their housing and the females are particularly frightened for their safety.
As we say here, TIA, “This is Africa”. Who knows what happens next. All I wanted was a chance to catch those suckers who visited me three weeks ago. I smell blood and am on the scent. Wish me well.
A sudden private meeting was called today for the eleven foreign instructors housed at the university by the President of Cuttington University, Dr. Henrique Tokpa, with the subject being “Acquaintance meeting”.
Tensions are high, especially after a similar robbery occurred last week to a foreign instructor while he was sleeping. He was awakened as robbers shook his locked bedroom door after entering his house through an unbarred window. The university security guard scheduled at his site called in absent. This is the second time he was robbed, but the first while he was in his house.
After a lengthy talk about his own life and the traumatic history of Cuttington, he brought up the subject about the deteriorating and troubling security situation at the university. As he explained how this part of Liberia was the headquarters for rebel forces and how many of the men were soldiers, schooled in the ways of crime, it became evident, albeit unsaid, he was afraid of the prospect of not being able to get foreign instructors, but his own personal safety.
He told about the lack of money, especially unpaid government obligations, affecting physical security improvements and how a number of administrators were delaying their salaries to help pay for some immediate concerns. He said that just that morning he decided to half the responsibilities of the Administrative Director to whom security reports. The university was also considering hiring a private security company to replace it university security employees. Finally he mentioned a committee was established to investigate the security force.
I mentioned to him about my survey of students and faculty about whether they trusted the university’s security force and how everyone said security people could not be trusted, indeed were the cause of university crime. If this is the perception, then the university had a huge problem.
I said that I have extensive experience with security issues and that I would be happy to work with the committee on their investigation. I also said it was important to have access to the security department’s logs and personnel records. He welcomed the opportunity to have me be on the committee. As an aside, earlier that morning I had sent an email to the Peace Corps Country Director to see if he could inquire about allowing me access to records. He was off post and had not read the email.
I also mentioned to Dr. Tokpa I hoped an investigation would clear the security force and help to restore its stature, but if the security was implicated, the consequences for the university could be serious. He said he wanted to make the university a safe place like it was when he was a Cuttington student.
Peace Corps has security procedures and physical barrier requirements for its volunteers. Unfortunately, they were lax in my situation, now remedied. The other foreigners, mostly paid for by government of Nigeria, don’t have any such security requirements as a condition for their housing and the females are particularly frightened for their safety.
As we say here, TIA, “This is Africa”. Who knows what happens next. All I wanted was a chance to catch those suckers who visited me three weeks ago. I smell blood and am on the scent. Wish me well.
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