Town & Country

Getting Culturally Acclimated

Over the past two weeks, I’ve felt like I’m settling in to life in Liberia. I’m beginning to adjust to the food (including what body does not tolerate); my work schedule and responsibilities have become more crystallized; I’m better understanding Liberian English; I have a greater sense of the geography; my workout routine is better regimented; I’m becoming acquainted with the local churches; and I’m making friends with my co-workers, the staff at my guesthouse, local businessmen, the regulars at the gym, and the community members and government workers with whom our organization works.

One cultural element that I’ve picked up on during the last two weeks is that there is not a sense of rushing and busyness that we find in American culture – especially in DC. I think that this value of taking your time is fairly common in many parts of the world, but it’s just a bit of a culture shock for me coming from DC, to be working with community leaders who do not necessarily have a full agenda for the day or another engagement to rush off to. I’ve noticed that this slower-paced lifestyle, allows community leaders to become very invested in their work. During meetings, it also encourages people to ensure that their voice and viewpoint is heard in a way that may be considered long-winded or “talking to hear yourself talk” in the States. However here it’s seen as respectful to allow folks to get their entire point across and feeling fully heard – even if that means a roundabout way of getting there or repeating oneself.

Another related cultural practice is calling just to say hi. Many have called me with seemingly no motive other than to say hi and wish that I have a great rest of the day.

In general, I’ve felt very welcomed into every community that I’ve been to thus far. Before one meeting, the leader even invited me into his home to eat and chat, before getting started. He even offered me a chicken as a welcome gift.

Weekend in Monrovia

This past weekend, I was able to take a break from Ganta and head to Monrovia or “to town” as Liberians call it. My co-worker and I got really fortunate with the weather – two sunny days in the middle of rainy season. On Saturday, we spent the day at Tropicana Beach and went in the ocean for a bit – but the dangerous currents kept me very close to shore. In the evening we met with fellow expats at Mamba Point restaurant hotel for dinner – an upscale venue built for foreigners and the Liberian elite. The night in the city was a fun change of pace, especially meeting with government and NGO workers from all around the world who are committed to Liberia’s development.

On Sunday, we went on a run through the city to the ruins of the Ducor Palace Hotel. The hotel was built in 1960 and was once one of only a few five-star hotels in Africa. The hotel was built as a meeting place for African and other world leaders to congregate for important conferences and events. The hotel closed in 1989 – shortly before the onset of the civil war. Over the course of 14 years of war, the hotel was looted and essentially destroyed. Many squatters even moved in to live in the empty rooms. The government eventually evicted these folks and now the property sits abandoned with a few security guards who will let you explore for a small fee.

     

We also had plans to visit Monkey Island – a real life “planet of the apes” island where monkeys who were once used for hepatitis research now live freely. Unfortunately, due to poor living conditions for the monkeys the tour guide is not doing many tours right now, so this trip, may have to wait until next time.

Monrovia is a big city and a stark contrast from the countryside and the image of Liberia that I’ve grown accustomed to over the past 3+ weeks. But I do think it was good for me to see how the other half of the country lives, and take a break from rural living while doing it.

My New Name is Yarkpawolo

After the training, we headed to Ganta in Nimba County - and the guesthouse where I will be staying for the summer. Everybody at the guesthouse is very welcoming and I already feel at home. After a few days in the office at the beginning of the week, my coworker brought me to Cuttington University in Bong County to meet with the director of the peace and conflict studies program. He was glad to meet me and it turns out that he is good friends with Georgetown's former Associate Director of Conflict Resolution, Craig Zelizer.  I also met with some students and was invited to join some seminars that they will be having throughout the summer. 

On the way back from the university, my coworker said that we needed stopped in a town called Gbarnga because there were some people who he wanted me to meet. He brought me to a pavilion where there were about 20 men sitting and talking aged 20 to 60. He explained to me that this group is an open forum where men frequently gather to discuss matters of politics, social justice, international affairs, and other related topics. When he introduced me to the group, the interrogation from members of the group ensued. What was my analysis of the U.S. presidential election? What do I think about Ellen? (the current Liberian president) Why did I decide to come to Liberia? How will I be an advocate for Liberia when I return? Who is my favorite Liberian president? What do I think about the U.S.'s intervention in Libya? What should be the qualifications for the next president of Liberia? Is there a difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist? What do I think of Mugabe? Is the Western media's depiction of African leaders fair? Why do I think African leaders are so corrupt? Do I agree with the U.S.'s approach in Syria? Do you think Western aid in Africa is doing more harm than good? I really enjoyed giving my honest opinions to all of these questions and I could tell that the forum participants were really interested in what I had to say. I hope I'm able to make it back there before I leave and listen to some of their perspectives

On the way back we drove by Charles Taylor's farm. It was nice. 

Later this week, I worked in the field with the members of some of the Community Forums. One of the major ethnic groups in Bong County is the Kpelle. During the meetings, English is mostly spoken, though some members are more comfortable communicating in the Kpelle language. On Friday afternoon they started calling me Yarkpawolo - which they say in Kpelle translates to "tall man." 

During these meetings, my coworker introduces me to the community members and tells them to pay no mind to the color of my skin. He tells them that "Nick showed me a picture of his mother and she a black lady - he a son." It's funny, because everybody calls me white man here - I would rarely be called that back home, though people usually don't know what ethnicity I am.

Other musings...

I found a gym in Ganta this week! One of my coworkers was telling me that he works out, and I was very pleased to find that there is in fact a small gym. There are only a few (non-matching) free weights and two benches, but that is good enough for me.

Soap operas in Liberia are bizarre. I mean not like in a way that all soap operas are weird, but like really off the wall. The filming is really poor (iPhone quality) and they contain an excess of violence against women.

I've also found that radio DJs in Liberia are very positive. They frequently use Liberian nationalist rhetoric to give inspirational messages of national development and growth. 

I celebrated national doughnut day by eating a Swiss cake roll. Then I had an allergic reaction. Today, I celebrated by eating an actual Liberian doughnut. I feel fine so far... 

Welcome to Liberia!

Last week, I arrived in Liberia to start a 10-week internship with the Kaizen Company working on a project called Mitigating Local Disputes in Liberia (MLDL). The MLDL program works to "build the institutional and human capacity of local government officials and citizens to manage disputes and security concerns by focusing on developing and expanding County Security Councils (CSCs), District Security Councils (DSCs) and Community Forums (CFs). [These] structures [are supported] at multiple levels in Liberian society to give citizens the ability to bring disputes to authority figures as easily as possible with the aim of preventing minor disputes from becoming large scale conflicts. In this way, the project is working to foster peace by applying alternative dispute resolution and mediation techniques to supplant violence" (Kaizen website). Because this project deals with matters of security, for the purposes of this blog any information that I give about it will remain at a high level.

Across the last several months, I’ve received some interesting reactions from people when I told them that I would be interning in Liberia this summer – mainly characterized as cautious excitement. Liberia is one of the poorest countries in Africa and is still recovering from a brutal civil war that ended in 2003. However, the post-conflict reconstruction process has been moving along for several years, and I am excited to meet with and learn from actors on the ground who are working to build a peaceful and reconciled Liberia.

The airport in Monrovia can be a bit of a shock for travelers who are used to passing through Western airports, though I was able to manage my way through the Ebola screening and out the front door with relative ease. Thankfully, my co-worker and MLDL driver had already arrived and were waiting for me, because it was raining about as hard as I’ve ever seen it rain. Late May through October is the rainy season in Liberia, with Monrovia receiving well over an inch of rain per day in June and July. Fortunately for me, I will most of my summer in Ganta in the north of the country, where the rainy season is much less severe.

During my first full day in Liberia, I was afforded the opportunity to rest and get acclimated. I had a chance to get down to the beach and enjoyed dinner at one of Monrovia’s finest Western restaurants. Monrovia is an intriguing city with a large expatriate community of IO and NGO workers as well as Lebanese businesspeople. My time in Monrovia was brief, as the next morning our team traveled to the countryside to help conduct a multi-day training.

The  drive to this town was felt long, particularly because much of it was on a dirt road, but the scenery made it well worth it. When I arrived, I found that most of the luxuries that I enjoyed in Monrovia quickly went away. My guesthouse had no running water, or even a light switch to turn off the light (at least I did have electricity - a major plus). 

Here, I also tried my first Liberian food. Meals in Liberia are typically a combination of rice and what they call "soup" - though the soup is not liquidy like we think of it in the States. The soups usually involve a plant base with spices and either fish or chicken added in. I'm not really good at describing food, so I'll take a picture of my food later and add it to this blog.

During this time, I was able to talk with project staff  about where they saw the post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction process in Liberia. There is a general sense of cautious optimism and positivity, but there is recognition that much work is still to be done.