A Liberian Life

A Liberian Life PDF Author: D. Elwood Dunn
Publisher: Afrika-Studiecentrum
ISBN: 9789004507630
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
A Liberian academic and former government official accounts for and reflects upon half a century of work and experience. An important Liberian political memoir, the book is at once Dunn's critical exposition on his country and an attempt to explain how Liberia came to be what it is today. In 26 captivating chapters he recounts careers as academic, and services as aide to slain Liberian President Tolbert and consultant to former President Johnson Sirleaf. Between government service in crisis times (late 1970s) and in hopeful times (early 2000s) is positioned more than three decades of University teaching and research.

A Liberian Life

A Liberian Life PDF Author: D. Elwood Dunn
Publisher: Afrika-Studiecentrum
ISBN: 9789004507630
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
A Liberian academic and former government official accounts for and reflects upon half a century of work and experience. An important Liberian political memoir, the book is at once Dunn's critical exposition on his country and an attempt to explain how Liberia came to be what it is today. In 26 captivating chapters he recounts careers as academic, and services as aide to slain Liberian President Tolbert and consultant to former President Johnson Sirleaf. Between government service in crisis times (late 1970s) and in hopeful times (early 2000s) is positioned more than three decades of University teaching and research.

Madame President

Madame President PDF Author: Helene Cooper
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451697376
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
BEST BOOKS of 2017 SELECTION by * THE WASHINGTON POST * NEW YORK POST * The harrowing, but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women’s movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history. When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 Liberian presidential election, she demolished a barrier few thought possible, obliterating centuries of patriarchal rule to become the first female elected head of state in Africa’s history. Madame President is the inspiring, often heartbreaking story of Sirleaf’s evolution from an ordinary Liberian mother of four boys to international banking executive, from a victim of domestic violence to a political icon, from a post-war president to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Helene Cooper deftly weaves Sirleaf’s personal story into the larger narrative of the coming of age of Liberian women. The highs and lows of Sirleaf’s life are filled with indelible images; from imprisonment in a jail cell for standing up to Liberia’s military government to addressing the United States Congress, from reeling under the onslaught of the Ebola pandemic to signing a deal with Hillary Clinton when she was still Secretary of State that enshrined American support for Liberia’s future. Sirleaf’s personality shines throughout this riveting biography. Ultimately, Madame President is the story of Liberia’s greatest daughter, and the universal lessons we can all learn from this “Oracle” of African women.

The Myth of Self-Reliance

The Myth of Self-Reliance PDF Author: Naohiko Omata
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1785335650
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
For many refugees, economic survival in refugee camps is extraordinarily difficult. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research , this volume challenges the reputation of a ‘self-reliant’ model given to Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana and sheds light on considerable economic inequality between refugee households.By following the same refugee households over several years, The Myth of Self-Reliance also provides valuable insights into refugees’ experiences of repatriation to Liberia after protracted exile and their responses to the ending of refugee status for remaining refugees in Ghana.

This Child Will Be Great

This Child Will Be Great PDF Author: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061353477
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
In January 2006, after the Republic of Liberia had been racked by fourteen years of brutal civil conflict, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—Africa's "Iron Lady"—was sworn in as president, an event that marked a tremendous turning point in the history of the West African nation. In this stirring memoir, Sirleaf shares the inside story of her rise to power, including her early childhood; her experiences with abuse, imprisonment, and exile; and her fight for democracy and social justice. This compelling tale of survival reveals Sirleaf's determination to succeed in multiple worlds: from her studies in the United States to her work as an international bank executive to her election campaigning in some of Liberia's most desperate and war-torn villages and neighborhoods. It is also the story of an outspoken political and social reformer who, despite danger, fought the oppression of dictators and championed change. By sharing her story, Sirleaf encourages women everywhere to pursue leadership roles at the highest levels of power, and gives us all hope that, with perseverance, we can change the world.

The Liberian Civil War

The Liberian Civil War PDF Author: Mark Huband
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135252149
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
The civil war in 1989 promised freedom from ten years of vicious dictatorship; instead the seeds of Liberia's devastation were sown. Mark Huband's account of the conflict is a portrayal of the war as it unfolded, drawing on the author's experience of living amongst the fighters.

Living Liberia

Living Liberia PDF Author: Robert Cherry
Publisher: Robert a Cherry
ISBN: 9780991386451
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Living Liberia introduces the reader to a charming, exotic and unforgettable land, although given Liberia's history it seems that God himself, at times, has forgotten it. The book also depicts the education of a young American in tribal rituals, sexual mores and, not least, his encounters with a memorable gallery of African idealists and rogues.

Dream Country

Dream Country PDF Author: Shannon Gibney
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735231680
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
The heartbreaking story of five generations of young people from a single African-and-American family pursuing an elusive dream of freedom. "Gut wrenching and incredible.”— Sabaa Tahir #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes "This novel is a remarkable achievement."—Kelly Barnhill, New York Times bestselling author and Newbery medalist "Beautifully epic."—Ibi Zoboi, author American Street and National Book Award finalist Dream Country begins in suburban Minneapolis at the moment when seventeen-year-old Kollie Flomo begins to crack under the strain of his life as a Liberian refugee. He's exhausted by being at once too black and not black enough for his African American peers and worn down by the expectations of his own Liberian family and community. When his frustration finally spills into violence and his parents send him back to Monrovia to reform school, the story shifts. Like Kollie, readers travel back to Liberia, but also back in time, to the early twentieth century and the point of view of Togar Somah, an eighteen-year-old indigenous Liberian on the run from government militias that would force him to work the plantations of the Congo people, descendants of the African American slaves who colonized Liberia almost a century earlier. When Togar's section draws to a shocking close, the novel jumps again, back to America in 1827, to the children of Yasmine Wright, who leave a Virginia plantation with their mother for Liberia, where they're promised freedom and a chance at self-determination by the American Colonization Society. The Wrights begin their section by fleeing the whip and by its close, they are then the ones who wield it. With each new section, the novel uncovers fresh hope and resonating heartbreak, all based on historical fact. In Dream Country, Shannon Gibney spins a riveting tale of the nightmarish spiral of death and exile connecting America and Africa, and of how one determined young dreamer tries to break free and gain control of her destiny.

Liberia

Liberia PDF Author: Gabriel I. H. Williams
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1553692942
Category : Liberia
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
On December 24, 1989, a group of Libyan-trained armed dissidents, which styled itself the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), attacked Liberian territory from neighboring Ivory Coast. The band of outlaws was led by Charles Taylor, an ex-Liberia government official who escaped from prison in the United States while facing extradition to Liberia for allegedly embezzling nearly one million dollars of public funds. After he fled the U.S. Taylor returned to West Africa, from where he connected with Libya. Sustained by Libyan support, Taylor went to Liberia to spearhead his murderous brand of civil war. Liberia's dictatorial leader Samuel Doe responded to the NPFL invasion by deploying troops in the conflict area, whose senior ranks were dominated by the military strongman's own ethnic group. The government forces carried out collective punishment against local villagers, killing, looting, and raping, while singling out people from certain ethnic groups whom they regarded as supporters of the invasion by reason of their ethnic identity. The NPFL also targeted members of Doe's ethnic group and other ethnic groups that were seen to be supportive of the government, as well as its officials and sympathizers. As the war spread from the interior toward the Liberian capital of Monrovia amid widespread death and destruction, the United States responded to the deteriorating situation by dispatching four warships with 2,300 marines to evacuate Americans and other foreigners who were in the country. The U.S. decided not to intervene to contain the unfolding catastrophe. Officials of the George Bush administration maintained that Liberia, which was then America's closest traditional ally in Africa, was no longer of strategic importance to the U.S. Coincidentally, the Liberian civil war started at the time the Cold War was ending. Located on the West Coast of Africa, Liberia was founded in 1822 by freed black American slaves who were returned to the continent. Their passage was paid by the American Colonization Society, a philanthropic organization, whose members included Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. The Liberian capital Monrovia is named after Monroe, who was president of the United States at the time Liberia was founded. The country's national flag of red, white and blue stripes with a star, bears close resemblance to the American flag. The systems of government and education, architecture and other aspects of Liberian life reflect American taste. Names of places in the country include Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana and Buchanan. More than anywhere in Africa, spoken English in Liberia echoes the rhythms of Black American speech. Liberia served as the regional headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and hosted a Voice of America relay station that beamed American propaganda, as well as other major U.S. security installations during the Cold War. The Americans also operated the Omega Navigation Tower, which was intended to track the movement of ships and planes in the region and beyond. Once one of Africa's most stable and prosperous countries, Liberia was regarded as a haven for international trade and commerce because of the use of the American dollar as a legal tender. Major U.S. investments in the country included the Firestone Rubber Plantation, the world's largest plantation, which produce rubber for Firestone tires, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Citibank. Pan American Airlines (PAN AM) once operated Liberia's Roberts International Airport, where U.S. fighter jets have landing rights. During part of the 1970s, Liberia's per capita income was equivalent to that of Japan. Independent since 1847 as Africa's first republic, Liberia's plunge into anarchy began after a bloody military coup that ended the rule of descendants of the freed slaves, who monopolized political and economic power for over a century. During the 1980 coup, President William Tolbert, who tried to institute some meaningful po

Stories of Liberian Life

Stories of Liberian Life PDF Author: Ruth M. Reeves
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Liberia
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description


My Improbable Journey to America

My Improbable Journey to America PDF Author: Jarvis Sankalan Mengarpuan
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
ISBN: 1662421494
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Author Sankalan was in the sixth grade when his guardians threw him out of their government-owned house in the picturesque community of Germany, Kakata, Liberia, West Africa. Why? Because he went to borrow a uniform from his friend to sit for the Liberian Government national examinations designed for sixth, ninth, and twelfth graders in the sixties and seventies. Booker Washington Institute (BWI) campus was the site of the exams. The old uniform he had showed his naked anatomy in public, which was not only humiliating but embarrassingly inappropriate in such public arena. How did he continue school as an independent homeless youth in his home country, Liberia? What difficult circumstances did he experience in Liberia during his formative years in the quest of education? What propelled him to undertake this incredible journey to the United States of America, a country in which many Africans or Liberians believe that ‘Money grows on trees,’ a country in which people are territorial by nature and protective of their personal space, a country in which the culture values are diametrically opposed to the African or Liberian way of life? How did he maintain his moral integrity to his family, after he was pressured to engage in an illegal marriage proposal to obtain permanent resident status (Green Card) in his first year in the America? And how did he successfully complete his educational journey with perseverance despite insurmountable problems along his path in the US? Answers to these questions are chronicled in this riveting account of an intrepid Liberian in his book: My Improbable Journey to America—A Memoir of Reflections.