Iron Ladies of Liberia

Thanks God for PBS....the savior of cable television.
Just finished watching an absolutely wonderful documentary on The Iron Ladies of Liberia, the first and foremost being Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, or "Ma" as most Liberians call her. Sirleaf was elected the first female African head of state in 2005 in the troubled West African nation of Liberia, just emerging from 14 years of brutal civil war. When she was inaugurated, Liberia had an unemployment rate of 85%; the capital, Monrovia, was without running water or electricity for 15 years; illiteracy was at 90%; infamous warlord and former President Charles Taylor was being shuttled to a war crimes trial in The Hague; the country was in absolute and complete ruin. Her determination and drive to improve life in this war torn country were riveting; seeing the challenges that would drive most mortals into inactivity, she pushes forward with an aggressive campaign to rein in endemic corruption and sooth a troubled social society.
I remember following the election in Liberia back in 2005, between Mrs. Sirleaf and former football star George Weah; its hard to express my satisfaction that this woman was elected, was given a chance in a part of the world historically dominated by the "Big Men," and has proceeded to work with integrity to improve the lives of her people, even in the smallest and most seemingly trivial of ways; this is certainly one of the bright spots of the African political scene.
One of the biggest problems facing this nascent country has been the huge foreign debt that was compiled during the last decades of corrupt rule, debt to multi and bilateral agencies and country donors, including the normal suspects (World Bank, IMF), money that went to fund ghost projects which have done nothing to improve the lives of the people of Liberia. I question, what kind of oversight was implemented on these projects?? Could the professional consultants employed by the banks not see that these funds were being misappropriated? Could they not see most of the money going into the pockets, or Swiss accounts, of the ruling mafia? Was there no conscious thought to the fact that the people were suffering, and would continue to suffer under these enormous debt loads for generations to come, debt loads for projects that did nothing but pad the bottom lines of the World Bank quarterly reports? This is very troubling theme that we see throughout the developing world.
Alas, a new "white knight," or more appropriately, a new "red knight," enters the scene; offering zero interest loans and huge grants secured against future mineral rights; offering massive infrastructure assistance; and as in most other areas of the developing world, this dashing red knight rode in on a China Airlines charter jet, and was welcomed with open arms. Even Liberia, a historical ally of the United States, a country that was founded by freed American slaves and even has the same flag (with one star instead of our 50) as the US, is starting to look at a new order in the world. A new order with an insatiable appetite for commodities, and a seemingly never ending supply of money to back up their smiles and demands. And they should. Who could blame nations in need for looking at every possible donor source to help alleviate painful situations. The question is, are we knowingly dropping the ball, or are we knowingly passing the buck, or are we just simply so distracted by our own political quagmire that we are willing to forfeit decades of unparalleled precedence on the world stage, in hopes of crawling into our isolationist shell and letting the world pack up and pass us by? Both isolationism and selectivism in our dealings are not feasible option. We must be bold and dignified in our dealings overseas; we must not lose this "race," or the many other drivers in this race will continue to pass us by, and it will become harder and harder to make up this lost ground.
President Sirleaf has repeatedly stated her commitment to the United States; Bush recently visited the country, to cement their relationship and America's commitment; he committed one million textbooks and other assistance for the country; however, the world order is slowly shifting; seeing it in such a small, undeveloped nation such as Liberia was a sign of how pervasive this shift has become. Sirleaf has pushed repeatedly for debt relief; why should this country be forced to pay the debts of previous warlords who ran the country into the ground?
The country of only 3 million was sitting under a debt burden of over 5 billion dollars; this could never be overcome without donor forgiveness. The interest payments alone would permanently cripple the nations finances.
One of her biggest initiatives has been to provide free, compulsory primary school education for all children, a right taken for granted in most countries, but something that has not occurred in Liberia for generations. I applaud this noble step, this noble woman, and her drive to move this country forward. Additionally, lights were turned on in a section of Monrovia for the first time in 15 years, and 30% of the city now has running water. These are huge steps, but enormous challenges remain. Regardless, Ma is truly an inspiration for the continent of Africa and the greater world.
Another positive update from the news wires on this topic (it will still take years to clear all the bureaucratic hurdles, but for now, Hurray!!!!!!)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The IMF and World Bank on Tuesday cleared Liberia's entry into a global debt relief program, a vital step toward canceling the country's $4.7 billion debts and helping it rebuild from civil war.

The International Monetary Fund's No. 2 official, John Lipsky, said the debt, owed to global institutions, other governments and private-sector creditors, was "simply unpayable and has to be forgiven."

“Across Africa and around the world, we must show that freedom can deliver prosperity and peace,” she said. “Failure to do so will be more costly than we can contemplate and in Liberia that failure could be catastrophic.”

"We have had many governments here in the recent past that have relied upon brute force, instilling fear into people. We say that you can still exercise leadership without repression. As far as I’m concerned, so far in this administration it’s working better than the use of force."

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia