The way I see Liberia

Commanding officer, (Abbr. CO) A military officer in charge of a unit, post, camp, base, or station. The syndrome of the CO as experienced by the non-combating Liberians will forever be imbedded into the psyche of those of us who were on the ground and experienced the war at first hand. The COs paraded and masqueraded throughout the country dressed as clowns, in whatever female garments they got their hands on, did not give justice to the true meaning of commanding officers. I will be very candid and speak of this issue on a personal note; after all, I was on the ground and I experienced the wrath of the COs. The term CO was used very loosely by the young fighters, which dazzled and baffled me whenever commands were issued to me or to other law abiding citizens that were in my immediate surroundings. The CO considered himself a demigod who could spear life or take life at will. His commands were issued, obeyed and carried out on frightened and peaceful citizens by his insignificant troops. One of his commands was as hideous as ordering total strangers, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, sisters and brothers at gunpoint to copulate with one another in public view. The CO also ordered our mothers and sisters to strip so that he and his filthy followers could probe the insides of their unwilling victims’ private parts with all kinds of objects including the barrel of their guns. Their inhumane and idiomatic commands dehumanized every one of us who lived through it. Now some of those COs are rubbing shoulders with their victims on the streets of Monrovia with impunity. Raping our grandmother, our mothers, our sisters and even the very young babies was the order of the day during the senseless war that engulfed Liberia for all those many years. For this reason, the raping of Liberia’s female stock will continue until seriousness is given to the rape crisis. I am of the opinion that rapist should be castrated.

The Call for Nation Building
About three quarters of the Africans with "Type A" personalities in the Diaspora, are sick and tired of been away from home, contributing to the development of other countries and not to the development of their own countries. Moreover, these highly qualified workaholics possess a strong desire to return home whether called or otherwise. Some of us left Liberia not because of personal choices but because of the circumstances and experiences we endured from the hands of the COs during the war. If the opportunity were given to 75% of the folks that stayed on the ground for the duration of all the wars, including such special attacks as Octopus, the Charles Julu fracas (September 1994), the Roosevelt Johnson fiasco (April 6, 1996), etc., they would have fled from the country like the rest of us. What do the honorable congressmen and congresswomen expected their countrymen to do while in the Diaspora? Run away from the many immigration opportunities and be stateless? We aspired for the skies and if we took on the cloth of citizenship of our host country, so be it. I see it ironical for one to be called to contribute to the nation building, and then is slapped in the face by being denied the opportunity to serve his country and countrymen, only because he strove for the gold while away from home in a foreign land. If the chief Executive finds it befitting for an individual who was born, schooled and have worked in positions of trust during prewar Liberia, who fled the country because of the indiscriminate killings of innocent citizens, and established himself in his new found peaceful land, it is striking to note, that the honorable men and women of congress could exclude a born Liberian the pleasure of serving his country. I wonder how many members of the honorable body read or subscribe to periodicals, magazines or dailies of any kind? Do all the honorable men and women of congress really know what goes on outside the territorial border of Liberia? In this technological global network of the 21st century, it is disheartening to observe that some folks are still struggling within the "box". We as a people should now think and live outside the box because the world is now one big open field.

To Sue or not to Sue
It is high time and very much incumbent of all Liberians to begin to seek and hunt for the facts, the truth and nothing but the truth. Malicious lies and innuendoes are spread by way of gossips, rumors and "they say". The lies are then spread like wide fire and within a short time, one cannot decern the difference between the fact and the fiction. Did we really know the time line of events of the case between the two one-time acquaintances? Do you know exactly when, where and how the open letter first hit the airwaves? Do you really know the date and time when the brief was prepared by the lawyers and forwarded to the concerned court on the ground? Do you know when the defendant touched down on the ground? Do you know when the court served the defendant with the writ of summons while he was on the ground? Think of these things. Know the facts. Search for the truth. Do your personal research and stop relying on "they say". I remember when the now complainant remained silent after the open letter hit the airwaves; many folks out there had considered her silence to mean consent with the defendant’s open letter. Little did we know that the time line had kicked off. Now that the public was aware of the serving of the writ, a cry of bad blood has splattered all over the globe. Learn the facts and know thyself. Now that we know that the case is off the docket for now; however, let us be mindful that the case will be taken back to court in six years, and it will be interesting to note what the critics of today will say in six years time. From where I sit, I believe the key to this mystery was this phrase, on the ground. To sue or not to sue, that was the question, and I say, sue.