Hello Old Friend

I'm still finding it hard to believe that I am back in Monrovia. It feels a bit like a surreal dream where I have suddenly been transported two and a half years into my past. In fact, I had grown rather used to a comfortable life in Stockholm. After about nine years together, Teresa and I finally got married and for the first time in our lives we both had steady, full-time jobs with relatively decent salaries. We took the traditional Swedish month-long summer holidays, bought new furniture and even got a flatscreen TV. I turned 30. We began to outgrow our flat and talked about buying something bigger.

But somehow this all felt premature. I hope that my primary motivation for working in this 'industry' (and it certianly is an industry down here) is to make the world a slightly better place. However, I would be the first to admit that I did not get into working with development /humanitarian issues for purely altruistic reasons. I want to see parts of the world I would never see as a tourist, experience vastly different cultures and build up an impressive repertoire of after-dinner stories that I can bore friends and family with for decades to come. As such we decided that the time was ripe to shun our comfortable lives, throw caution to the wind and take the plunge into the Deep Unknown.

Well, the Semi-Unknown at least. Monrovia feels a bit like an old friend I've had a love-hate relationship with and I haven't seen for a while:

Monrovia: (in a sarcastic tone) Oh, nice to see you back here after you left us in such a hurry last time....without even saying good-bye properly...

Me: What?! My contract came to an end and my wife-to-be had made it quite clear that I wasn't to be away from home any longer. I'd already lied to her and said I was staying for only 6 months. I'd been away for almost 10! When you're married you'll understand.

Monrovia: Well, it's nice to have you back I guess. What do you think of my new look?

Me: At first glance it looks like things are on the right path. There is definitely a lot more commercial activity on your streets. There are banks everywhere and some of them even have ATMs. The electricity grid has expanded, the roads are much better (at least in town) and there are all kinds of fancy new buildings going up. Sadly most of it seems to be offices and luxury compunds for expats and not a lot of affordable housing for the average Liberian but....

Monrovia: Oh quit your whining you killjoy. Can't you just stay that things are going pretty well and leave it at that? There was a 15 year civil war here for God's sake. Think of all the jobs being created and the tax revenue that will come pouring in once they start drilling for oil and mining the iron ore....not to mention all the gold and diamonds and eco-toruism opportunities...

Me: OK, OK, don't get ahead of yourself. Let's take one step at a time shall we? Don't forget there's a crisis nextdoor in Ivory Coast and we all know that these situations can spillover into the sub-region from past experience. Last count there were already over 120,000 Ivorian refugees that had fled into Liberia and some people are estimating there may be as many as half a million here by June. And it's election year here too, so let's not count our chicken just yet eh?

Monrovia: Good point. But we need to stay optimistic right?

Me: Most definitely...

OK sorry, that was a bit of a surreal exchange. I promise no more imaginary conversations between me and Liberia's capital city in future posts...

I am still officially unemployed but currently finalising negotations with a certain former employer. Watch this space to see what happens. I should know quite soon what I will end up doing. One thing is sure, there is definitely no shortage of work down here at the moment!

The Next Episode

Stardate: 16-03-2011.
Time: 02:00
Mission: Returning to Liberia after being away for just over two years.
Current location: My living room, Hornstull, Stockholm, Sweden.
Reason for writing: Mostly because I can't sleep. (There's no point sleeping now so I may as well "pull an all-nighter")
Packing status: Almost ready. May have oversize baggage issues due to ever-enlarging list of things my wife has asked me to bring down.

I should point out that the reason for the abrupt end to my blog (below) was due to the fact that my contract came to an end and I moved back to Sweden. Most of those who read the blog (all five of you) know me and will know that anyway so writing it may seem a bit pointless. However, I am never one to shy away from attention to detail.

But now it's time to fire up the old blog again. It's time to move on and do something different. It's time for a change of scenery. It's time to go from one extreme to the other. It's time, my friends, for Liberia!

Of all the countries in all the world I never thought I'd end up, Liberia must be pretty high on the list (closely followed by Sweden). Of all the countries in all the world I never thought I'd end up twice, Liberia must be pretty high on the....oh, you get the picture. Life takes you on a mysterious journey sometimes. Sometimes that journey starts at Bromma Airport Stockholm at 6:30am and stops at Brussels and Accra before finally depositing you in the steamy heat of Monrovia.

For those of you I have not been in touch with here's brief summary of what's going on (and more importantly why): My wife Teresa got a job offer from the organisation Landmine Action (also known as Action on Armed Violence). She is starting up a pilot project for them in Liberia and I decided to take my chances and head on down there myself in the hope that my previous contacts and experience may also lead me to a job. Our plan is to be away at least until the end of 2011.

Much more than this I will not say at this time, mainly because I don't have much more to add and am also feeling nauseous after running up and down the stairs and stacking boxes in the loft. It also feels like I haven't slept properly for weeks, maybe even months. And I'm not about to start now.

My taxi will arrive to take me to the airport in just a few hours. I will write more when I arrive.

A

Taken for a ride

The credit crisis and market downturn brought on by those ‘greedy’ (read unregulated) Wall Street bankers and exacerbated by President Bush and the Republicans’ inability to tie their own shoelaces is all that’s being talked about on the 24 hour news channels. One would be forgiven for thinking that the world is teetering on the brink of a financial apocalypse. This may indeed be the case but there’s no sign of that here yet, at least not for the country’s politicians.

While their American counterparts sift through an undoubtedly riveting 400-page economic bailout plan, Christmas has come early for Liberia’s Senators and Members of Congress. The world’s biggest producer of steel and probably Liberia’s largest private investor, Arcelor Mittal, generously donated 100 brand new 4x4 pick-up trucks to the government last month. Forget for a moment that the cost of this gesture of goodwill is a drop in the ocean compared to Arcelor’s $1.5 billion investment in the country to date. Roads in many rural areas are practically impassable during the rainy season and these trucks could be used to expand the coverage of ministries (e.g. those for education or agriculture), clinics, hospitals and the county police departments thus improving the Liberian government’s ability to serve its people.

Unfortunately however, the vehicles have not been used for any of the above purposes. Instead they have been driven out of the grounds of the Executive Mansion by 100 members of the National Legislature. This makes the trucks effectively a gift to each of Liberia’s politicians from a private company - the same company that has secured the rights to tap into one of the world’s largest deposits of iron-ore (a valuable mineral due to the fact that it is a key ingredient of steel).

This behaviour obviously stinks pretty highly of corruption. The Legislature has the power to take action if big investors fail to abide by national laws or pay their taxes and are also the ones responsible for making sure that Liberia is getting a fair deal from any contracts signed. This is especially important with extractive industries like mining. The minerals deposited underneath Liberian soil are effectively money in the bank for the country. It can decide to ‘withdraw’ these deposits at any time but they are not renewable resources. Once they’ve been removed they’re gone for good and, when they eventually get up to speed, Arcelor will have the ability to dig them up and ship them out at quite a pace. I’m sure they have negotiated a good deal with the Liberian government, especially given the risks associated with investing in a country that’s only 5 years out of civil war. But are they paying a ‘fair’ amount for the rights compared to the profit they will make out of them?

Extractive industries have high incentives to bribe government officials, especially the ones who are directly responsible for decisions on whether or not they are granted the right to extract vast amounts of the country’s natural wealth. It’s a lot cheaper to bribe a handful of key people than it is to compete with other companies and pay the market price for the goods they want. And what’s the best way to make sure that none of the other lawmakers kick up a fuss? That’s right. Just bribe them all by an equal amount (cue 100 shiny off-road vehicles).

To its credit, the Liberian press has picked up on the story and made it the talk of the town in Monrovia, at least for a week or so. In the company’s defence there are conflicting reports as to whether or not the intention was for these vehicles to end up in the hands of individual politicians. Some are suggesting that the donation was actually made to the Executive i.e. the President, and it was she who decided to pass them on to 100 Members of Congress and the Senate. That’s not exactly comforting news though. The other job of the Legislature is to keep tabs on the president and they are likely to take a more relaxed approach to this task after receiving a nice new car from her.

Not out of the Wood yet

President Sirleaf is in New York this week where on Tuesday she addressed the UN General Assembly. In her speech she argued that significant progress is being made in Liberia but that more time is needed for the full implementation of the 'Lift Liberia' development initiative that is currently underway.

I wonder what the assembled ranks of world leaders would make of the fact that, in the same week, she granted clemency to fourteen people accused of murder using the practice of Sassywood (see below) as well as two people found guilty of beating a woman to death for allegedly practising witchcraft. This hardly seems to support the notion that Liberia's justice system is on the road to recovery.

Madam President, I beg you, please reconsider this decision!

Rough justice

When Liberia was colonised by freed slaves in the late 1800s they took a leaf out of the Europeans’ book and settled on the coast, not wanting to venture too far in land for fear of what savage tribes might lie in wait. When an independent state was officially declared in 1847 they went one step further and adopted a two-tiered approach to rule of law in the country. The coastal settlements were governed by a formal constitution (written by Harvard academics) with an imaginary line drawn at some distance from the coast to demarcate the ‘Hinterland’. This was the realm of uncivilised natives - a sort of "here be dragons"-approach to nation-building - and separate Hinterland Regulations were drawn up in an effort to instil some form of order there.

The unbelievable thing about the Hinterland Regulations is that, although they have been revised a few times since 1847, they still exist. In a somewhat un-ambitious PR move they’ve been re-branded as the ‘Interior Regulations’ but are still used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a council of traditional leaders as guidelines for the rule of law in these regions.

One of the most interesting (and frightening) aspects of rule of law in the interior is the practice of ‘Sassywood’, a form of trial by ordeal. Although it has now been outlawed it’s still thought to be widely practised in some areas of the country. To a certain extent this is understandable given the limited reach of more formal justice systems. However, a concerted effort is now being made to raise awareness in rural areas that new laws have been passed and crimes should be reported to the police rather than the local Ministry-certified shaman.

So how does Sassywood work? Let’s say one of my goats dies. The cause of death could probably be scientifically investigated but that would take a long time and require skills that might not be readily available. The sudden death of the poor creature could of course also be the work of a curse. And, once the potential source of the curse has been identified, Sassywood is a very effective tool for determining whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. If the accused protests their innocence a potion is concocted from the bark of a type of poisonous tree and administered orally. After this a number of things may happen:

1. Defendant dies – this means the person was guilty and hence justice has been delivered.
2. Defendant vomits out the mixture and survives – this means they are innocent, a similarly just outcome.
3. Defendant passes out – depending on the shape they make when they hit the ground the qualified Sassywood practitioner will be able to determine the degree to which they are guilty and how the matter should be settled.

The above is a somewhat vulgar interpretation of how things may play out but the general idea should be clear. Other trial by ordeal-variants include rubbing said potion into the eyes of the defendant to see if they remain clear (innocent), go red (partially guilty) or even blind (definitely guilty) as well as pressing a red-hot metal implement against the flesh to see if they burn. Admittedly people have a tendency to admit their guilt before suffering any of the above ordeals, in which case the affair can be resolved through the payment of a fine – not unlike a more conventional plea-bargain you could say.

While there are obvious pitfalls in such a system of justice it is certainly efficient. However, Sassywood is just one of a number of ‘harmful traditional practices’ that the Liberian government and NGOs are currently trying to address. The problem is that failing to show respect for these deeply-ingrained forms of culture can seriously derail development interventions. My colleague who works with Women’s Rights issues recounted to me how she was once ‘chased’ out of a village by members of a local secret society who saw her as a threat to their culture (a culture that includes FGM – female genital mutilation – which many organisations are trying to advocate against).

Women have also traditionally been considered as property and hence can be ‘inherited’ by their deceased husbands’ brothers or fathers. Another issue is early marriage. The law says that the age of consent is 18 but it is not uncommon, especially in rural areas, for girls to be married off at 14 or even younger, often to much older men. As a result of this and other factors there is a high level of teenage pregnancy and a low level of school attendance among girls which effectively denies them their right to education.

We are currently working on a proposal for a project that addresses some of these forms of violence against women and seeks to strengthen the implementation of national laws (such as those on rape, inheritance and domestic violence) in the rural south-east of the country. I have just returned from a field assessment there accompanied by my aforementioned colleague and a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry representative was there to beef up our traditional credentials and in one village we got to utter that classic African cliché; “take me to your leader”. I literally had to pinch myself.

It seems fairly evident that simply telling people to abandon their cultural practices will not work. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. We will need to adopt a softer and more sophisticated approach to avoid being seen as a threat by traditional leaders and this can be hard to align with the agenda ActionAid wants to push. There are no prizes for guessing what I’ll be working on over the next couple of weeks…