LIBERIA - America's StepchildLiberia - America’s Stepchild
a documentary about Liberia, the nation colonized by freed African American slaves. some went to find refuge from the oppressions in the US while others went to Christianize the people. unfortunately, all of them went with the idea to “civilize” the indigenous Africans, completely disregarding their cultures and their humanity. after the government was erected, a two-tiered class system was set up in which the newly arrived Americans were given privileges that the indigenous were not, fueling a deep-set schism between those referred to as “Americo-Liberians” and the indigenous. the Liberian government has had at least two coups that both failed to even stabilize the nation, and various ethnic strifes that have resulted in thousands of lives lost. the documentary ends with Charles Taylor in power, and to learn more about what he has done to Liberia, check out Leymah Gbowee and her fight along with other women, to remove Taylor from power.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has recently been elected president and seems to be re-stabilizing the country. this documentary also details how the US has played a part, not only in the history of the nation, but also in the following governments and coups such as that of former president Samuel Doe. however, when the Liberian people were dying in droves, the US did nothing.
pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5, pt. 6
anyone from Liberia have any comments or thoughts on the video? is the nation accurately portrayed?
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Leymah Gbowee, who'd become a social worker during the first war, helped organize an interreligious coalition of Christian and Muslim women called the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement. Dressed in white, these thousands of women staged pray-ins and nonviolent protests demanding reconciliation and the resuscitation of high-level peace talks. The pressure pushed Charles Taylor into exile, and smoothed the path for the election of Africa’s first female head of state, Leymah's fellow 2011 Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Gbowee is the co-founder of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) to promote cross-national peace-building efforts.
>via: http://www.ted.com/speakers/leymah_gbowee.html