Half way to the finish line

This day marks the midway point of the trip. And though it has felt long- it also feels as if I am only just becoming acquainted with the country on a deeper level. I have made more friends around the guest house, where we are staying, as well as built on friendships I tried to establish early on with Jones, Hashme and Martha. It was easy to do so this week especially because as I mentioned, we commuted from Monrovia to the county of Margibi- specifically Kakata.

It was a slow start. Monday due to the car troubles- we didn't work and just hung around in Monrovia- though we made the most of it and got a semi-tour of government buildings as we made our way to pick fabric for our African garb. And you would think- how many patterns can they make right?- WRONG. I was overwhelmed yet again, taking for granted my experience in Kenya. Liberian fabric was just as unique and difficult to choose from. But in the end, I forced myself to decided so that I could take it to the tailor, where more decisions were to be made. As for the end result- I will no next weekend- and whether I choose to share that and fashion it in the states is still hanging in the balance.

Then Tuesday, we got out to Kakata and met with many people. The superintendent of the country, the deputy director of development, the mayor of the county, the gender office of the county, the YMCA (ya know, they have everything for us to enjoy + we can hang out with all the boys). and radio stations. Basically meet and greet overload. I felt like I was on my own personal tour and just giving my fans some love, which is not far from the truth, considering most of these visits were protocol. Can you imagine though- a group of students coming to even Staten Island and the Borough President wanting to meet with them- nuh uh. But that may also speak to the cultural differences of inter-personal relationships. All I know is they need to make a song about us, Yankee Doodle style. The meetings, thought- back to a serious note- were very useful to stage a cultural understanding and also help us understand the differences and gaps that exist between the local governments and the central governments. Everyone here is preaching that it is better now with the governemnt decentralized, but even in these counties, the main areas of business and access to the government is in the capital of the county...

We then did a training on basically introductory research methods, questions, recognizing when to intervene in a conflicts, etc for a local youth organization called Voices of the Future. They are youth from 15-20 yrs old that host a show on the private radio that promotes peace-building. And they said they would talk about what we taught them on the upcoming show. Then the next day we observed a training held by the Gender Office in conjunction with the NRC (Norwegian Refugee Council), focusing on GBV with the group of men- called "Wise Men". And the follwoing day the Wise Women group. It was very interesting observing both and comparing. The men were clearly more educated and literate, while the women struggled. Also the men discussed privileges and restrictions of men and women, comparing traditional practices to what is. One question in particular was, "Are women in Liberia in encouraged to be leaders?". And the man asnwering gave a very abstract answer, commenting on how God made all of us equal and everyone has Human Rights- but he never answered the question and no one pushed him to answer the question. It was just evidence of the fact that these concepts have not natural progressed throughout society. There is a large contribution of impostional values, created by NGOS or Western organizations, that provides these people with a vocabulary, but does not allow for them to internalize the lessons taught. This is where I started to question our role in providing these trainings, because I am starting to feel as if it is all superficial and people's hearts and minds really are not being changed. The same is true for when they use the word peacebuilding- they use it because they know the West values it in conflict areas, but I doubt they really know what it means and so we are trying to fill that gap more clearly when we hold trainings- a task for this upcoming week.

The one thing I did feel good about was the private radio station- Atlantic Radio- airing 24hrs a day different programming, allowing the community to come and speak about social issues and also asking officials ot come and explain the new referendum process coming up. The even had a show called, "Meet the Press"...hint hint to who there idol is? Also, the activness of the youth in sure sensitive, heavy issues is inspiring. I can;t imagine American youth forming groups on their own- outside of school- to work in the community and be knowledgeable about teenage pregnancy, family disputes, rape, and land disputes. Instead the youth of America is just concerned with themselves, given a few exceptions of kids that start NGOs at the age of 10, but even that is not necessarily just for the community. It is again a cultural difference of were our values and priorities lie. Here community comes above everything.

So after a week of working here and there- the weekend has arrived. Yesterday we went for ice cream, then played a little pool and taught Hashme how to play. Boy do I wish I had a picture of it, he held a pool stick like a spear it was hilarious! and surprisingly effective. We then moved onto an outdoor bar and restaurant where we danced a bit, but tonight is going be the night we all go out together- so I will report back on the dress code of Liberian women and any traumatizing experiences that may ensue.

Gotta maintain a balanced life....

And looking forward to next week, we will be going to Cape Mount (right by Sierra Leone, maybe rack up another visit to a different African country?) , so updates to come upon my return.