To most Rhode Islanders, Liberia is just an African country with the same problems that plague most sub-Saharan nations: military coups, civil wars, poverty, and an AIDS crisis. But Phil West, executive director of Common Cause of Rhode Island, believes local residents should take a greater interest in Liberia, especially since there are approximately 10,000 Liberians residing in Rhode Island. "The United States has major history in Liberia," West explains. "It was colonized by freed slaves in the mid-19th-century. The Liberian flag looks like the American flag. Their constitution is modeled after ours. Liberia really became almost an extension of the United States on the coast of West Africa."

Liberia is experiencing its second Civil War in less than 10 years. The Liberian leader, Charles Taylor, is a dictator, and, West says, "has done almost nothing to restore safe drinking water or electricity. Corruption flourishes. Civil servants haven't been paid in many, many months." In this desperate environment, a rebel army, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), has been fighting Taylor's troops, with both sides raping and pillaging. The excessive violence combined with unsanitary living conditions has made "the veneer of civilization very thin," West says.

Part of the problem is the instability of the region. According to Danlette Johnson-Norris, president of the Liberian Community Association of Rhode Island, "It's a ripple effect. When something happens in Liberia, it influences the rest of the region. Liberia is the oldest independent African nation. We just celebrated our 155th anniversary. The other nations look to us for guidance."

What can local residents do to help? According to West, "In Providence, you can hardly turn around without meeting a Liberian. To express support to the Liberian community is the first thing you can do."

Another, more concrete way is to help Liberians in the US. They once had Temporary Protective Status (TPS), which granted them asylum until the situation in their country improved. Now, though, many are in limbo because of renewable Deferred Enforcement of Deportation, which is up for review again in September. West says this uncertainty is causing many local Liberians to lose their jobs.

The modicum of interest in the affairs of African countries in the US may have relatively little to do with our lack of proximity to Africa. West makes a connection to the decisive US actions and news coverage of Kosovo. "The American media pays attention to Kosovo because [Kosovars] have pale skin and blue eyes," he says. "They don't pay attention to Africa because [Africans] seem different. It goes to the larger racial issues in America."

Issue Date: August 16 - 22, 2002