Liberia

The "birth" of the West African state of Liberia as a sovereign nation in 1847 is intimately intertwined with the desire of freed black slaves to return to their "motherland" in Africa and establish a place of dignity and the lofty ideals of self-governance. and independence. This book attempts to weave the intricate details of the "umbilical connection" between the challenging effort of freed slaves returning to Africa with the help of philanthropic American organizations to build a free nation, the hostile reception and their dogged determination to thrive among the indigenes and the surprises that unprepared nationhood can exact. The exercise of independence and thriving as a free country was rooted in a "run-away" system which utilized the state militia-turned military to prop up the elite settler-led system of governance in Liberia until a violent coup d'état in April 1980 ended that hegemony. Later In post-coup Liberia, the world would subsequently witness, with horror, the consequences of the lack of solid democratic institutions and traditions and social cohesion. The military would degenerate into a tool of terror, rights abuses and impunity. National divisions would be exacerbated at the expense of the state and people. But with assistance from international partners, the restructured Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) is now intentional about rebuilding its scarred image, recruiting the best and remaining a "Force for Good".