Happy Birthday, Mama Liberia!
Monday, 26 July, will be Liberia’s 163rd Independence Celebration. Liberia, Africa’s first independent republic, declared her independence on 26 July 1847.
Mama Liberia, as she’s affectionately referred to by her children, is a nation whose history is replete with tragic stories , the most recent being the fourteen-year civil war which saw the loss of lives of hundreds of thousands of its citizens, the mass displacement of people, the maiming of scores of children and adults, the destruction of property, etc.
Admittedly, the war has come and gone. It practically and officially ended in 2003 when Liberia’s leader at the time – Mr. Charles Taylor, now on trial in the Hague for war crime and crime against humanity — was forced into exile that year. However, the economic war, which, arguably, is sometimes harsher than a real war, is killing and maiming a great deal of Liberians. While unemployment is high, the prices of basic goods, local and imported, keep skyrocketing. Then there are the continuous reports of the corrupt practices of government employees, especially the officials.
All this, however, should not cause Liberians to lose hope. No rain falls forever; there is a time when its stop. Even the rains causing the Flood of Noah did not go on ceaselessly. The blazing sun does not blast continuously; sometimes it is overshadowed by clouds. No night reins perennially; it is always overtaken by day. By and by, Liberia’s children will graduate from the hardship they are facing. Mama Liberia’s best days are yet to appear.
Hence, as Mama Liberia celebrates her 163rd Independence Day, it is important that her children shout at the highest pitch of their voice as a people in saying, “Happy Birthday, Mama Liberia!” She is a resilient woman. In spite of all that she has gone through, not only is she still alive, but she’s determined to move forward. Happy Birthday, Mama Liberia!
