Happy Forth America!
Monrovia was once the jewel of Africa, and now it’s one of the worst places on earth. The US had lots of interests here, hotels, houses, running water, electricity. However, since the wars ended four years ago, the leadership recently (as in the last eight months) got a portion of the country back on a power grid. It goes off and on sporadically; many have generators to keep power going during the blackouts; many places have no running water. The are toilets, into which you pour water from a barrel after you have done your business. No sanitation services; people dump trash from wheel barrows at designated spots and trucks with men shovel the steaming mass into it once in a while. No trash cans visible. Litter prevails.
The new President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is a no-nonsense SANE leader whom the populace like and respect. She has a lot on her plate. Many of Charles Taylors’ cronies were given amnesty and are still holding offices. There is corruption that is being weeded out slowly but surely. There is lots of ‘old way vs. new way’ confusion flying around as order gets established. It’s amazing to see how these great leaders deal with it.