"Mutual mistrust and hostility between the "Americans" along the coast and the "Natives" of the interior was a recurrent theme in the country's history, along with (usually successful) attempts by the Americo-Liberian minority to dominate what they identified as savage native peoples."
Even that is testimony to YT's superior organisation, commitment and elan.
Germany is a fucking good place to live right now despite everything and even Russia has to be preferable to any african run place despite the red legacy and the low intelligence of the average mujik.
Posted 1/25/2010 11:20 pm
The decades long period of war in Liberia saw the rise of such african military figures as General Butt Naked and General Fuck-Me-Quick. And no, I didn't make that up.
Posted 1/26/2010 12:00 am
The first in the video series had President Samuel K. Doe’s torture death in it, he was killed by a rival, a guy named Prince Johnson. The complete video, which goes on and on, is sold on the streets of Monrovia even today it is said, but I couldn’t find more than a 25 second clip on you
tube.
Doe was slowly cut to pieces and forced to eat his own ears as he bled to death. The guy who had his men do it, and sat right there and drank a Budweiser while watching it, is now a Liberian Senator. This coup/torture/execution occurred in September of 1990.
I was on the continent myself about six weeks earlier, in July of that year, visiting Gabon with a teacher’s group. We stayed in Libreville, which actually was kind of modern, decent hotel, none of the slums in the Liberian Video. All of us spoke a little french, money was more the lingua franca though, but it didn't cost any more there than the average city here would, you could get a four star there for a holiday inn here, and that is what draws vacationing Europeans to the continent. More for their Euros.
Gabon was completely under control, by a dictator who’s name was, believe it or not, Bongo. This guy ruled from 1967 to just last year. So I was 1400 miles away from Monrovia when Doe’s regime was going down. We did go out in the countryside, and I was appalled, mostly by the squalor and primitiveness, but it was far from Liberian post-war conditions. It's the kind of trip best made watching it on a video, rather than being there. Before you went to Gabon, it was especially important to get all of your shots, especially for Yellow Fever and Dengue, that country is rife with bug bites that would destroy your health.
Posted 1/26/2010 6:38 pm
General Butt Naked would get a young child from the elders. They would cut open its back while it was still alive and remove the heart. The heart would be cut up and distributed to the all of the soldier boys to ready them for battle.
