A SPECIAL REQUEST TO THE BRAIN REPLENISHMENT MIGRANTS

“DO BETTER THAN TRI-COLOR TRAFFIC LIGHT”

This article is a special request directed to those in the diaspora who already have, are in the process of, or are considering returning home. The opportunity is there for many to return to Liberia to contribute and to improve their personal lot in life. There is room for everyone but each person has to contribute their share in a synergistic manner for the whole to exceed the sum of the parts. Whether you were able to achieve your academic goals or not while you were abroad, whether you were insular in your social circles or not, by virtue of being in the diaspora, you had to be exposed to different and sometimes better/more efficient ways of doing things than the way they were/are being done in Liberia. You have a lot to offer and you must take it as a responsibility to realize that potential and in the process assist others in our nation building.

We must work to build a strong civil society, thereby creating a strong middle class that will bridge the divide between the haves and the have-nots. By virtue of our exposure to other African, European, Asian, & American cultures, most of us have seen and understand how effective any group, organization, or nation can be when there are overarching goals to reach and people are selfless and will sacrifice to reach those goals. We have to be consistent in our demonstration of and our respect for law and order. We must send a consistent message that we will adhere to the laws of our country, refusing to accept or pay bribes at government ministries or bureaus for government services. We have to focus on creating a greater level of entrepreneurship, collectively (not individually), pressuring government for increased Liberianization of business opportunities and concessions. In our personal and business interactions, we must set and demand high standards of work ethic and professionalism, making sure we commit to consistently mentoring and modeling positive behavior.

Going to Liberia should not be a get rich quick scheme. Liberia is not a hustle to be had or elephant meat to chop your share off. As one of my friends has succinctly stated, “if you are making $50,000 in the U.S. and hardly able to support one household consisting of a family of two to three, how can you take a government job in Liberia and be able to support two households?” Obviously if you do, there will be pressure to generate the level of income necessary to continue supporting your family abroad as well as live the lifestyle society expects you to in Liberia. The likely result of one seeking to meet those responsibilities/pressures is the temptation to resort to corruption.

Another contact said this in an email: “A lot is going on on the ground (the place is fertile and lot of "strangers" running back not knowing what to do like chicken without head)…” Couple of things jumped at me. It seems like our returning brains really have no focus of what they are returning for and how they can contribute to the society, but may be trying to capitalize on any potential opportunity or create opportunities. The second issue, which is of a more serious nature, is that my friend, who is a very good guy, will call his fellow Liberians “strangers.” This leads me to believe that there is a sense of distinction between those who have been on the ground and those who are recently returning. I am not sure how strong or negative that distinction is but I think it is important that the returnees make every effort to understand the sensitivities of those who have endured so much through no fault of theirs. As much as the temptation may be there, we have to resist exhibiting a sense of entitlement or superiority to those with lesser skills and resources. For those of us who have been in democratic societies, we must be willing to champion the mentality of citizenry participation, meritocracy, equal opportunity, philanthropy, and good governance. The freedom of speech should be encouraged. We can no longer be comfortable or complacent with the status quo that has existed since I can remember. We have to operate with the urgency of change elements. As eloquently stated by our president-elect, the new Liberia involves “a new political order, a new social order, a new economic order. It involves far-reaching reforms--constitutional reform, land reform, judicial reform, civil service reform and decentralization of power.” (http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1134752,00.html)

The task ahead is momentous but we cannot be complacent with only making cosmetic contributions to Liberia. We cannot be complacent with the euphoria of the feel-good story from the conduct of Liberians during the elections to the historical results of the elections. Sadly, the only significant “infrastructural” development that comes to mind during my formative years in Liberia is the switching of the traffic light from red & green to red, yellow, and green, and besides, not all stop lights were changed either. We must not accept mediocre or sub-standard. We must strive for excellence, continually punching the clock to achieve our goals. Our intent has to be genuine, and we must develop our love for Liberia. We must become patriots and demonstrate our love for Liberia daily. According to the Webster’s II New College Dictionary, a patriot is “one who loves, supports, and defends one’s country.” We can only love our country if we can begin to love each other, support each other, buy Liberian, patronize Liberian, support Liberia, make the extra effort to interact with and involve other Liberians in the positive things we do. We must care that our fellow Liberians have bread on their table too. We must care that our literacy rate is abysmal. We must care that our moral infrastructure is bankrupt. We must care that “ignorance, disease, and poverty” are the norm rather than the exception in Liberia. We are too rich a country that we cannot adequately provide for our people in a more distributive and efficient manner.

In closing, I would like to leave you with a few quotes on patriotism. The first is from Felix Adler who says, “Love of country is like love of woman--he loves her best who seeks to bestow on her the highest good.” Another from Calvin Coolidge about America is very relevant to Liberia today, it goes, “Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” Why can’t we do that? Instead of only looking out for only “me”, “myself”, and “I”, let’s keep our country in our focus! A favorite of mine is “Patriotism is not necessarily included in rebellion. A man may hate his king, yet not love his country.” As much the majority of us have at one point or another hated our despotic leaders and wanted to get rid of them, taking up arms has never yielded the desired results. Let’s move forward with much love for Liberia. Let’s utilize all democratic principles to the maximum to enact change. Most importantly, Liberia is our country. No one can love Liberia more than the Liberians! Liberia is very special and regardless of all the negatives that currently pervade us like cancer, Liberians have the ability to resuscitate and breathe strong life into their MOTHERLAND!