‘Understand the PAST; Experience the Present & Marvel at the Future’

Writing is good for the mind but when you write; be mindful that “the pen is mightier than the sword” and what you write have the aptness of starting smoke which will eventually lead to fire.

Recently the MN Web carried a press release penned by the son of the late President of the Republic of Liberia Samuel Kanyon Doe. The release captioned: “Enough is enough.” In this press release Mr. Samuel Doe Jr. accused President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of a longstanding vendetta against the Doe Family.

Prior to this press release Liberians in the Diaspora on various blogs continue to remind Grand Gedeans of being responsible for their demise. Immediately upon publishing his release, here is how one blogger from the Everyliberian@Yahoogroup puts it; “Let this kid (Samuel Kanyon Doe Jr.) go sit somewhere else, we’re talking real politics here, not sentimentality based in naivety.”

He continued, “has he ever heard the Tolberts for example complaining about how their father was killed, who killed him and things of that sort? It seems the Doe children want to show they are grown now and getting ready to revenge their father’s death”, adding “we will be waiting for them.”

“We will be waiting for them?” Can one consider these comments threats to the Children of the Late President? The release did not talk about who killed their father, but was very clear on the Tolbert’s and Taylor’s properties as well as their finances. See link:http://grandgedehassocincmn.com/2011/11/%E2%80%9Cenough-is-enough-samuel-kanyon-doe-jr-speaks%E2%80%9D/

“We will be waiting for them.” Huh? Upon reading this a prominent Krahnman called MN Web from Philadelphia opining, “it has become so vindictive that being a Krahn in America is getting close to a death sentence. Are we really safe in this country?”

What has even added fuel to this ‘Krahn-Hate’ is the recent reason given by General Prince Johnson for endorsing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In that statement the General emphatically stated that the CDC comprised of only Southeasterners with Krahns being the majority.

According to the New Democrat a Liberian news journal, Presidential Candidate Johnson told voters in Grand Gedeh County that in 1990 the “devil fooled him” in capturing, mutilating, maiming and dismembering Doe’s corpse and putting it on display for the world to see.

Could this be General Charles Julu campaigning in the heart of Nimba County? Was there going to be a return of him to Monrovia or Grand Gedeh County alive? Food for thoughts!

The article continues, “Nimba County senator reportedly told voters in Lofa County it was time for him to ascend to the presidency since others he has accused as collaborators have had their turns.”

Similar remarks were made in Doe’s Home County during Senator Prince Johnson’s campaign tour. We all know that the Senator had on numerous occasions accused Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of being one of those collaborators.

Observers and pundits are asking: “is he referring to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Charles Taylor when he says “collaborators have had their turns?”

At this volatile point in the history of Liberia where the international community have hugely invested hundreds of millions if not billions; Liberians must see reason to understand the past, experience the present & marvel at the future.

Let the characters/players of the past reveal to the present as to how history unfolded then. Desired change can only come if we make some practical and honest contributions in the right direction.

Liberians must first of all graduate from their present slumber and the collective guilt syndrome; it is aimed at urging them to read critically and analyze the actual happenings in Liberia before making these diatribe comments. It is so sad that in this era of peace and reconciliation, folks are bent on preaching hate thus; dividing us more and more. “When do we say enough is enough?”

The TRC IMPLEMENTATION from all indications is NOT MEANT in Total to INCASERATE.  BUT TO KNOW THE TRUTH…It is better to know and understand the truth so that “Reconciliation” will be genuine and the hurts forgiven.

SKD Jr’s press statement was a very brilliant and masterpiece with lots of lessons and new information for a lot of us. He speaks of his brother of the same father (Late President Doe) who is a Nephew of now President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. With this scenario, isn’t it truth that Liberia is a small Country and that we are all related somehow?

Will it be wrong to adduce then, that his release was cordial, diplomatic and family oriented?

Not only was the release very sober and informative, it had not one characteristic of anger, vengeance, hate, insults or character assassination of neither Madam Sirleaf nor her Government.

We believe these were information that Mr. Doe Jr. had that needed to be in the public domain especially in this electronic media age.

Let us be mindful of these pre-calculated transgressions and personal hate we continue to harbor within our hearts for one another. It will becloud our thought process and bring out the monster in us that we have hidden throughout our lives.

Not only do these personal attacks and collective guilt destroy us as a people, it deepens the wounds and further destroys the fragility of our peace and reconciliation.

Let us not purge of poison thoughts for one another.

And so we say, “Enough is enough”.

Kwame Oldpa Weeks/MN WEB & Y. Michael Gilman of Southfield & Melvindale, Michigan contributed to this editorial.