THE LIBERIAN TRAGEDY
Personal Experiences and Reflections on the Civil War
by
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The publication of “My Reflections on the Liberian Civil War” is long overdue. There have been obstacles in the way each time I attempted to undertake the project. It was either ill health, or death in the family, and in one instance, the death of my mother in
The original plan for this book was to produce a research paper documenting in chronological sequence, the historical background and social impact of the genocidal wars on the Liberian society. Unfortunately, I did not have on hand, valuable materials needed for the project, nor the funds to travel to Liberia and the other West African countries to obtain first hand information about what transpired in the region after I left Monrovia on May 19, 1990 and eventually arrived with my wife in the United States in August of the same year.
The fact that so many accounts of the civil wars have been given by so many authors, in so many volumes, convince me that it was unnecessary to replicate the effort in this text. Consequently, my “Reflections on the Civil Wars” will cover, among other pertinent issues, a historical prospective of the Liberian situation, causes leading to the civil wars, the numerous peace talks and accords signed, obstacles to the prolonged peace process, the roles of the United States, as well as the role of the United Nations, the Refugee crisis, a program for the rehabilitation of the Liberian youth, most of whom were victimized and traumatized by the bloody conflict, as well as my personal experiences.
This book is dedicated principally to the youth of
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About the Book
‘The Liberian Tragedy’ gives a brief history of Liberia with emphasis on the major causes leading to the fourteen years of bloody conflict. It names the principal players in the wars and delineates the damage done to the nation. It recounts the pivotal role played by the International community, including the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, in helping to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The book reveals the humanitarian catastrophe created by the civil wars, like death and disease and the displacement of up to half a million Liberians. It points out that the war lords relegated love of country to the greed for power and wealth.
In order to avoid similar problems in the future, it suggest the necessity of rehabilitating the child soldiers who became victims of circumstance. It suggests that these ills can be corrected by various social organizations like the church, the home, the school, the Boys and Girls scout movements, with a view to rehabilitating the child soldiers who were innocently dragged in the wars. The book ends by recommending the setting up of a war crime tribunal to try all of the war lords and their accomplices who killed more than 300,000 Liberians and made half of the nation’s population destitute.
About the Author
T. Nelson Williams, Sr. is a native of Grand Bassa County, Liberia, and holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Liberia, an M.A. in Journalism and Political Science from Indiana University, USA. He served the Government of Liberia as Deputy Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism; worked with LAMCO, (The Liberian-American Swedish Minerals Company), as Director of information and Public Relations. He established and was the chairman of the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Liberia and is the past president of the Liberia’s Press Union. He has traveled extensively in Africa, Europe and the Middle East and co-authored ‘The African Journalists Handbook’ and ‘Reporting Africa’. He was decorated by the governments of Liberia, Ethiopia, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Egypt. Williams is married to his wife, Ethel Joyce, of 41 years and they have five children and six grand children. He is a Roman Catholic, a member of the Noble Order of the Knights of Saint John, and Past President of the Nimba Rotary Club.