US Ambassador Protest on Liberia Independence Day

I remain very concerned about the outsized influence of the United States
in our transitional justice process. We must forge new strategic partnerships based on mutual benefit and disabuse ourselves of the notion that we have a ‘special relationship’ with America. Truth be told, this so-called ‘special relationship’ only exists in our imagination. Lest we forget, the United States was one of the last countries to recognize our independence. Lest we forget, the United States has taken more from us than it has given. Lest we forget, the United States will always serve its own interests above all else. Once we accept these truths, we will appreciate that a re-imagined Liberia can never be anyone’s ‘stepchild’.
A re-imagined Liberia is not only free from colonial relations of power, but also from colonial artefacts that cripple us. In this vein, I would like to renew previous calls to adopt national symbols that represent the “cultural breadth and historical depth” of our shared experiences. I urge us to forge a new political identity by re-imagining and revising these symbols. Why is the national motto on our seal not ‘the love of liberty united us here’, as suggested by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report? Why are we still calling our highest national honor the ‘Most Venerable Order of Knighthood of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia’, when the word ‘pioneers’ remains politically charged? How could renaming our capital Monrovia help us to decolonize?
#Liberia #United states #America #independenceday #loveforcountry #peace #equity

[@jaiagogra2291]

Great 👍