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Amend
constitution to address harsh realities of
modern-day Liberia
Saturday,
February 11, 2006
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
I hate to be
on the other side of this debate because it is a tough
one. It is an issue; no matter where one stands will
affect somebody, somewhere, directly and indirectly.
It is heart-wrenching because of the many good,
industrious, meaningful, hardworking and educated
people the Liberian Constitution will bar from serving
their country because of the decisions those
individuals made when they lived abroad.
They are individuals who love their country,
but immigrated to a foreign country to learn and
prepare themselves to be productive citizens, with the
hopes of returning one day to contribute to the
development of the place they always called home.
Because of the challenges they encountered when
they lived in Liberia, and the challenges they also
encountered in their new countries, many Liberians who
are from very poor families, and the ones from
well-to-do families become naturalized citizens for
financial security, education and the opportunities
their adopted countries provided them. Some also took
the drastic steps of doing what they did to provide
comfort and financial security for their relatives and
loved ones at home and abroad.
Well, there is that argument from some quarters
that a person doesn’t have to renounce his or her
citizenship or enlist in a foreign army to survive in
another country. And because it is the most convenient
thing to do, some will do it anyway to exploit the
resources of that country, while others who pursued
those lofty goals often abandoned their relatives and
their country later.
Since I am far from wearing the painful shoes
of the other party, and unaware of the extent of the
crisis the individual had to struggle with to reach
that very personal decision, I am in no position to
judge anyone, especially when such a decision is based
on their family’s future and their own needs.
While it is quite a honorable thing to look out
for oneself and their family’s financial security,
it is also a hard decision for the person who took the
oath and pledged their allegiance to another country,
because in most cases that individual still love their
country, and only went through the process to prepare
for the future ahead of them.
The 2005 national and presidential elections
brought head-on the controversy regarding permanent
residency and dual citizenship, which became a
political issue for then candidates Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf and George Weah, both of whom had to
constantly explain to the public whether one has an
American green card, and whether the other is a
naturalized French citizen.
It was reported during the campaign that
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf turned in her American
Green Card to US authorities, while George Weah never
came close to addressing his French citizenship issue.
Since the elections ended in November and the
inauguration of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in January, the
issue has since popped-up once again after the
president began to appoint her cabinet.
As it turns out, several of the presidential
appointees have been rejected by the Legislature
because they are either naturalized citizens of
another country, say, the United States, or formerly a
member of the U.S. Army.
The original Constitution of 1847, and the
revised Constitution of 1983 and 1984 did not say
anything at all about whether Liberians with permanent
resident status in the United States or another
country are ineligible to work in Liberia.
What is clear, however, and is enshrined in the
original Constitution and the two revised ones is the
racist law that prohibits non-Negroid from owning
properties and becoming citizens of Liberia.
The original Constitution’s intent is crystal
clear in (Chapter IV, article 27 b), which denied
non-Negroid Liberian citizenship.
However, the original Constitution and the two
revised ones (1983-1984) did not address the permanent
residency issue at all, but further elaborated about
dual citizenship in a way that qualified Liberians
with another country’s citizenship (Chapter 27,
article 30), cannot work in their country of birth, if
they ever returned home.
It reads: “On application made on behalf of
an authorized official of government, the circuit
court may deprive a citizen of Liberia of his
citizenship, whether he be a Liberian by birth or
naturalization, or anyone or more on the following
grounds, and with such exceptions as set forth
below.” Take a look also at
a, b, c, d:
“Acquiring the citizenship of another
country; or taking an oath and making an affirmative
or other formal declarations of allegiance to a
foreign state voluntarily.”
“Exercising a free choice to enter or serve
in the armed forces of a foreign state, unless prior
there to such entry or service was specifically
authorized by the President or the Legislature;”
“Voting in a political election of a foreign
country.”
“Making
a formal renunciation of his Liberian citizenship
before a diplomatic or consular officer of Liberia in
a foreign state.”
It is well known by now that this is a new day
and a new Liberia. And unlike previous Liberian
governments that abused the Constitution and did not
respect the laws of the land by giving sensitive jobs
to foreigners, Liberians naturalized in other
countries, and others who served in Vietnam or just
the US Army, the new lawmakers today wants to serve,
and I believe they also want to do the right thing by
respecting the Constitution. Those lawmakers ought to
be commended for their courage.
The law of the land is the law of the land, and
it must be respected because the greatness of a
country is seen through its laws and how those laws
are enforced and fairly distributed between the
politically powerful few and the helpless majority.
However, any law that does not deal with the
harsh realities of its country tends to always create
problems for its citizens. A law of this kind will not put
its people and country back on track, but will drive
away competent and meaningful Liberians who finally
wants to go home and contribute their expertise to the
development of their country.
Liberia is in bad shape and needs all of its
manpower and resources to bounce back. Over the past
twenty-five or more years, hundreds or thousands of
Liberians left their country either because of the
civil war or to pursue greener pastures and higher
education in countries around the globe.
A country such as Liberia with many problems which
culminated partly from the 14-year civil war that just
ended, brain drain and a visible lack of development
does not need any more hurdles that will stifle growth
and development.
Now that the war is over, some of those
Liberians want to return home to live and help in the
development of their country. Are they going to be
denied that chance because they are naturalized
citizens of another country? What's wrong with dual
citizenship? That's certainly another thing the
Legislature ought to look at.
And the Liberian people will have to get
together and lobby harder to have this bad law changed
to allow progress, growth and development.
The constitution must be amended to reflect
modern day realities in the country.
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