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Give
our Liberian women a chance
Tuesday,
November 08, 2005
By
UmValli Lowenthal
My
fellow Liberians, what a short memory we seem to have?
Have we suddenly become deaf, dumb and blind to the
piercing cries of our kindred when they faced the
death squads, the AK-47s, and the mortals a few months
ago?
Have
we, in our brief sigh of relief from the carnage that
befell our beloved nation, forgotten the be-headings
of our mothers and fathers, the carving out of the
belly of pregnant women and their unborn children?
LURD,
MODEL, ULIMO, NPFL and others have you forgotten the
purpose for which you took the lives of 250,000 of my
fellow Liberians, and destroyed the infrastructure and
basic spiritual, social and cultural fabric of my
nation? I believe you said it was for the liberation
of my people and my nation from a dictator and a
tyrant. I did not hear you say that you were going to
get rid of the educated.
However,
Mr. and Mrs. Counselors at Law, Mr. and Mrs. BAs, MAs
and PhDs and Mr. and Mrs. Uneducated and Drop-outs
from academic education, where is your integrity, your
humanity and your conscience? Cant you see that this
bleeding virgin land is poised to once again give
birth?
Why
are you determined to define the gender of her child?
Are you a soothsayer? Why are you so blind by your
deceit, greed and ignorance that you cannot see what
you are once again doing to this bleeding virgin land
of liberty? It seems to me, like the liberators of
just yesterday, you are once again carving out of the
belly of this
virgin mother her only hope for tomorrow.
Fellow
Liberians, whether you are a graduate of the Sandae
and Poro or the western educational systems, or a
drop-out from either systems of education, we have all
been given an innate talent by our Creator. When we
find and pursue said talent, its reward to us and the
people we represents can by tremendous.
Take
a look a look at our brother, George Weah, who came
from a very humble beginning. Certainly, his gift was
not to be found in the halls of academic institutions,
but rather on the green grass of the great football
stadiums of the world. His name was not to be called
on stages of the world renowned academic institutions,
but rather on the stages of the world halls of fame
for the greatest of football players. He is destined
to be called one of the world best football players.
Because, brother George Weah defined and
pursued his divine gift. He brought great pride to his
people, his nation and numerous accolades upon
himself.
The
same goes for our sister, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. With
all of her childhood difficulties, she was still
motivated to acquire an education. In fact, despite
her becoming a mother at the time when she most
desired to pursue her academic dreams, she still went
on among all odds to complete her secondary education.
Because this was her destiny, she defied the odds
against her and pursued her divine gift: academic
excellence. Yes, Sister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, despite
mothering five great sons, her name was eventually
called upon the stage of one of the world's most
renowned academic institutes,
Harvard
University to receive her trophy for academic
excellence. In so doing, Sister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf,
brought to her people, her nation and her gender a
blazing torch of hope. Within herself, she felt she
was an over-comer.
So,
with her academic trophies and her world-class
performance in the areas of administration, economics
and politics (her God given talents) and also her
burning desire to free her people from the
mismanagement of their bequeathed natural resources,
Sister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, had over the past two
decades or more worked tirelessly, and in fact placed
her life in harms way in advocating justice for her
people.
Well,
Brother George Weah could have done the same. But the
talents necessary for the administration of an
institution, the management of the finances of an
organization and the ability to persuasively advocate
a position are not Brother Weah's gifts.
So,
fellow Liberians, let me be blunt. Brother George
Weahs talent can certainly take our nation to the
World Cup games. He will be certain to bring home the
coveted trophy of the World Cup games to
Liberia
. Thus, our beloved nation,
Liberia
, will for the first time, be placed on the map of
nations with the World Cup trophy. What an
accomplishment it will be for Brother George Weah on
behalf of his beloved nation and people.
On
the other hand, Sister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf can bring
our nation from its administrative, economic and
political woes onto the world stage, where we will
once again reclaim our position of prominence among
the great nations of the world. We will once again
become the beacon of hope, the shining star along
Africa
s modern political journey to democracy.
So,
fellow Liberian, I pray you vote for our mother and
sister, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Her talent is
what
Liberia
yearns for today. Like the rebels in our recent past,
do not carved-out the child before it is born. Give
our daughters, our sisters and our mother a chance.
Give our Liberian women a chance.
UmValli
Lowenthal, is a Registered Pharmacist. She lives in
Maryland, USA.
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