Breaking News! Liberia: Rooster Soup Kills Five Pets After Making Girl Mad

via Allafrica.com:

After making a girl mad for 12 hour, the same rooster soup which this paper reported about last week reportedly killed five ducks and a dog. It can be recalled that this paper on April 21, 2009 reported that a girl went mad for hours in the S K D Community on Bushrod Island after she tasted a rooster soup which she and her colleagues were preparing for their enjoyment.
The rooster was brought to their house as a gift to from Nimba County as a token of appreciation to her husband for services rendered to the people there, Mrs. Janet Williams Toe told The Informer.

It was tied for two days to get used to the yard – as customarily done - but died while reportedly fighting. Disposed of, girls in the house went for the dead roster to prepare ‘chicken pepper soup’. While boiling, one of them decided to have a taste of the sumptuous soup and subsequently ran into madness. She became conscious after she was taken to a prayer center after 12 hours, family members say.

However, after Baby Girl, as the girl is called, gained consciousness, community residents decided to give some of the soup to other animals to see what would be the effect; it subsequently claimed the lives of a dog, and five other duck fowls that ate portion of the soup.

The original owner of the rooster Mrs. Janet Williams Toe also averred that a day following the incident between the chicken soup and the girl and subsequent killings of a dog and five duck fowls, residents of the community were marveled and began to be careful of what to eat as far as chicken meat is concern, especially those from the interior of the country.

When quizzed, the former mad girl told this paper that she still feels indifferent since she had the misfortune with the Chicken soup.

Though she has begun seeking medical treatment at a local health center, where nurses are providing health care for her to regain full consciousness, she told this paper that nurses have yet to reveal the cause of her madness.
She has meanwhile made it her taboo to venture into eating chicken.

As a result of the situation, residents of the affected community are now skeptical to eating chicken, thus making chicken part sellers in the community to lose customers. Mrs. Toe said she is taking her times out to glorify God for rescuing her from the ‘voodoo’ that was infested into the chicken to have gotten rid of her entire family. She told this paper that she has also engaged into series of prayers for the perpetrator “who planned this evil deed against me to come to light one of these days.”

The issue of the rooster has created fear in most residents of the community to accept chicken from the hinterland of the country for whatever purpose. She pointed out that she will not accuse anyone of the act because there is no proof of any perpetrator, but will continue to prayer for God to bring to light the doer of the act.

She told this paper that prior to the rooster being brought to Monrovia she had a dream in which she was given a rooster as a present for her wedding. The dream, she said, was interpreted by a colleague, warning her to be mindful of gifts during her wedding period.

Wheelchairs on the side of the road: photos of the day

On the side of the road in Congotown, Monrovia, there's an area where wheelchairs, crutches, hub caps, and the occasional waffle iron are for sale.

About 16 percent of the population in Liberia is handicapped, an official from Handicap International informed me. A lot of physical disability is war related, he said, while there's also a high incidence of polio in Liberia


Wheelchairs sell for between $75 and $175 and crutches for about half that. Sales were better right after the war, but turn around is higher now since many people purchase wheelchairs and crutches for elderly relatives and then sell them back later.

Context Africa: Sliding Liberia

This is the second installation of Context Africa, a new series that will highlight projects that go above and beyond daily news to tell a story of a place in its context and create an ongoing dialogue about what it means to tell contextual stories in Africa. See also, Jina Moore's Q and A about forgivness in Rwanda from last week.

This Q and A is with Nicholai Lidow, who did a summer internship at a peacebuilding organization in Ghana, where he lived with a group of Liberian refugees. After graduating from college, Nicholai traveled to Liberia to meet up with these friends, who had just returned to their country after 14 years of exile. The people he met on this journey and the incredible waves at Robertsport changed Nicholai's life. To tell those stories, Nicholai teamed up with his friends back home---a small group of filmmakers and surfers---to make the the movie.

Sliding Liberia follows Nicholai and his friends to Liberia in search of more than perfect waves. Risking everything to explore the West African country devastated by decades of war, they record the stories of people they meet—people like Alfred, who became Liberia's first surfer after finding a bodyboard while fleeing from rebels. Besides rediscovering a break that could be the best-kept secret in the surfing world, they find something more important—a way to travel responsibly in the 21st century.


One of the things I like about Sliding Liberia is that is neither just the story of you and your friends surfing nor the story of Liberia’s recently ended war. How did you work to achieve that balance?

Surfers have the opportunity to travel to some of the most interesting and amazing places in the world in search of waves---El Salvador, Indonesia, the Philippines. But a generation of surfers have grown up with surf media that show image after image of perfect waves, with little concern for the people who live on land. The goal of Sliding Liberia is to combine the journey towards perfect waves with a more in-depth look at the people and places encountered along the way.
Striking a balance between surfing and a documentary-style look at Liberia's current situation was the biggest challenge of the film. Britton Caillouette and I tried to be very careful to preserve Sliding Liberia as a surf film---something that would be entertaining to watch---while also presenting an accurate, informative picture of Liberia today. During the editing process we went back and forth---cutting some surfing, adding some interviews, and vice versa--- until the balance seemed right.



What kind of feedback has the film gotten?

The response to the film---from the surfing community, the general public, and people in Liberia---has been overwhelming. When Britt and I first thought up the idea for the film in 2005, we had no experience and no connections in the surfing world. Our idea was simply to buy a couple of camcorders and see what happens. Early on in the project we met with the Malloy brothers (a legendary trio of surfer/filmmakers) and pitched them our idea. The Malloy brothers were incredibly supportive and within a week we had a top cinematographer (Dave Homcy) a brilliant photographer (Ted Grambeau) and multiple feature articles lined up.

Even more surprising was the positive response from film festivals and the general public. Sliding Liberia has screened more than 60 times on 6 continents and won more than a dozen awards at international film festivals. I think part of the reason for this reception is that the film strikes a balance between the beauty and optimism of Liberia on one hand, and the serious legacy of violence and poverty on the other (plus the soundtrack is catchy).

My biggest joy from the film, however, has been screening it in Liberia. Over the last two years we've organized a few free screenings in Monrovia and Robertsport, for both NGO workers and Liberians. I was terrified how these groups of people---people with experience in Liberia---would judge the film. The feedback has been very positive, and it has been great seeing my friends who appeared in the film transform into local celebrities.


How have things changed at Roberstport, where you filmed most of the surfing, and in Liberia, in the years you’ve been visiting?

Robertsport has experienced some changes since the film was shot in 2006, although the people still face the same daily struggles. When we made the film, Alfred was the only local with any experience surfing. Now there are at least a dozen kids out in the water, and four of them are becoming very, very good. The kids now have access to about a dozen surfboards that visitors have been kind enough to leave, and surfing is continuing to grow. The biggest change, of course, has been the opening of "Nana's Camp," a luxury lodge right on the beach. Now surfers and aid workers can stay at Robertsport in comfort, without having to build a camp on the beach.

At least a dozen surfers have made the journey to Liberia solely to experience the waves at Robertsport (most of them because they've seen Sliding Liberia!). Hopefully as these numbers grow, the opportunities for employment and development in Robertsport will increase.
Unfortunately the people of Robertsport continue to face difficulties. Although most of the community relies on fishing, the long distance to Monrovia means that there are no markets to sell their fish. Very few jobs exist in Robertsport (although Nana's Camp now employs about 20 local staff), and access to electricity or running water is very limited. Alfred's mother, for example, has had to leave her family and move to Kakata to pursue a job in teaching because she could not find any source of income in Robertsport.

You’ve come back to Liberia this time around to work on doctoral research. How is your academic work informed by your time in Liberia hanging out and surfing?

My research focuses on post-conflict reconstruction and on the organization of rebel groups. My academic work has benefited tremendously from my early experiences in Liberia. I first came to Liberia to visit friends that I had met in Ghana in 2003 while they were Liberian refugees. When I graduated from college I traveled to Liberia with the simple goal of visiting these friends and tagging along with them while they tracked down their families and reconnected with a country they hadn't seen in 14 years.

Seeing Liberia from their perspective sparked a connection with Liberia that I have never felt anywhere else. But aside from this personal connection, my network of friends have proven invaluable resources when it comes to explaining the nuances of Liberian politics or tracking down elusive contacts.

I really love the music you guys used in the film. Can you tell me a bit about that?

Britton Caillouette, my partner on the film, was the driving force behind the soundtrack. Our goal was to create a bridge between the Western music that typically appears in surf films and the West African music that is a more authentic backdrop to the scenery and stories on the screen. Britt listened to thousands of songs to pick the ones that worked--- I think he did an amazing job. We also teamed up with Todd Hannigan and Jesse Siebenberg to compose an original score that captured the complicated emotions present in the film.


$1 from each DVD sold on the website is donated to NGOs and local organizations working in Liberia. The film is also available at Amazon.com or on Netflicks.

WELCOME MR DOG: Photo of the Day

Context Africa: Part II Tomorrow

After last week's somber and thoughtful installment of Context Africa with Jina Moore, this week I'll feature another project with a similar amount of commitment and equally difficult themes, but a lighter throughline: surfing.

I'd heard of Sliding Liberia before I got here, but I didn't watch it until one quiet Saturday night a few months ago. What immediately appealed to me about the film was that it didn't try to be about The War (capital T, capital H), but about a group of friends surfing and the context in which that takes place.

Tomorrow, I'll post a Q and A with Nicholai Lidow, one of the driving forces behind the film. Stay tuned for more information and some amazing pictures Nicholai has been kind enough to share.

Chicken feet and other things I don't want to say.

Sometimes, I want to write about things that are light and things that are dark. But I don't. Because I can't. Because that you-know-what cliche is so overpowering and all encompassing that if I make any reference to light or the absence of light, everyone thinks I'm referencing you-know-what. And it doesn't work to say, "I'm not referencing you-know-what," because that references it.

Let's face it - I've already referenced it here.

Most of the time I accept this as a limitation of language I do and do not want to use to write about Africa. But sometimes I get annoyed, because sometimes things just are dark and I just want to say that. It's very dark at night - especially when there isn't much of a power grid as is the case in Liberia. But saying that something is "dark" takes on the baggage the cliche has accumulated over the last hundred years or so, and that's not what I want. So I don't.

Chicken feet for sale on Newport Street in Monrovia.

Ellen vs. Jon: Liberia's President on the Daily Show

Jon Stewart was not in his element yesterday. He had Ma Ellen on his show as a guest. He mispronounced her name, and fawned over her accomplishments rather than actually talking about stuff (as he often does) or making fun of stuff (as he more often does). She made him kinda nervous and tongue tied, primarily because it was clear that he had no idea what he was talking about and therefore said nothing.

At the end of the segment, Ma Ellen gave him a traditional outfit and made him a chief anyway.

Shelby Grossman points out, her memoir's title, "This Child Will be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President" isn't exactly modest. Chris Blattman points out that all the book promoting and travel doesn't exactly leave her with a lot of time to, you know, govern and stuff at home.

My only question: When is Ma Ellen going on Oprah, and will Oprah tweet about it?

Decaying Beauty

This morning I went to take photos of an abandoned building near where I live in Monrovia.





It's amazing, you can tell it was once a beautiful house completely destroyed - more by looting as a result of war than by the war itself.


The caretaker who worked there when it was once the home of a wealthy Liberian family is still around, taking care, even though no one lives there anymore. He told me there were squatters for awhile, but since it's directly adjacent to the US Embassy they were kicked out in 2007.







Monrovia is such a place of contrast - through one of the empty window frames, you can see the United Nations Development Program, spic and span with white and baby blue paint.

Paper versus plastic, wrapped in lapas: photos of the day

From display booths at the International Women's Colloquium this past March.

Context Africa: Jina Moore

This is the first installation of Context Africa, a new series that will highlight projects that go above and beyond daily news to tell a story of a place in its context and create an ongoing dialogue about what it means to tell contextual stories in Africa.

"No Small Mercy" is the story of Alice and Emanuel. Years after the genocide, Emmanuel meets Alice, the woman whose hand he hacked off with a panga. He asks for her forgiveness. Alice is hesitant but ultimately forgives him.

Journalist Jina Moore, who has worked extensively in Rwanda and the Great Lakes, tells an insightful story that doesn't gloss over what happened but also doesn't focus on April 1994 exclusively. She gives the history context and the individuals identity. She took a few minutes to answer questions about working on the piece.

How did you identify Alice and Emmanuel as people to feature in this story?

I was introduced to Alice through a personal friend in Rwanda. When I told her that I wanted to write her story, she insisted on including Emmanuel. She felt very strongly that her narrative was only half of her own personal story, and several times in interviews when I asked her follow-up questions about what seemed like "her narrative" she deferred to Emmanuel, who was on the other side of her experience. Emmanuel was willing to participate in deference to Alice, but also--it seemed to me, after many hours of conversation--because he has done a lot of personal work to move forward from the genocide, and he is a man of reflective thought. The story, perhaps, gave him a chance to talk these things through with an outsider.

Did you interview Alice and Emmanuel together or separately or both?

Both. I'd met Alice almost a year before we started working on the story, and then I heard a little of her story. I did the interviews for this piece in January, and I met with Alice first for an hour. Then we had a marathon, 8-hour joint interview session, and then several follow ups which included group and individual interviews. I wanted to give each person a chance to convey ideas they might not express in the presence of the other person, but it turned out that they preferred to speak together.

Is writing an “as told to” story different from more straightforward journalism?

I don't know if it is in general, but this certainly was. I was inflexible about my writing method: I wanted as much as possible to be literally lifted from my transcripts. I didn't feel like I had the authority to paraphrase in my subjects' voices. Also, Rwanda is a place of great political and historical sensitivities, that as an outsider I don't fully understand. I did not want to put Alice or Emmanuel in a difficult position by having paraphrased in a way that seemed legitimate to me but crossed a cultural boundary I don't know about. That method meant I had to interview much more rigorously than one usually expects when doing a print piece.

There is so much written about the genocide in Rwanda and its aftermath. How did you make your story different from the others?

I'm flattered you think it's different enough that it stands out. I think my reporting/writing approach is unusual, and I also think my time in Rwanda added a nuanced understanding I wouldn't have otherwise. I certainly didn't understand Sierra Leone as well, for instance, and a series I did last year on the same topic--postwar reconciliation--doesn't feel to me nearly as satisfying as this story.

What’s the hardest thing about this topic to explain to people who don’t know much about Rwanda or about Africa generally?

That challenge is different in other pieces, where I have the freedom of third-person narration, which lets me do far more explanatory writing. But in both, the challenge of Rwanda is pretty symbolic of the challenge of writing about Africa: you want to write against the stereotype of poor, suffering, uni-dimensional Africans, but you have to acknowledge the poverty and suffering IS part of Africa. So how do you write about those things that have become a cliche, without turning your subjects into stereotypes? It's hard, and I think the key is paying lots of attention to small things, and staying the hell out of the way---in your reporting, and in your writing.

Does writing about horrific crimes take an emotional toll on your personally?

I am loathe to admit it, because I'm an idiot, but yes. Turns out, though, that there are lots of us idiots in denial about the effect our work has on us, and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is trying hard to change the culture of the way we work, getting past the "I'm so tough I can do refugee stories for YEARS" machismo that permeates the profession. They're really getting a great conversation, and support network, going. (Also, they give away money. So that's another reason to them.)

Jina Moore is a freelance journalist who splits her time between New York and Africa. Her work has appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Search Magazine and Best American Science Writing 2009 (forthcoming).

Context Africa

It's hard to understand a lot about a place in 600 words - the length of the average news article. It's hard for a journalist to explain them, and it's hard for a reader to comprehend them. While longer form journalism about Africa is much more infrequent than, say, longer forms of journalism about Washington DC politics, there are a few stellar journalists working on books, magazine articles, documentaries, and photo essays scattered across this diverse continent.

I'm starting a new series on this blog: Context Africa. The idea is to highlight projects that go above and beyond daily news to tell a story of a place in its context ,as well as to create an ongoing dialogue about what it means to tell contextual stories in Africa.

Coming tomorrow will be a Q and A with friend, sometimes collaborator, and stellar writer Jina Moore. She just finished a piece for the Walrus Magazine, "No Small Mercy."

Stay tuned.

UC Berkeley Fellowship for African Journalists

I went to Berkeley for my undergrad degree. I studied art history, which has a surprising yet very limited relevance to my life now, so wanted to post this opportunity that found its way to my inbox for accomplished African journalists.

UC Berkeley Fellowships for African Journalists

The Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley is pleased to invite applications for two yearlong fellowships for accomplished African journalists, beginning in August 2009.

The fellowships will each total $36,000, including roundtrip airfare, professional stipends, and rent while in Berkeley. The initiative will also offer dedicated funding for both domestic U.S. and Africa travel for research and reporting work.

The selected fellows will join the School’s Visiting International Scholars Program and participate in a new journalism training initiative aimed at producing high quality coverage of agricultural development issues in Africa for dissemination in U.S., African, and international media.

Requirements:

Selected fellows must bring at least five years experience in journalism in sub-Saharan Africa, in any medium including print newspaper, magazine, television, radio, documentary, or new media format such as blogging, podcasting, and other online publishing.

Applicants also must demonstrate a proven track record of commitment to the truth-seeking craft, and a willingness to effectively investigate problems of food access and production on the continent.

A B.A. degree, at minimum, is strongly desired, along with experience and knowledge about agricultural issues in African countries.

Selected African fellows will enroll with other Visiting Scholars in background courses at Berkeley examining the global food crisis starting in late August 2009, while also contributing their knowledge about Africa and journalism to their U.S. and international peers.

Applications must include a CV, three examples of work, and a one-page cover letter containing a statement of interest. Please send applications to the following email address, c/o dean’s assistant Julie Hirano: africa@journalism.berkeley.edu

Deadline for applications: May 1, 2009

This opportunity is part of a new two-year grant provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Africa Journalists Blogging, Part II

Awhile back, I posted a list of journalists who work in Africa and blog. I asked for other suggestions, and I've gotten them. Here's an updated list:

(In no particular order)
In Nairobi, Nick Wadhams
In Kigali, Jina Moore
In Khartoum, Andrew Heavens
Also in Nairobi, Derek Kilner
All over the place, David Axe
In Zambia, Aaron Leaf
In Nigeria, Wil Conors
All over the place, G. Pascal Zachary
In Nairobi, and elsewhere, Shashank Bengali
In Nairobi and elsewhere, photojournalist Micah Albert
In Nairobi and elsewhere, Rob Crilly
In Nairobi and elsewhere, Steve Bloomfield
In Monrovia, Myles Estey
In Abidjan, Pauline
In Congo and elsewhere, photojournalist TJ Kirkpatrick
In Nairobi and elsewhere, photojournalist J Carrier
In Cairo, photojournalist and editor Ben Curtis
In Congo and elsewhere, unnamed author of African Heros

And also,
Formerly all over Africa and still writing about Africa, Alex Belida
Formerly in Kampala, now in Mexico City, Alexis Okeowo
JHR folks
Frontline folks

From Jogany:
Mialy http://mialisenfout.hautetfort.com/
Randy Donny http://randydoit.hautetfort.com/

From Diário da África
www.diariodaafrica.blogspot.com

Via email, from Eric Jon Magnuson,

Heba Aly (who was recently kicked out of Sudan) -- http://hebasenegal.blogspot.com

Peter Eichstaedt (IWPR) -- http://petereichstaedt.blogspot.com

Blake Evans-Pritchard (formerly in Sudan; now in Italy) -- http://blakerig.wordpress.com

Alex Halperin -- http://halperin.wordpress.com

Nico Colombant -- http://thirdratetropics.blogspot.com

Richard Lough -- http://nairobinotebook.typepad.com

Michael Deibert (formerly in DR Congo; now in Australia) -- http://michaeldeibert.blogspot.com

Gretchen L. Wilson -- http://gretchenlwilson.com

Kristin Palitza -- http://www.kristinpalitza.com

Mvemba Phezo Dizolele -- http://dizolele.com

John Liebhardt -- http://africaflak.blogspot.com

Neil McCartney (South African photojournalist) -- http://neilmccartney.blogspot.com

Ricci Shryock -- http://www.riccimedia.com

UPDATE April 21:
I forgot to put one of my recently-started-reading it favorites:
In Senegal, Rose

The more things change...

Monrovia is changing every day. Before I left on my recent get-away, I walked past this amazing building in the center of town. In what was once a large window or entrance of a tall official looking building, dozens and dozens of neckties were on display, for sale, in an interlocking kaleidoscopic pattern of tie-decadence. I didn’t have my camera with me, but thought what a great shot that place would make. The old building not in use, the second hand ties for sale, the vibrant street life in Monrovia’s center. I’d wait for the right passer by in the frame, hoping for an amazing snap.

I went back just the other day. The building was boarded up and under renovation, aluminum siding covering the opening where the ties once were. The ties are still there, on display, but now instead of being part of a decaying urban landscape, they’re hanging on aluminum siding. My visual was gone. I could still take the picture, but the aluminum siding made the ties look more like they were at Target and less like they’re in post-conflict West Africa.

I thought about how before I came to Liberia, I was excited to move to a country people were hopeful about, that was said to be improving quickly. When I thought about how one week a building was in disrepair and the next week it was being repaired, I thought this must be true.

Over too much wine this weekend, a new friend and old Liberia hand commented on change.

Every time he’s come back over the past several years, he said, there are new coats of paint and refurbished buildings. But, not much really changes. People are still traumatized, ex-combatants are not reintegrated, and the average Liberian is not better off than he was last year.

The more some things change, the more other things stay the same.

Many photos of the day to last the next two weeks....

I'm heading offline for the next two weeks for a much needed break from Liberia. It's hard to believe I've already been here for long enough to warrant a vacation, but 'tis true. Enjoy these photos and I'll be back in late April....

ISO of two talented people, or, one very talented person

I’m looking to hire two people or one multi-talented person to complete these tasks:

ADMIN HELP

I need a person who is based in the USA or the UK who can receive files I send digitally and burn to CDs or DVDs to submit for fellowships and awards along with paperwork. It’s hard for me to do this from Africa, and I don’t really want to impose on my friends of family back home since they’re all busy. All you need to do this job is access to the internet, a CD burner, and a printer. There’s the possibility of other random administrative tasks as well. I will pay you and/or arrange college credit if that’s something that would be useful to you. This will take up about 5 – 15 hours per month.

I can offer things in return as well, depending on what you might need: selected editorial contacts, advice getting started, photo and writing tips, etc. Or anything else you think I might be able to offer you.


WEB HELP

I’ve talked to a few people about fixing up this blog and have even moved forward with certain plans only for things to later not work out logistically or financially. So, what I’m looking for is someone who can help me move this blog to scarlettlion.com and possibly fancy it up a bit design-wise, since despite the huge quantity of blogging I’ve done, I’m actually pretty computer incompetent.

Please don’t quote me a price by the hour for this but a flat rate. And if you think of your prices as “midrange” or “high end”, I probably can’t afford your excellent and amazing skills at this point.

Happy to also promote your work on my new blog site.

TO APPLY

I’m about to head off on holiday (yay!) for about two weeks. In the meantime, email me – glennagordon at gmail dot com. Please don’t send any attachments.

For the web job: just a price quote, a time line, and maybe a link to a few other sites you’ve done.

For the admin job: an hourly rate, a few lines about yourself, and why you’d want to do this.

I’ll get back to you the week of April 20.****

***Anyone who has an in with the cheese industry and their own refrigerated shipping container heading to West Africa should specify in the email for special consideration.

Other photos out there on the world wide web

Audrey Bardou's photo essay about her parents is posted on Burn Magazine. I flipped through the images just this morning and felt incredibly moved by the emotional intesnity and narrative power of the story. They are simple and beautiful. There is nothing here of "international importance" or grand significance, but a story of two people who love each other and the loss that is part of ageing and living.

Via State of the Art, I found out about Tim Hetherington's soon to be released photo book on Liberia. On his homepage, you can see a lot of his images of Liberia during wartime. The pictures are amazing and show a commitment to making images in Liberia over several years. Definitely worth checking out.

MSF is everywhere doctors are needed and they always hire amazing talent to document their work. You can see a lot of the images here. What I appreciate about a lot of these images is they aren't stock white-doctor-helping-refugee images, but often show a side of conflict that is beyond the frontlines. The photo here was taken in Chad in 2007.

Crab? Photo of the Day