Download or read book The Liberian Civil War written by Mark Huband and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The civil war in 1989 promised freedom from ten years of vicious dictatorship; instead the seeds of Liberia's devastation were sown. Mark Huband's account of the conflict is a portrayal of the war as it unfolded, drawing on the author's experience of living amongst the fighters.

Download or read book Liberia s First Civil War written by Edmund Hogan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-13 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive narrative history of Liberia’s first civil war, from its origins in the 1980s right through the conflict and up to the peace agreement and conclusion of hostilities in 1997. The first Liberian Civil War was one of Africa’s most devastating conflicts, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians, and sending shockwaves across the world. Drawing on a wide range of local and international sources, the book traces the background of the war and its long-term and immediate causes, before analysing the detail of the unfolding conflict, the eventual ceasefire, peace agreement and subsequent elections. In particular, the book shines a light on hitherto unseen first-hand Roman Catholic indigenous and missionary sources, which offer a rare intimacy to the analysis. Detailing the impact of Liberia’s individual warlords and peacemakers, the book also explains the roles played by non-governmental agencies, national, regional and international actors, by the UN, ECOWAS and the Organisation of African Unity, and by nations with special interests and influence, such as the USA and other West African states. This book’s detailed narrative analysis of the Liberian conflict will be an important read for anyone with an interest in the Liberian conflict, including researchers within African studies, political science, contemporary history, international relations, and peace and conflict studies.

Download or read book Liberia written by Gabriel I. H. Williams and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 24, 1989, a group of Libyan-trained armed dissidents, which styled itself the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), attacked Liberian territory from neighboring Ivory Coast. The band of outlaws was led by Charles Taylor, an ex-Liberia government official who escaped from prison in the United States while facing extradition to Liberia for allegedly embezzling nearly one million dollars of public funds. After he fled the U.S. Taylor returned to West Africa, from where he connected with Libya. Sustained by Libyan support, Taylor went to Liberia to spearhead his murderous brand of civil war. Liberia's dictatorial leader Samuel Doe responded to the NPFL invasion by deploying troops in the conflict area, whose senior ranks were dominated by the military strongman's own ethnic group. The government forces carried out collective punishment against local villagers, killing, looting, and raping, while singling out people from certain ethnic groups whom they regarded as supporters of the invasion by reason of their ethnic identity. The NPFL also targeted members of Doe's ethnic group and other ethnic groups that were seen to be supportive of the government, as well as its officials and sympathizers. As the war spread from the interior toward the Liberian capital of Monrovia amid widespread death and destruction, the United States responded to the deteriorating situation by dispatching four warships with 2,300 marines to evacuate Americans and other foreigners who were in the country. The U.S. decided not to intervene to contain the unfolding catastrophe. Officials of the George Bush administration maintained that Liberia, which was then America's closest traditional ally in Africa, was no longer of strategic importance to the U.S. Coincidentally, the Liberian civil war started at the time the Cold War was ending. Located on the West Coast of Africa, Liberia was founded in 1822 by freed black American slaves who were returned to the continent. Their passage was paid by the American Colonization Society, a philanthropic organization, whose members included Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. The Liberian capital Monrovia is named after Monroe, who was president of the United States at the time Liberia was founded. The country's national flag of red, white and blue stripes with a star, bears close resemblance to the American flag. The systems of government and education, architecture and other aspects of Liberian life reflect American taste. Names of places in the country include Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana and Buchanan. More than anywhere in Africa, spoken English in Liberia echoes the rhythms of Black American speech. Liberia served as the regional headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and hosted a Voice of America relay station that beamed American propaganda, as well as other major U.S. security installations during the Cold War. The Americans also operated the Omega Navigation Tower, which was intended to track the movement of ships and planes in the region and beyond. Once one of Africa's most stable and prosperous countries, Liberia was regarded as a haven for international trade and commerce because of the use of the American dollar as a legal tender. Major U.S. investments in the country included the Firestone Rubber Plantation, the world's largest plantation, which produce rubber for Firestone tires, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Citibank. Pan American Airlines (PAN AM) once operated Liberia's Roberts International Airport, where U.S. fighter jets have landing rights. During part of the 1970s, Liberia's per capita income was equivalent to that of Japan. Independent since 1847 as Africa's first republic, Liberia's plunge into anarchy began after a bloody military coup that ended the rule of descendants of the freed slaves, who monopolized political and economic power for over a century. During the 1980 coup, President William Tolbert, who tried to institute some meaningful po

Download or read book The First Liberian Civil War written by George Klay Kieh and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2008 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book challenges the dominant view that the first Liberian civil war was caused by ethno-cultural antagonisms between and among the country's various ethnic groups. Alternatively, the book argues that the war was the consequence of the multifaceted crises of underdevelopment - cultural, economic, political, and social - generated by the neo-colonial Liberian State.

Download or read book Liberia s Women Veterans written by Leena Vastapuu and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-15 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Liberian civil wars of the 1990s and 2000s became notorious for their atrocities, and for the widespread use of child soldiers. Girls and young women accounted for up to 40 per cent of these soldiers, but their unique perspective and experiences have largely been excluded from accounts of the conflict. In Liberia's Women Veterans, Leena Vastapuu uses an innovative auto-photographic methodology to tell the story of two of Africa's most brutal civil wars through the eyes of 133 female former soldiers. Incorporating their testimonies alongside a series of vivid illustrations by Emmi Nieminen, the book provides an in-depth account of these women's experiences of trauma, stigma, and the challenges of reintegration into post-war society, as well as their hopes and aspirations for the future. Vastapuu argues that these women, too often been perceived merely as passive victims of the conflict, can in fact play an important role in post-war reconciliation and peace-building. Overturning gendered perceptions of warfare and militarism, the book provides a unique take on humanitarian practices and post-conflict societies, making essential reading for policymakers as well as students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences.

Download or read book Liberia s Civil War written by Adekeye Adebajo and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. This book was released on 2002 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text aims to unravel the tangled web of the conflict by addressing questions including: why did Nigeria intervene in Liberia and remain committed throughout the seven-year civil war?; and to what extent was ECOMOG's intervention shaped by Nigeria's hegemonic aspirations.

Download or read book Sweet Battlefields written by Mats Utas and published by Mats Utas. This book was released on 2003 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Walk written by Chantale Wesley-Lamin and published by Wesley Lamin Books. This book was released on 2016-08-10 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *INCLUDES BONUS DISCUSSION GUIDE! **PORTION OF PROCEEDS BENEFIT CHARITY. What is it like to be on the other side of the gun, running for your life and losing everything? What if you are only eleven years old? The Walk is a real life account of an adolescent boy, Brima Lamin, whose desperation for survival took him across several foreign countries ultimately seeking refuge in the United States. In this gripping memoir, the author tells how the entire course of his life was changed on one horrendous day, July 2, 1990 when rebel soldiers armed with AK-47s stormed his neighborhood. Over the course of four years to follow, he witnessed brutal atrocities barely escaping death during what many call one of the most horrific wars of all time, the Liberian Civil War. In the midst of losing it all, he came of age, found God and was able to come to a country that he had always dreamed about. The Walk challenges the reader to wonder how they will "walk" in the midst of the storm.

Download or read book A Walk for Survival written by A. A. Mamy and published by . This book was released on 2018-09-24 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After fleeing my home life in Nimba County-where just being born a girl had been a curse-to seek refuge in Monrovia with one of my older sisters, I was once again confronted with yet another dilemma. A civil war had erupted in Liberia, and I found myself being a member of one of the opposing tribes, and must endeavor to keep my tribal identity hidden. On Christmas Eve of 1989, the West African Nation of Liberia was attacked by a gang of rebel forces led by Charles Taylor through Nimba County. To counter the insurgency, the president sent a special tactical force to Nimba County to restrain the brewing fight. However, the group went on the offensive, attacking and killing civilians indiscriminately. By the time it was over, in just a short time frame, almost thousands of people had been executed, but that was just the beginning of the birth pain-tribes had been pitted against other tribes. The Mano and Gio tribe members of Nimba County were being hunted and killed in Monrovia, just as the president's Krahn ethnic group was being sought after in other parts of the country by rebels. And just like that, being Mano and living in Monrovia, my sister, her family, and I became part of the enemy of the state. To survive, we concealed our tribal identity, endured a series of narrow escapes, and walked several thousand miles to escape Liberia. This is my story and my account of what I saw happened as a child.

Download or read book Another America The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It written by James Ciment and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the history of Liberia, founded and settled by a small group of African Americans who left early 19th century America to free themselves from prejudice, but ended up persecuting the area's natives in a way that mirrored their own histories.

Download or read book Civil Wars in Africa written by Kelechi A. Kalu and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-05-05 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil Wars in Africa, edited by Kelechi A. Kalu and George Klay Kieh, Jr., examines civil conflicts throughout various African countries. They argue that civil wars in Africa are by-products of the contradictions and crises engendered by the post-colonial state-building and nation-building projects in Africa. With few exceptions, the post-colonial states in Africa have failed to build societies that invest in the material well-being of their citizens; protect their political, civil, and other rights; promote accountability, transparency, the rule of law, judicial independence, and the holding of free and fair elections; and promote ethnic pluralism, tolerance, mutual respect, and peaceful co-existence, among others. In addition, the contributors show that the post-colonial states in Africa have been ruled by corrupt and autocratic leaders, who are obsessed with the maintenance of state power as the pathway to ensuring the private accumulation of wealth through sundry illegal means, including bribery, extortion, and theft of public funds. In sum, this volume addresses how the failure of the post-colonial African state to shepherd the process of building democratic societies based on the centrality of human security has led to the erosion of the legitimacy of the state and its custodians. Thus, once the contradictions and crises reached their crescendo, these post-colonial societies than implode into civil wars, even at the micro-level.

Download or read book American Warlord written by Johnny Dwyer and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2015 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tells the story of "Chucky" Taylor, a young American who lost his soul in Liberia, the country where his African father was a ruthless warlord and dictator.

Download or read book The Land of My Father s Birth written by Nvasekie N. Konneh and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Land of My Fathers Birth is a memoir of war, survival, and adventure, spanning continents, from Liberia to the Ivory Coast; from United States to the Middle East and Europe. It is a personal story of surviving ethnic and religious persecution during the Liberian Civil War, as author Nvasekie Konneh, of mixed Mandingo and Mano heritage, fled from the advancing rebel forces of Charles Taylor. It is a story of courage, as Konneh sought refuge in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he met and befriended the daughter of the countrys first military leader, Robert Guei. It is a story of reinvention, as Konneh comes to the United States, joined the US Navy, and is stationed on board the USS Detroit during which the ship is deployed in the Middle East and Europe making port visits to Haifa/Jerusalem, Dubai, Paris, and Dakar. It is a celebration of ethnic and religious diversity, a call to embrace differences in times of war and peace from a social activist who has been writing for social cultural enlightenment since the early 1990s. For those to whom the idea of living through a civil war is unimaginable, this book is an eye-opening revelation. For those who lived through or observed it at first hand, Konneh provides an insightful, panoramic view of the experiences he and his countrymen shared. The greatest tales of adventure are those lived by real people in challenging times: The Land of My Fathers Birth is a thrilling and enlightening saga for all readers.

Download or read book The Mask of Anarchy written by Stephen Ellis and published by C. HURST & CO. PUBLISHERS. This book was released on 1999 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mask of Anarchy traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its roots in the way governments have been established in West Africa during the 20th century.

Download or read book Liberian Civil War written by James Youboty and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A graphic account of the very bloody civil war in Liberia. The country was founded in 1822 on the West Coast of Africa by freed American slaves. The ex-slaves dominated & suppressed the native Africans in the region until 1980 when their dynasty was ousted through a bloody coup led by M/sgt. Samuel Kanyon Doe. Doe ruled the country for 10 years to the discontentment of the descendants of the ex-slaves, referred to as Americo-Liberians. They considered him a dictator. One of the Americo-Liberians, Charles Taylor, a member of Doe's government, fell out of favor with President Doe when he visited the USA to purchase merchandise for the government. Instead of returning to Liberia, Taylor pocketed the money. The Liberian government consequently requested his extradition. Taylor was arrested & jailed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Strangely, he escaped from jail & departed the USA without a "smidgen of detection" in 1985. On December 24, 1989 he invaded Liberia from neighboring Ivory Coast. Under the name of National Patriotic Front of Liberia, Taylor & armed followers roamed the country spreading extreme atrocities instead of going to Monrovia, the Liberian capital, to overthrow the government. Five American nuns were among the 50,000 casualties. Since then, President Doe was captured & tortured to death. Liberia is relegated to a state of anarchy.

Download or read book The Liberian Civil War written by Mark Huband and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The civil war in 1989 promised freedom from ten years of vicious dictatorship; instead the seeds of Liberia's devastation were sown. Mark Huband's account of the conflict is a portrayal of the war as it unfolded, drawing on the author's experience of living amongst the fighters.

Download or read book The Evolution of Deadly Conflict in Liberia written by Jeremy I. Levitt and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book represents the first attempt to holistically document and analyze the causes of deadly conflict in Liberia from its founding to the present. It reconstructs and examines the root, operational, and catalytic causes of eighteen internal deadly conflicts that transpired in Liberia between 1822 and 2003, including the 1980 coup d'e'tat against the Tolbert regime and the Great War (1989-2003). The book seeks to answer two primary questions: What are the historical causes of deadly conflict in Liberia, and To what extent has the evolution of settler nationalism and authoritarianism contributed to the stimulation of conflict between settler and native Liberians? To answer these questions, Levitt examines a continuum of circular causation among the state of affairs that led to the founding of the Liberian State, the evolution of settler authoritarianism and nationalism, and internal conflict. By analyzing these processes together, the causes of eighteen conflicts are revealed and thoroughly discussed. The book also has three major objectives: to determine the historical causes of deadly conflict in Liberia, in particular, the underlining historical phenomena responsible for birthing the Great War; to present an alternative framework to comprehend and examine the aged conflict dynamic between settler and indigenous Liberians, and within Liberian society itself; and to produce the first comprehensive study of deadly conflict in Liberia. This book advantageously spans the fields of political science, history, international law, and peace and conflict studies; it is an excellent interdisciplinary choice. "Dr. Levitt has meticulously investigated the major violent conflicts in Liberia's tortured history and convincingly traced their roots to political institutions of domination and control that remain at the foundation of Liberia's system of governance today. The book's message for Liberia's future is unmistakable." -- Amos Sawyer, Professor and Associate Director, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University-Bloomington, and former Interim President of Liberia, IGNU "[T]he definitive work on the causes of Liberia's cycle of deadly conflict... The vital importance of Dr. Levitt's work is clear: only by understanding those root causes can Liberians and those who wish them well hope to find an exit from the cycle." -- David Wippman, Professor of Law and Vice Provost for International Relations, Cornell University "This is an excellent book... Levitt deserves great credit for its quality, thoroughness and the care of his research." -- Crawford Young, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison "[A]n original work with fresh perspective that is well grounded in history and theory and of great value to Liberian studies and to the theoretical literature on deadly conflict." -- D. Elwood Dunn, Professor & Chair of Political Science, University of the South (TN), Former Liberian Government Official "Levitt's painstaking documentation of the deadly conflicts makes a most useful contribution to the on-going governance debate. This work is a major contribution to understanding the primary factors that collapsed the Liberian state." -- Dr. Byron Tarr, Development Consultants Inc. Monrovia, Liberia "Levitt, for his part, makes a major contribution to our understanding both of Liberia's past and how that past ought to inform our understanding of the present. Indeed, his is the first systematic accounting for the many nation-building conflicts of Liberia." -- African Studies Review