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Liberia , on the western coast of Africa, has been torn asunder by a long drawn out civil war. Peace is gradually weaving its fragile presence in the country after the peace accord of 1996. Despite this, Liberia is not quite the place to choose for a visit because factions are still battling it out in the more remote parts of the country. Once peace and stability return, this country has plenty to offer the tourist with its picturesque landscapes, friendly and hospitable people and some of the last remaining rainforests in West Africa.

The Sapo National Park- one of the 261 natural wonders of the world! Home to elephants, Liberian mongooses, African golden cats, leopards, African civets, zebras, grey parrots, chimpanzees, African fish eagles, monkeys and the famous Pygmy hippopotamus, make the country popular amongst tourists. The pygmy hippopotamus has become a national symbol of Liberia.

Historically Speaking

Before the 19th century, present Liberia was the home of tribes from Sudan. The tribes belonged to three main groups – the Kru, the Mande and a third farming tribe. The Kru were seafaring while the Mande had a rich heritage of tribal culture.

Liberia was born in 1822 as a philanthropic idea to settle freed slaves from the American plantations after the American Civil War. A lot of them refused to settle here, but the few who did had to deal with insults from the indigenous people, who resented the intrusion. By mid 19th century, more than half of the freed slaves had perished of tropical diseases or returned to the US. The few that remained came to be known as Americo-Liberians. In 1847, these settlers took full control of the area and declared it the independent country of Liberia, with Joseph Roberts as its first President.

The Americo-Liberians saw it as their mission to bring Christianity and civilization to the rest of Africa. But they got no support from the neighboring African countries because of their treatment of the indigenous community of Liberia whom they sold like slaves to Spanish colonialists for a good 100 years. Britain and USA cut off diplomatic relations with Liberia for five years for the same reason. Despite its bad reputation, Liberia projected itself as a stable country. William Tubman took over as President in 1944 and massive foreign investments started pouring in to the country. The economy revived but socio-economic inequalities led to further aggravation of the hostilities between the Americo-Liberians and the local populace. Finally, Tubman had to grant some political and economic power to the indigenous people. William Tolbert succeeded Tubman in the 1971 elections. He skilfully negotiated diplomatic and economic relations with the rest of black Africa and China. Simultaneously, Tolbert announced harsh laws within his country to deal with any form of opposition to his government. Allies, like the USA, began complaining about human rights violations. Growing resentment of the suppression led to several demonstrations that gradually became violent uprisings in Liberia. In 1980, Tolbert was killed in a gory coup led by Sergeant Samuel Doe.

With this coup, the indigenous people were granted power for the first time. The euphoria was, however, short lived when other African countries condemned them and ceased diplomatic and economic ties. The economy petered out in the 1980s with foreign investors wrapping up business due to political uncertainty. Prince Johnson and Charles Taylor, with their forces, battled it out with Doe and between themselves for power. US warships were deployed as a peacekeeping option.

Johnson-Sirleaf’s inauguration officially took office on January 16, 2006. Although Johnson-Sirleaf is the present head of state, the Johnson-Taylor saga is yet to conclude. Hundreds of people have been displaced and malnutrition is a severe problem even today. Monrovia, the capital, has lost most of its infrastructure and utilities. World bodies have made several efforts to bring peace to Liberia but have so far failed.

Habitat

Liberia is mostly low coastal plains watered by shallow lagoons, marshes, creeks and mangrove swamps. The coastline is 560 km long and over half of it is sandy beach. Inland areas are densely forested plateau, and standing sentinel is a region of mountains near the Guinea border. Monrovia is the capital city and the two other important ones are Harper and Buchanan, both ports. The neighbouring countries are Sierra Leone, Guinea Republic and Cote d’Ivoire.

Palm trees dot the coastal areas. There are 260 species of trees in Liberia. Among them, the Mahogany, African Walnut, Mahere, Teak, Ebony, Ironwood, Makore, Sikon and Camwood are common. Bird life is prolific and 200 species of birds have been catalogued. Liberia’s interior is home to elephants, pygmy hippopotamuses, buffaloes, duiker, leopards and other members of the cat family. Monkeys can be seen any where in Liberia.