USAID/OTI Liberia Success Story
March 2007
Heritage Connects Tribes Across Borders
USAID/OTI's BRDG-Liberia program was initiated in September 2006 to support the political transition prompted by the free and fair election of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa.
The Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG) program assists the Government of Liberia and other key actors to further the following political objectives:
- Improving capacity in such areas as planning, budgeting, communication, and coordination with relevant counterparts
- Mounting effective responses to high-visibility issues
- Strengthening the Mano River Union by supporting cooperative regional activities
The USAID Mission in Liberia, USAID's Africa Bureau, and the Office of Democracy and Governance are key players in the coordination of the BRDG program.
 |
| Dancers from the Grebo Tribe of Maryland County, Liberia, perform in Ganta, Nimba County. |
The recent conflict in Liberia has severely eroded cultural values and institutions, confused traditional roles, and destroyed systems that have upheld inter-ethnic bonds. The lack of a sense of national identity and common purpose is seen as one of the most significant factors contributing to the lack of development and the potential for continued conflict.
The ethnic dimensions of the conflict have exacerbated tensions, not just within Liberia, but also with its Mano River Union neighbors as displaced people have taken refuge across borders. Some refugees remain in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d'Ivoire, often in impoverished conditions. As the displaced people return, issues such as land ownership, ethnicity, and religion continue to be a source of tension. These and other factors engender an atmosphere of mistrust and mutual antagonism, which serves as a destabilizing force to the precarious nature of peace in the region.
Liberians and their neighbors share a rich cultural heritage replete with music, dance, poetry, and theatre, which offers unique opportunities for promoting unity and peace. As such, BRDG-Liberia partnered with International Alert to organize a 3-day Peace and Cultural Festival from March 8-10 in Ganta, Nimba County. The festival brought together tribes from the border regions of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d'Ivoire to share their culture and communicate with each other in a non-threatening, peaceful, and joyful way. Traditional masked dancers, entertainers, and story tellers created performances that were truly reconciling and reintegrating. The festival also provided a platform from which government ministries, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and others could promote messages of peace and conflict resolution. Most importantly, the festival served as a powerful symbol of what is possible when the violence ceases. In all, 325 performers from 7 Liberian counties and 3 countries performed at the festival for nearly 10,000 spectators. Such a large gathering taking place peacefully in Nimba County, where so much bloodshed and displacement occurred, would not have been possible even a few years ago.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington: John Gattorn, Program Manager, 202-712-4168, jgattorn@usaid.gov
|
