Liberian Journal No 14
January 25 to April 16, 2009
by Fr. Ted Hayden, SMA

Jan 25th - Overnight at “Smell-No-Taste.” Arriving in Liberia, I stayed at All Saints parish in Unification Town with Fr. Mario Abi, a Nigerian SMA, Superior of the SMAs working in Liberia. Despite government efforts to refer to the town as Unification Town nearly everyone calls the area Smell-No-Taste. There are two accounts of how the name arose.
During the World War II, with the permission of the Liberian Government, the US established a military base in Liberia. It was used to carry arms and munitions to North Africa to help rout the famous German General Rommel. On the return flight the planes carried natural rubber from Liberia to the USA. The airfield was surrounded by a heavy chain link fence. Liberians were not allowed to enter. The American soldiers had a large kitchen and the smell of the freshly cooked food spread over a wide area. Americans could eat the food. Liberians could only smell, thus Smell-No-Taste.
Others have another account. American soldiers were not allowed off base. From inside the chain link fence they could view the beautiful young women as they walked nearby on their way to the market or to their farms. The confined soldier could Smell-No-Taste.

Jan 26th - Building Boom. Monrovia is about 40 miles from Roberts International Airport. There is a good two lane paved road between the airport and the city. As recently as two years ago the last twenty miles from the city were wide open lands. Now, hundreds of small houses are being built. Most of them are three bedroom homes ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Most of the money to build comes from the USA. There are more than 100,000 Liberians in the USA. Many of them send money to Liberia to build homes for themselves or their families. For nearly fifteen years Liberia was torn by civil conflict and people were afraid to build. Now that peace is prevailing, a steady flow of money is rolling into Liberia from the USA and Europe.

Jan 27th - Flight from Monrovia to Cape Palmas. A new airline has inaugurated flights within Liberia. ‘Elysian Airlines’ flies twice a week from Monrovia to Cape Palmas. The planes are new Beechcraft -twin engine- planes from the USA. They carry 19 passengers; the seats are narrow and close together. There are no services on the plane. However, the one hour flight beats the 500 mile two day trip over horrendous roads.

Feb 3rd - Prayers against Evil Spirits. The world of evil spirits is very much alive in Liberia. Sudden illness and unexpected deaths are attributed to evil spirits. I have found it useless to argue against them. I tell the people that no matter how powerful the evil spirits are, God is stronger still. I urge them that with deep faith they should have no fear of evil spirits.

Feb 4th - A Special Request by a High School Student. A few days ago Albert came to me and asked for 600 Liberian dollars. He said it was for a special purpose that was private and did not want to tell me. That amount is what clinics charge for abortions. I asked him outright whether his girlfriend was pregnant. He answered yes. He wanted the money for an abortion. I explained that the Catholic Church has a very strong position on abortion and that I could not help him in any way in this matter. Then I told him that among Liberians a child is considered a very special gift from God. To decide to send the child back (the Liberian euphemism for abortion) is a very serious decision. I also pointed out that some married couples are never blessed with a child. Others can have only one child. I told him that there is no guarantee that if he sent the child back that God would bless him with another child when he was married. Today he returned and said that he had discussed this with his girlfriend and she has decided to keep the child. Now he has to go and present himself to her parents.

Feb 8th - Bible questions from High School Students. Two students who received scholarships from SMA visited me today. Both are members of The Church of God in Christ. They asked me about the book of Genesis. They wondered about the account of creation and asked me if I believed the world was created in six days. When I receive questions such as these I am very measured in my answers because some Christian Churches have a very literal interpretation of the Bible. I told them that Genesis recalled the account of creation. However, I stated that the manner in which this revelation was transmitted was in very simple language that the non literate people who received the message could remember and repeat it. I told them that the message that God created the universe and all that is in it, including humans, is revealed as true. However, those truths were told in a literary form which was easy to remember and could be readily told to generation after generation until someone put it in writing. The students seemed satisfied. It struck me that Christians of that denomination have a much keener interest in scripture than do Catholic students.

Feb 10th - “Father, I Want to Be Like You.” This was the comment I received from a high school senior. We were having a cup of tea and a slice of bread. I don’t get very many compliments and wondered what was the source of this comment. I asked the student why he wanted to be like me. He replied: “I would like to be like you so I could have bread and tea every day.” Humble pie tastes sweet.

Feb 12th - A Mother’s Gift. Mary Kinsley and her teenage son came to visit me. They had a large rice sack. Mary told me that she had come to personally thank me for sponsoring her two sons in high school. The sack contained about 20 large plantain (cooking bananas) and six coconuts. Mary also brought a large rooster. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and generosity. I asked here what she did to support herself and family. She responded that she sold vegetables in the market. Her gift would represent a week’s profit.

Feb 15th - A child’s third birthday. Mary attends morning Mass a few times every week. Yesterday she told me that she would bring her daughter to Mass today on her third birthday. After Mass I invited them to breakfast. The little girl had bread and jam while her mother had peanut butter and bread. Both enjoyed the special treat. Sometimes I wonder why I do things like this. Part of it is certainly to let me enjoy seeing a child eat. But I also know that the little girl and her mother will remember that someone took a personal interest in them.

Feb 27th - A Successful Cataract Operation. Fr. Joseph Marwa, SMA , from Tanzania and I have been working together in Barraken for nearly three years. He has a special talent of caring for people who have serious medical needs. John, a 35 year old parishioner had cataracts so bad that he could hardly see. Through the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa’s sisters) he arranged to have an operation done in Monrovia. Today John came to see me. When I asked him to read a newspaper he did so with absolute ease. Fr. Marwa frequents the government hospital in Cape Palmas and knows most of the nurses and all the doctors. He has helped many of our parishioners to receive first class treatment.

March 1st - Children’s Sunday treat. Each Sunday after Mass about twenty children come to the rectory for a drink of cold water. Two children share a six once glass of cold water. They seem delighted. Perhaps, once a month I serve them some orange cool aid. They calmly share their drinks and then are on their way back to their homes. I don’t know what is the fascination with the cold water but it seems to be a special treat for them. The water is kept cool in a solar powered freezer given to me by my niece Julianne and her husband Nik in California.

March 3rd - UNICEF Report on Education in Liberia. While the Government of Liberia, during the past three years has doubled the number of children who are in school, UNICEF reports that over 500,000 children are still not attending school and that two thirds of the children in school are being taught by teachers who are not qualified. That does not mean that those teaching school do not know their subjects, but, that they have not had sufficient teacher training to be listed as qualified teachers.
However, there is good news. Over one million children have been inoculated against polio and childhood diseases. UNICEF has built more than a thousand hand pump wells in school yards. These are concrete covered to ensure that the drinking water will be safe. UNICEF is also training more than a hundred teachers at the university level.
The US Government, through its USAID program, is sponsoring several teacher training programs. Some offer initial training while others offer in service training to those already teaching. For nearly two decades of civil war and unrest, teachers training programs were practically non existent. It will take a decade of intensive training before the schools in Liberia have fully trained teachers in every classroom.

March 8th - The Knights of St. John Commandery is inaugurated at St. Anthony Parish. The Knights of St. John is a fraternal organization similar to the Knights of Columbus. It caters to Catholic men who want to work together in trying to help one another and to live as practicing Catholics. Twenty men were initiated. The Knights provide an active outlet for practicing Catholic men and is a means of assisting local communities in meeting their humanitarian obligations.

March 13th - Stations of the Cross. We have Stations of the Cross at 5:00 p.m. each Friday during Lent. Few people attend. Most of our parishioners are farmers and at that time are on their farms. They are very good about attending Sunday Mass, but, they find it difficult to attend church or meetings during the week. Most of their farms are a good distance from town and require a thirty to sixty minute walk from town. Lent always comes in the midst of the beginning of the farming season and is not a good time for holding weekday religious services.

April 2nd- 4th - Fr. Marwa injured in a motorcycle accident. Just before midnight I heard a truck honking its horn outside the rectory. Fr. Foster informed me that Fr. Marwa had been injured in a motorcycle accident and had been taken to the J.J. Dossen hospital in Cape Palmas. Fr. Foster stated that the Dr. Marchekwa said that Fr. Marwa was in stable condition. I visited him early the following morning. The left side of his face including the eye was bandaged. His right eye was closed. He could not speak clearly. However, Dr. Marchekwa assured me that his non responsive condition was the result of heavy sedation. The following day Fr. Marwa was transferred to Monrovia on the commercial airline. X-rays and CAT scans showed no serious or permanent damages.
Fr. Marwa has returned home, to Tanzania, for rest and recuperation and will return to Barraken in June. We are all very thankful that there was no permanent damage.

April 11th - Easter Sunday. The church was filled to overflowing. The crowd of 168 was the largest congregation we have had in the parish in the past five years. Most of the hymns were sung in the local Nyambo language. Local drums accompanied the singing. Pre-teenage girls danced in procession as we entered the church as well as at the offertory procession. More than thirty plates of local foods were presented as offertory gifts.

April 15th - Pervasive hunger is a real problem in Liberia. UNICEF reports that 40% of the Liberian children have stunted growth as a result of malnutrition. In a population of three and a half million there are two hundred thousand orphans as a result of the thirteen year civil war. During the first ten years I was in Liberia, no one ever came to me and said they were hungry. Now, every day people come, especially students complaining of hunger. It really pains me to see people going without proper food.

April 16th - Former Peace Corps Volunteers Remember Liberia. Several former Peace Corps volunteers and SMA lay missionaries who worked in the Cape Palmas area have sent donations to assist children with their school fees. The gifts have amounted to $1,000 and have enabled in addition 20 students to attend school this year. Through gifts from SMA, family, friends and benefactors I have been able to assist more than 200 students to attend primary and secondary schools this year. In addition, with help from others, about ten students are attending various universities in Monrovia. Poverty is pervasive in Liberia where more than 60% of the population live on less than US$1.00 a day. The way I think I can best address this situation is to provide young people with the education that will enable them to find decent jobs when the economy of Liberia improves.