Deer and Women

Almost overnight I have become absurdly busy.

I started my new job. I love it. I feel under-qualified for the stuff I am doing, and the learning curve is a little bit steep, but every moment is fascinating. Generally, I am doing civil society capacity building work. At the moment this involves reviewing sub-grant applications, interviewing the potential sub-grantees, and helping the applicants refine their grant proposals. This is the first time I have been in this type of position, and it feels very “fake it till you make it.” To compensate, I have been doing a ridiculous amount of prep work before every meeting, and reading everything about Liberian civil society that I can get my hands on.

All of this has been taking lots of time, and at the moment I am not willing to sacrifice my social life. The expats here are so cool and diverse. Last night I spent an hour talking to a French guy who manages World Food Program (WFP) flights that drop food and other relief supplies. He had worked in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Darfur, and eastern Chad. A few nights ago I went out to dinner with a Kenyan guy who is an engineer with UNMIL. Because there are so many UNMIL, UNDP, WFP, and UNHCR staff here, and because these organizations make conscious efforts to recruit from as many countries as possible, the expat community here represents every corner of the world.

Two things I have learned in the past few days:

1. If you are writing a master’s thesis at the University of Liberia, you must pay each professor on your committee $50 for each chapter they read. So let’s say your thesis has 5 chapters and you have 2 advisors, which was the case of a guy I was talking to. He will have to pay $500 just to have his thesis reviewed by his committee.

2. Because of the war, and the way that it disrupted family life, many women in rural parts of Liberia (and Monrovia) are no longer aware how important breastfeeding is for their baby’s health. Information about breastfeeding was something that mothers would pass down to their daughters, but because of the war (which, in all, killed 1 in every 12 Liberians and lasted—on and off—for 14 years) this information is no longer common knowledge. There are similar problems with rice farmers. Fathers used to pass down rice growing best practices to their sons, but because of the war this flow of information was severely disrupted. Many communities need to re-learn how to grown rice.

And some random thoughts:

1. My driver has a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Liberia, but has been unable to find a job relevant to his degree, so he became a driver. (Unemployment in Liberia hovers around 80%.) He is so professional. The first day that he drove me he set up the ground rules for our relationship, when I would pay him, how much advance notice he needed for specific trips, etc.

2. I was at a restaurant the other night and a baby deer walked up to my table and started licking my hand. I excused myself from my meal and conversation, sat down on the ground, and played with the deer for 10 minutes.

3. I was talking to one of my compound’s security guards the other night. I asked him what he thought of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He said he supported her, and would never say anything against her. I said that I thought it was ok to criticize a country’s leader. He said that if he spoke out against Ellen there would be some type of retribution. This comment surprised me. Ellen has been in office for almost one year and there have not been any political prisoners or government-sponsored harassment of the press. Yet, apparently, the culture of self-censorship that evolved as a result of experiences with previous leaders has not been dismantled. The security guard also said that “women think too shortly” and that they shouldn’t be president. But I still think he’s cool.

A good article about Firestone treatment of Liberian employees is accessible here.