Rabbi Gbaba Chats with the Enlightened Umvalli Lowenthal about the Prospects of the 2017 Presidential and General Elections in Liberia Part One Introduction The conversation below is between the free-thinking Umvalli Lowenthal and Rabbi Joe Gbaba. The two are great minds from the boundless walls of the renowned Carroll High School then located in the ‘70s at Grassfield, Yekepa, Nimba County, Liberia. The school was run by English and Irish Christian Brothers founded by Edmund Rice and it was noted on the continent of Africa for high academic standards and for noble arts and science programs. There were four major syllabuses at Carroll High in the ‘70s: (1) Religion or Minor Seminary for those that wanted to become Catholic priests; (2) Music; (3) Science, and (4) Language Arts (English & French, Drawing and Painting). Mr. Lowenthal was a member of the Science stream under Brother O’Sullivan while Rabbi Gbaba was in the Language Arts course under the adept tutorship of Christian Brother E.D. Egan (C.F.C.), a certified English linguist and painter and Dr. Gbaba also studied Speech and Reading under Brother David Walsh (C.F.C.). Prior to enrolling at Carroll High School Rabbi Gbaba also studied English grammar and composition under Sister Helen Reed of the Notre Dame order of nuns at St. Philomena’s Junior High School (Catholic Mission) in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, Liberia. A Calling from God Rabbi Gbaba began his literary calling or vocation at Carroll High when one night he heard a strange voice (in a whisper) call him three times and then the spirit of the Lord descended upon him and inspired Rabbi Gbaba in 1974 to write his first play titled, “Kekula”. The theme of the play was national integration and unification. The author deftly wove the theme into a unique storyline that revealed a native boy named Kekula who married Sussie, the daughter of an Americo-Liberian family. The reaction of the members of Dr. Gbaba’s first theatre audience was indeed very mixed and frightening. Audience Feedback On the one hand there were some elders that watched the play and remarked that it was a nightmare and stated: “Joe, you must be day-dreaming to portray such a storyline!” On the other hand, some of the spectators were very supportive and they encouraged the young playwright to continue his good literary career. Among those credited with inspiring the young playwright at that time included Honorable Charles B. Roberts who was then Administrative Manager of LAMCO, an iron ore mining company that mined iron ore on Mount Nimba in Liberia. Mr. Roberts laughed his heart out during the play through comic moments. He laughed so loudly that spectators could hear his deep-toned voice from where he sat on the balcony. Mr. Roberts later made a contribution of $500 on behalf of LAMCO after the production. And mind you, $500 dollars those days was a lot of money, especially for one’s first theatre production and performance! Also in attendance was Dr. Gbaba’s surrogate mother then named Mrs. Dolly McCritty (and later Mrs. Dolly McCritty-Massaquoi) who was a school teacher at the International School in Yekepa. So impressed was she that she sent the young author and theatre director a note that read: Dear Joe, Congratulations. I foresee your becoming the “Shakespeare” of Liberia someday. Love, Teacher Dolly McCritty. Since then Dr. Gbaba is referred to as the “Shakespeare” of Liberia. The third memorable supporter of Dr. Gbaba was His Honor James Harris, Sr., Magistrate of the Magisterial Court in Yekepa, Nimba County, Liberia. After the production His Honor walked over to Rabbi Gbaba and marveled at the young playwright’s ability to craft such a wonderful political yet entertaining play. He asked: “Who taught you all those things you wrote in the play? That was amazing for a young man like you to do. Congratulations and continue the good work.” Magistrate Harris concluded. Two of his sons, James, Jr. and Roland were classmates of the playwright at Carroll High (Class of ’74). Thanks to those patriotic Liberians that gave the young playwright a jump start in his early writing career! May God bless their Children’s children’s children. Amen. The Significance and Impact of Gbaba’s Play on the Social and Political Fabrics of the Liberian Society What was significant about “Kekula” is that (1) it portrayed the need for Liberians to be unified not only through intermarriage but “Kekula” stressed the need for political, social, and economic integration of all Liberians as pronounced through President Tubman’s Unification and Integration Policy; and (2) Dr. Gbaba drew his motivation from the fact that during that particular time in Liberia’s history, there was a great cultural and political divide between the much oppressed indigenous Liberian people and the privileged descendants of Settler or Americo-Liberians. Hence, it was a social and literary protest started by the playwright to beg Liberians to live together in peace and harmony irrespective of ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or political persuasions. Also, Dr. Gbaba’s first play was a major literary, social and cultural breakthrough in Liberia. It was written and directed and produced at the Open Door Theatre in Yekepa, Nimba County in October 1974 during a time when it was unheard of for a native man to marry an Americo-Liberian woman; and, if there were any marriages of its kind in existence, they were very rare and most parents and relatives of Americo-Liberians that dared marry a native man or woman were frown upn by the rest of their relatives; or if possible, they were ostracized from their families and Americo-Liberian society. His Eminence Umballi Lowenthal Was a Witness What is also noteworthy here is that His Eminence Umvalli Lowenthal witnessed the very beginning of Rabbi’s Gbaba’s calling as a scholar and playwright; and our distinguished discussant was privileged to be a member of the Rabbi’s first audience at the Open Door Theatre in 1974—forty years ago! During the onset of their school days as well, Mr. Lowenthal was a respectable young gentleman, an avid member of the Science Club, and he was very sophisticated for his age. Thus, when Mr. Lowenthal recently posed a series of political questions to the Rabbi in order to get the latter’s point of view about the prospects of the 2017 presidential and general elections, Rabbi Gbaba requested some time to reflect on Mr. Lowenthal’s series of questions in order to respond appropriately to his set of questions. That is one of the reasons why this interview or conversation is very important. Below is Mr. Lowenthal’s series of questions followed by responses from Dr. Gbaba. Please note that the views expressed in the following conversation are solely those of the Rabbi and Mr. Lowenthal. Therefore, they do not represent the opinions of the general populace or any specific organization (s) in Liberia or abroad. However, it is Dr. Gbaba’s and Mr. Lowenthal’s ardent wish that you as readers and the general public may benefit from the resourceful message contained in this conversation between the enlightened Umvalli Lowenthal and the Rabbi. Also, please feel free to contribute in a positive way to this conversation as it is intended for the common good of all Liberians. Thanks for your patience. Mr. Lowenthal’s Questions Umballi Lowenthal: “As usual, Br. Gbaba, your love for your country and your people is reflected in your writing. This is an excellent piece (referring to the artilcle entitled: “Liberians, “God Don’t Like Ugly”: Know your Constitutional and Inalienable Rights as Citizens of Africa’s Oldest Republic”). It is politically, intellectually and literately provoking. I love it! Now, please allow me to ask you, Dr. Gbaba, how do we, Liberians, prepare ourselves for the 2017 election? This will be a defining moment in the political history of our nation. Its going to be a do-or-die moment for the future of our beloved country. Should we begin now, as individuals and organizations, to identified and lead our potential candidates for 2017 or should we sit and wait for them to identified themselves? Who should educate us and our brothers in Liberia about the importance and essence of our presidential election in 2017? God bless you, my Cobra brother and keep on informing and educating.” Rabbi Gbaba’s Response to the Enlightened One’s Inquiry Rabbi Gbaba: Your Eminence, I salute you and thank you very deeply from the depths of my heart for your inquiry. I am sure you had the option to ask many other learned Liberians about their views on this topic but you chose your humble servant instead. Thus, I hasten to state how honored and humbled I am for your preferment of me. Hence, I pray that the Lord will give me the wisdom to respond to your series of questions with diligence and intelligence to the best of my knowledge, and with the use of God’s wisdom in the best interest of all Liberians at home and abroad. However, in order to help our readers smoothly follow the trend of our conversation I have decided to break your inquiry into three unique portions in order to provide appropriate answers to your questions. I hope that my responses meet your expectation as well as the beliefs of the general reading public that come across this document. In your inquiry you asked three important questions and they are as follows (I stand corrected if I am wrong): (1) “How do we Liberians prepare ourselves for the 2017 elections?” (2) “This will be a defining moment in the political history of our nation. It’s going to be a ‘do-or-die’ moment for the future of our beloved country.” a. “Should we begin now as individuals and organizations and lead [choose] our potential candidates for 2017”; or b. “Should we sit and wait for them to identify themselves?” (3) “Who should educate us and our brothers in Liberia about the importance and essence of our presidential election in 2017? Question # 1 Lowenthal: How do we Liberians prepare ourselves for the 2017? How Liberians Can Prepare for 2017 Elections Rabbi Gbaba: Liberians can prepare themselves for the 2017 elections primarily through voters’ education which entails educating the citizens about their rights to vote as protected in the constitution of Liberia. Therefore, the right to vote is considered a franchise or a permit, an absolute right of all Liberian citizens. And, the right to vote cannot be denied any bona fid Liberian citizen. Who Is A Liberian Citizen? A Liberian citizen is a legal resident of Liberia and one can become a citizen of Liberia either by birth or through the process of naturalization. Three major proofs of demonstrating one’s Liberian citizenship are: (1) through one’s official birth certificate if you are a natural born Liberian citizen; (2) through naturalization process or by presenting an official naturalization certificate endorsed by the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization that states you are a naturalized citizen of Liberia (Constitution of Liberia 1986; Chapter IV, Article 27 defines citizenship); and (3) presentation of a current national Identification Card or driver’s license that bears the photo, current address, and the voter’s date of birth. Therefore, those who claim to be Liberian citizens but that do not have two of three types of documents mentioned above (an official birth certificate duly signed by the registrar of birth at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, or, an official certificate of naturalization signed by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization of the Republic of Liberia; and a national ID card or driver’s license that bears a photo and current address and the voter’s date of birth). As a result any Liberian who does not possess the required proofs of citizenship should not be permitted to vote in any election in Liberia unless they can provide proof of their citizenship.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 21:45:11 +0000
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