The case of dual citizenship or the plight of disposable people? Since the beginning of Liberian saga, blood relatives accusing each other of being foreigners, brothers against brothers, aunts against uncles, sisters against nephews, cousins against nieces, all victims of war, displaced people, necessitating the need for a petition for dual citizenship, I stayed away from the issue. My reasoning is, this is a sad chapter in Liberian history, a repeat of the past and continuation of the favorite past time of Liberians. I firmly believe that this is a form of primitive-regression that we enter into- every time things get tough in the country. It is based sorely on survival of the fittest syndrome not loyalty. Since the civil war, almost every so called Liberian-US or European Citizen has an individual or family refugee story. Despite the outward signs of success- the cars, beautiful houses, education and so called good US jobs, there is a common denominator of deep sadness in the Liberian man journey abroad. Many Liberians abroad are actually rooted in rootlessness, lived unnoticed five-ten to fifteen years away from home from the visible emergency of flight to the invisible emergency of stagnation with non-belonging becoming a way of belonging. When you add the endless $5.00 Card phone calls to Liberia, the trips to the store for Western Union/Money Gram, the struggle to find Liberian Food to maintain their diet, the fight to move and stay together among their kind, all confirms a form of unhappiness. For an entire group, living away from home seems like living in an ocean of water dying of thirst. There are clear evidence of a deep loneliness for their homeland and a strive to hold on to something Liberian. Further evidence is visible when we meet Liberians who live in America/Europe but do not have a single good American or European friend. In many Liberian homes, one can easily find gallons of red oil (wives cooking daily cassava leaf, palm butter fufu soup), when every block in their city has a super-market selling American/European Food. Some of these so called US Citizens often do not vote in both Liberian and US Elections. These Liberians are men and women who at one time were well rooted in the security of their African family traditions in their home land. Now their freedom has been snatched from them, forcing them to live new lives. Shrapnel shattered their security in a million fragments and sent them fleeing and family members often separated. These victims leave behind things that were important symbols of their traditions and the keepers of their memory. They left cemeteries where they had buried their beloved dead, vessels of their personal history, neighbors where they grew up, special trees beside their homes. They left their mosques, churches, homes, favorite dishes, pictures etc. Now with the long troubling years in exile, the abrupt, radical interruption of their lives-has created irrevocable changes-forcing them to rethink and reshape their lives as US and European Citizens. However in principle, and in spirit-they will always be Liberians. They have convinced themselves that the old is no more, but the new is yet to come, leaving their hearts empty-a people without a home. They try to bring with them in their new culture all that they are, but they really carry in their heart both peace and war/strength and fragility. They simply cannot escape their past. Stagnated in the presence, they are constantly trying to live with hopes for a better future and acquire dreams that do not include war. As they grasp for control over their lives, (in their new world) the months of exile turns into years. Soon, they begin to feel and look different. But deep down, all of them directly or indirectly are by-products of war. They have slowly become disposable people, political pawns of greedy politicians and those who have strategic interest in denying them of their birth-right- Liberian citizenship and the right to vote in their homeland. Today, some want to call them Americo Liberians. Others accuse them of trying to return home because oil was discovered in Liberia. But History tells us a different story. We saw this movie before. It is reverse discrimination, another round of marginalization of an entire segment of the population by those who belong to the me-me me generation. With reference to my feelings regarding those who oppose dual citizenship, they remind me of the African Americans born in the US who deny/reject their African roots. Despite the logic supporting their argument against Dual Citizenship, the fact is crystal clear that Liberia is a unique African country, created on the tradition of Dual Citizenship. More than half of the Liberian presidents since 1800 were either US Citizens or were entitled to US Citizenship through the blood line of their parents. The idea that we should suddenly deny our past and we can be new people is an argument that cannot be supported by logic. The only justification for such a change is a political one, a deliberate plan to create a new divide among our people, just at a time when we need to be united. The idea of Dual Citizenship is a natural characteristic of what constitutes the Republic Of Liberia. It is an idea tied to our very existence as a Country, the first independent country on the African Continent. This element or factor of who we are runs in our blood stream. It can be heard in our voices, our behavior, our dressing, and our educational system and built in our history. What makes us Liberians cannot be found in any tribe in Liberia. It is not the Kru, Mano, Gio, vai, Kpelleh Bassa, Krahn, Lorma, Grebo etc in us; it is in our Special-American English Accent, our American Flag, our American Constitution etc. This is the unique Dual status that exists only in Liberia. In every other African country, there are recognized African traditions attached to the National History. In Liberia, there is none. We have 16 or more separate tribes united by pro-American Symbols and traditions. Conclusion: I do not know what the final decision will be on Dual Citizenship in Liberia. But whatever the outcome will be, it will not be pretty. It will not be acceptable by all parties. But a decision for dual citizenship will just be confirming who we are. The notion that we have disposable in Liberia that we can eliminate to increase oil benefits for those that will remain- is foolishness. To confirm how ridiculous the argument is, we only need to visit Ghana. For those who are holding on to their green cards and praying to eliminate their blood relatives as citizens without due process, just to improve their own possibilities in the country, I ask you to simply look at the country you are currently living in and take comfort. In America, every year, the nation adds about 3 million people to its population, largely from legal immigration. Yet, every year, America has been able to make the appropriate adjustment, built new houses, create more jobs. The Americans have always responded well to new Green Cards holders and new Citizens. They have never had discussions to restore old segregation practices to limit the rights of the new citizens. In the case of Liberia, all the law will require is for you to accept your brothers, sisters- your blood relatives-people that were born, grew up and attended school with you. Author: "Blamo Jah"
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 19:30:12 +0000
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