Bullet holes and Miss Liberia

As I've hurtled from one bureaucratic meeting to another I've had a chance to observe the social and physical landscape of Liberia. Many of the buildings still bear the scars of two civil wars with mortar shell and bullet holes pockmarking almost all the major buildings. Some of these ruins have been recycled into parking garages, shelters or market stalls. Roads are a mixed bag with many having potholes the size of Rhode Island and others as smooth as a baby's backside.

Across the city I keep hearing the track "Miss Liberia" blaring from taxi radios and shops. The song celebrates the beauty and brains of Liberian women and all they have endured over the last three decades, and their singular power in dragging "Mama Liberia" from the abyss of civil war to a bright future (e.g., President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf). The women that I've worked with at the Ministry of Health and their stories of survival astound and humble me. As they patch up the buildings and bullet holes to cover up the physical scars of war, the women of Liberia are healing the social and civil wounds.