Liberian telenovelas

Last Thursday, I attended a party that gave me some fascinating insight into the local political landscape. Let me paint you a picture: the minister’s apartment in a building in central Monrovia that, at least from the outside, looked like a storage depot for cheap Chinese goods; a table groaning under the weight of grilled fish, rice, fried plantain, vegetables, fried chicken, potatoes, bread etc; and a liquor collection to rival any Irishman worth his salt. Add to this picture: two American ambassadors (Liberia and Gambia), various NGO folks, two anthropologists (participant observation at its finest), one blonde and uber perky American lawyer (“I’m just so bored with my position at X firm in New York and I’ve always wanted to get into development work.”), an ER doc who looked to be about 14 going on 15 (He was blonde-and-perky’s “neighbor”… ahem), one middle-age American expat male with a gorgeous, local chica under his arm (She was a 10 and he was a 5.2 on a good day, you know the drill.), and many bureaucrats, two of which had to cook the food (Does this fall under the “other tasks as required” part of their job descriptions?!). The wine, beer, and liquor flowed freely; the political atmosphere was razor sharp (The ambassador to Gambia is tiny powerhouse who must have been General Patton in a former life); and the anthropologists kept drinking and observing. Everything revolved around the minister who held court on his velvet sofa with frequent sidetrips to the kitchen to make sure food and libations were forthcoming. I came away from the evening with a full stomach, slight liver damage, and enough characters for several future novels.

I leave Liberia on Wednesday and head back to the states for a few weeks before doing another hegira back to crazy Bob land. I’ve enjoyed my time here despite the boatload of work and 1001 meetings with various partners and bureaucratic bigwigs. The Liberian people, at least the ones that I’ve met, have earned my eternal admiration for their tenacity, generosity, and ability to work miracles with very few resources at their disposal.