By Kokpar B. Wohwoh
Liberian
Advocate and Public Affairs
Commentator
Philadelphia, USA
I woke up this morning gorging with tears — tears from my eyes that were not cold and not warm, but very hot tears. I decided to shut it inside to let the feeling go, but the feeling was too difficult to suppress because of the depth of the hurt connected to it. I began to wonder if coming to this earth and being born in Liberia was a crime. I turned to the wall which borders my bed and said, “Yes, God is in control.”
My deliverance in this script is for the many of our colleagues who are enjoying the resources of this nation at the expense of millions of vulnerable and voiceless Liberians. I began to wonder why all fingers are not equal, but each still supports the hand. I believe that when one finger is missing, the individual suffers not just physical disability, but emotional and psychological trauma.
Let us return to the flesh and nerve of this narrative. I can imagine when Liberia will have a truth FREEDOM FIGHTER. Before the arrival of our founding fathers, there existed a leadership which suited our people at the time. I imagine there was life, peace, and joy, and everyone was somebody.
In my youthful days in Banniesayboe Town, hinterland of Grand Bassa County, unity, love, and leadership were the hallmarks of consistent togetherness. Respect for those before us could not be compromised, and the preservation of society could not be traded, no matter your status. The elders would call you out.
Society has become disintegrated since the arrival of modern society and the new structures of life and leadership. In our time, everyone has learned to be everything, and no one wants to be the pillar of a genuine image or the torchbearer. I honestly feel everyone wants to be life itself — a struggle that has brought distress and frustration.
Philosophical Reflection 1: The Social Contract – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau argued that man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains, because society creates inequality when it abandons its original contract to protect all.
This supports my wondering: Liberia had a contract — our traditional system of elders, mutual respect, and collective preservation. We have broken that contract. The state now serves a few colleagues, while the many suffer. When the contract is broken, is it not natural for the citizen to ask whether his birth in that broken system was a crime?
Philosophical Reflection 2: Existentialism and the Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl, who survived immense suffering, taught that when we cannot change our situation, we are challenged to change ourselves, and that suffering without meaning leads to despair.
This supports my second wondering: My hot tears this morning are not just pain; they are a search for meaning. To ask if being born in Liberia is a crime is an existential question.
But like Frankl, I turn to the wall and say “God is in control,” because even in a disintegrated society, we must find a purpose that transcends our frustration — the purpose to be the remaining finger that still holds the hand together.
Liberia Will Have Real People to Ignite True Freedom.
Despite my tears and this deep wondering, I remain convinced that Liberia is not finished. Out of this frustration, out of this disintegration, a generation of real people will rise — not those seeking positions, but those seeking purpose.
They will not be driven by greed for resources, but by a hunger for justice. They will be the torchbearers we have been waiting for, the true fingers that will restore the hand and ignite true freedom for the voiceless and the vulnerable.
TO BE CONTINUED