“It was my first time traveling outside of the U.S. Going to a developing country..., I was nervous.” Twenty-two year old Asalou Givens recalls her feelings about her first visit to the country her parents call home. She remembers being very anxious about the trip; unsure about what she would see and eat and where she would stay. Givens, at the time, was a high school junior. She had heard many stories about Liberia. The ones that resonated with her the most were those of a bloody civil war and unrest that devastated the country for over a decade. Like many young Liberians born in the United States (because of the war and other political issues), Givens had never traveled to Liberia. Her mother’s family had left the country in the early eighties because of political persecution. They found refuge in the United States. Her (Givens) father had also relocated to the U.S. in the mid eighties. Her parents met while studying in Washington D.C.
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by F.A. Togba-Mensah “I have been waiting for this day since 2006,” the young Liberian native said with a smile. While visiting Liberia for his father’s funeral, Sam Burnett III realized that he had to move back home. The country had been devastated by years of fighting and unrest due to a civil war that began in 1989. It had suffered physical and emotional losses. At the time, the young Liberian was unsure of exactly how the move would happen; but he was quite sure that it would. So when the opportunity came knocking for his dream to become a reality, Burnett could not resist. |
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