An African proverb says: Every morning a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must be the fastest runner or it will be eaten. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must be the faster runner, or it will starve. It doesnt matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion; when the sun comes up, you better start running.
In the African country of Liberia, it is high time to start running. After 15 years of war and corruption, the country's infrastructure is in shambles, its economy has fallen behind, and its people are suffering. However, there is a new hope for the country - a hope that the new President Dr. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will lead the country in a new and better direction. When asking the question, Can Dr. Johnson-Sirleaf improve the socioeconomic inequalities in Liberia, the answer is yes, because she is strong, intelligent, and experienced; she has plans for the future; and she has the ability to cancel foreign debt for Liberia. President Johnson-Sirleaf will run Liberia in a new and more positive direction.
Nicknamed "The Iron Lady", by her people, Dr. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has the ability to lead her country in a new direction and improve the inequalities because she is intelligent, experience, and strong. Educated at Harvard, Dr. Johnson-Sirleaf worked for the World Bank as a senior loan official and for the UN Development Program as a senior official (NYT Jan 17). She has much experience working in the international realm and has done much to help negotiate loans for other countries. While effective and important in the international community, Johnson-Sirleaf has also played an important role in her own country prior to her presidency. During the Presidency of Samuel Dole, a corrupt tyrant of a President, she actively protested against the unfair leadership. According to Audrey Mink of UC Berkley in Nov 2005, this led to her imprisonment. Her true strength showed in prison; of the ten people thrown together in her prison cell, Johnson-Sirleaf was the only surviver. Her strength, intelligence, and experience will help her to make a difference in Liberia.
Dr. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf also has plans for the future of her country - another mark of a strong leader. The Associated Press reported that the President planned to have electricity in the capital city of Liberia within 6 monthes of her service, a critical step towards modernizing Liberia, and plans to have a water well or pump in every Liberian town within two years. This is critical in changing the socioeconomic inequalities because access to the most basic needs - like clean water - is necessary before people can pull themselves from poverty. Also, Ian Samuels of NYU Law reports that Johnson-Sirleaf is developing a free education program, reforming healthcare, and wokring to stamp out corruption in the diamond and timber markets of Liberia. These two markets hold the most potential for pulling Liberia from economic depression, however, the past rampant corruption has kept the industries from prospering. If these could be controlled and sorted out, the diamond and timber industries could render a great profit for Liberia. The president's plans for the future of Liberia show that she will keep the country moving in a positive direction.
Finally, President Johnson-Sirleaf has the ability to eliminate foreign debt and stolen money in Liberia. Liberia is in tough striaghts with financial losses and debt. Former President and conviceted war criminal, Charles Taylor, allegedly stashed $3 Billion in Swiss, US and other international banks, keeping the money from the Liberians who desperately needed it. Also, the country owes at least $3.3 Billion to the United States alone, not to mention all the others in the international community who have loaned money (Christian Science Moniter). In 2004, a Senior official in the US Treasury stated that the US would cancel 100% of Liberia's debt if the country presented an adequete leader. Dr. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is just this leader. After all, who better than a World Bank senior loan official to negotiate the cancellation of a debt? If Johnson-Sirleaf can cancel the debt to the United States and return the money to the country, Liberia would have a fresh slate and a stronger foundation from which to build an economy for the future.
So, when asking the question can Dr. Johnson-Sirleaf improve the socioeconomic inequalities in Liberia, the answer is yes. She is intelligent, experienced,and strong and has a vision of where to take her country, as well as the skills to take them their. It is a new morning in Liberia, and Dr. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is certainly running.
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Good blog- except it sounded too much like an extemp question and not a blog. You dont need to repeat yourself at the end the way you do because thats where the reader stops reading- at thepoint where they feel like you are telling them something you already told them- so why would they read it again? Im not saying that for me, Im saying that as far was writing in general goes. And you should put links to your sources so that people can read these things for themselves. Just some helpful hints.
Francesca Chambers