Liberian Mandingoes from various places in America, Europe and Africa will be converging on Philadelphia in the last weekend in June 2007 to attend the convention that will lead to the formation of the Federation of the Liberian Mandingo associations in America. In recent time, there have been weekly teleconferences with representatives from Mandingo organizations from various states participating. With the information transmitted to community members in various states through these representatives participating in the teleconferences, the excitement is building up in our communities all across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Africa. From as far as Australia, our brothers and sisters have sent emails expressing their supports for the efforts being made here. The plan is to make this the biggest gathering of the Liberian Mandingoes in the US and to make it an annual event.
While the expectation is high, we will take this time to reflect on some of the past efforts towards the same objective. This is necessary so that we may learn one or two things from those efforts that may guide us towards a successful conclusion of the coming conference. This is also to acknowledge that we are not starting on a blank page. Even though there may not be a strong foundation to build on, having this convention and forming the federation has been very much constant in our consciousness. So while it may look like we are nearing a finished line, it is very important for us to recognize that the journey started years ago. Whatever was the failure of the past we are not to dwell so much on that so as not to weaken our resolves to make a difference for our entire community.
Sometime in 1997, there was a meeting in Brooklyn, New York. According to those who attended that meeting, it was the largest gathering of Liberian Mandingoes for matter other than funeral, baby naming ceremony, or wedding. Most of the prominent Liberian Mandingoes in the diaspora were present. There was an interim body set-up with a constitutional committee. There was a follow-up meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to re-enforce what was discussed in New York. Moivaba Fofana was appointed as the interim president and Anthony Kesselly the Constitutional Committee Chairman. It was supposed to do the exact same thing we are now trying to accomplish. For whatever reason, the momentum of that meeting could not be sustained. May be for various reasons. On this note, I talked to Anthony Kesselley a few days ago as to why the efforts did not succeed as expected. Simply put, he said, “because there is so much distrust in our community and we all have found it difficult to overcome that distrust. As a result we find it very difficult to formulate a common agenda.” As the interim chairman, Moivaba Fofana said that when he moved to Minnesota, he tried to keep in touch with the constitutional committee he set up but each time he could not see the same energy that he saw in New York. He further said, “Since I was the interim chairman, I take responsibility for the failure of the organization we put together in New York.” He went on to say that “to see that the vision we had then is still around and there are people working hard to bring it to fruition is a sign of encouragement.”
Some years later, there was an attempt to revive the spirit of the meetings in New York and Philadelphia. On several occasions, Sam Mohammed Kromah travelled from Maryland to Philadelphia to attend meetings. After several of those meetings, we formed the Association for the Reconciliation of Mande (ARM). Sam Kromah became the chairman and Anthony Kesselley, the Vice Chairman. Even though the intention was good, but the goal and aspiration of the organization were not brought to fruition. For many of the participants, it was another failure. When I talked to him recently before leaving for Liberia, Mr. Kromah told me that “this has always being my vision and to see our young people taking up the challenge as they are doing now is very much commendable.” He told me to encourage everyone to participate in this conference in the spirit of peace, love, and reconciliation.
Sometime in 2003, there was another meeting in Philadelphia at which time another committee was set up. This committee, headed by Mohammed Jomandy and others, was tasked with the responsibility of drawing the agenda for a Mandingo federation or convention. The committee had series of meetings some of which were attended by one of our elders, Mohammed Warity, who had since passed away. Brother Warity was so energetic and he gave us lot of encouragement. For the same reasons as mentioned already, this effort did not see the light of day. It was around the same time we founded the National Civil Right Movement (NCRM). As this organization engaged in civil right advocacy, particularly at the time when Hassan Bility, Sheik Sackor and others were in prison, we set up a committee headed by Amara Konneh to draw a blue print for the formation of an organization that will represent our community in the Americas. Amara Konneh Committee, which included Sekou Korleh, produced a document that many considered as one of the finest document that outlined recommendation for Mandingo progress in Liberia. This document inspired Mohammed Keita and others from New York as they embarked on the reconciliation agenda within the Mandingo community at home and abroad. While Mohammed Keita and others invested so much time, energy, and resources in this effort, there were others who vigorously campaigned against it. Even though the efforts did not get the massive supports expected, it succeeded in one front. That is, it came out with a resolution: The Liberian Mandingoes Reconciliation Conference Committee’s Final Report (http://limany.org/lmrccfinal.html ). One can only recommend that that resolution be part of the study tools of the current efforts.
In my continuous effort to link the past to the present, I have continued to talk to as many people as possible. According to Muctar Sherif, “The fact that we could not succeed some years ago to do what we are about to do can only be explained from the fact that most people were in transitional stages in their lives in the US and were unable to make the necessary sacrifice.” He said the difference between the past and present is that in the past, the efforts were limited to the communities in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.” With the enthusiastic responses from other community members in states other than New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, he believes this time around we may achieve the success that has eluded us over the years. As one person who had been part of previous efforts, he says he like the energy the young people are putting forward for this convention. He calls on the organizers to have clear goals that must form part of the final resolution of the convention, “so that the end of the day, we all can proudly point to something as the conference resolution.”
As we prepare for the convention in 2007, the question is: have we found that common agenda? The fact that we have agreed to have this convention and folks from various places are mobilized to come has answered half of the question. It means we have recognized the fact that we may belong to different political parties or we may view issues from different political or social perspectives but we can identify and work on common agendas that are in the supreme interest of our community. The good thing about this convention is the youth energy involved. This segment is the majority in our community in the US. The other half of the question is can we sustain this momentum, this buzz, or this overwhelming feeling of wanting to accomplish something for the greater good of our community? The answer to that will come from what will be the final outcome of this gathering. Kalifala Donzo, President of the Mandingo Association of Washington DC Metro area puts it this way, “I hope this conference will give us some compelling reason to want to do it every year. Since this is the beginning for most of us, I hope there will be a vision that will keep all of us committed to come together every year and access progress of previous years. We may not be able to do everything, but if we have definable goals, we can accomplish them one by one.”
Recently when I talked to Musa Bility, president of the National Mandingo Caucus of Liberia, he told me that the idea of this gathering is “long overdue and a welcome development in our community in America.” In a recent opinion piece published on several community websites, Sheik Sackor, a veteran human right campaigner who was imprisoned with Hassan Bility and others by Charles Taylor is of the belief that the “convention will try to summarize prevailing problems among us and recommend possible solution to these problems. I will personally recommend that the organizers send a clear message to everyone about the objective of this convention and what it hopes to achieve.” These same sentiments were expressed by Kalilu Bility of Minnesota when he said, “I wholeheartedly support this convention and I hope all our people are in support of it.” He told me that “this is the beginning and if this comes out right, it will be very good for our community in the long run.”
Abe Kromah, member of the constitutional committee of the organizing authority of the convention has this to say, “This initiative is the dawn of a new beginning in our quest to foster peace, and reconciliation in our community which will serve as the continuation of for broader peace and reconciliation in the general Liberian society.”
To our fellow Liberians who may question our motive for organizing on the basis of our ethnicity, we can only point them to the recent history of the war. Our efforts are not based on any supremacy doctrine. Given the recent history of the war, we deem it necessary to come together to address issues that confront us in our country so as not to give any room for the repeat of what happened to us during the war. We were targeted massively during the war and even as we went through the democratic process and elected a government with the hope of peace and security for all, we still see that the attitude that supported the campaign of genocide against us is still present in the society. What can we do to change that negative attitude to a positive one? How can we appreciate and celebrate our own cultural and traditional values that make us unique in Liberia? How can we contribute to the postwar reconstruction process that will meaningfully and positively affect our relationship with our fellow citizens? These and other questions are the reasons why we are coming together to host this convention and form the federation that will coordinate our activities in the Americas. As the Jews say “never again,” this is our own way of saying never again to what happened to us during the war.
About the author: Nvasekie Konneh is a nine year veteran of the US Navy and the author of the book of poetry, “Going to War for America.” He’s the chairman of the Liberian Writers Network (LWN) and Editor in Chief of the Limany website. Besides writing, Nvasekie Konneh is a music producer/promoter and CEO of the KonnLove Entertainment and Production. Nvasekie Konneh is the Executive Producer of the Positive Force’s CD, “Liberia, Land of the Free,” and Massebe Kamara’s debut CD, “Dengo.” Contact info: KonnLove@aol.com or 215 869 2463.
