Aggressive Self-Rescue

Earlier this year, I was whitewater rafting with some classmates down Kennebec River in Maine, when our raft hit a huge wall of water and threw most of us overboard. I did not manage to catch hold of the side of the raft in time, and was soon swept far away from the raft. I panicked. The water was freezing, and I was barely able to keep my head above the relentless surges of whitewater. Suddenly, I saw the end of a rope landing close to me, and I grabbed it in relief, expecting to be pulled back to the safety of the raft. Seconds went by and nothing happened – no tug from the other end. I realized then that whoever had thrown the rope must somehow have let go, and I was just holding onto a floating rope that was going to take me nowhere. I struggled to remember what the guide had said in the 5-minute safety talk at the beginning of the rafting session, and a single phrase came to mind: aggressive self-rescue. In that instant, I realized that I couldn’t wait passively to be rescued, and that the person who cared most about my own safety was me myself. I started swimming towards the raft, and eventually my friends reached me and pulled me to safety.

Currently, Liberia is heavily dependent on aid and assistance from the international community. There are around 14,000 UN military personnel stationed in Liberia, and if you took a casual stroll down any one of Monrovia’s busy central streets, you are guaranteed to spot at least a couple of UN vehicles on patrol. Liberia is also heavily dependent on food imports. Even though its soil and climate should have been perfect for agriculture, Liberians import most of their staple diet, including rice and vegetable oil. One of the government’s top concerns at the moment is the large surge in global food prices, which has hit the poor hard, and which might have negative consequences for the country’s stability if not dealt with swiftly and effectively.

It is no doubt that in the short run, both the UN peacekeeping force and food imports are paramount to the country’s peace and food security. However, the government of Liberia also realizes that it needs to engage in aggressive self-rescue if the country is to be able to stand on its own two feet in future. Some of my fellow housemates working at the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been assisting in the training of traditional leaders in various counties. The aim is to help establish local laws and institutions that would help build peace and promote stability in the longer run. In terms of agricultural development, the government been making efforts to attract investors to make investments and build technical expertise in the sector. Liberia still has some way to go before it can achieve peace and food security independent of external assistance, but realizing the need to be aggressive in its approach to development is a very good start.