Giving Back, Liberians in America (Part 5)

"One thing that has really resonated with Liberians is that they have not forgotten their homeland. So, you have various organizations, which are seeking ways to rebuild the country. We are aware that government cannot do it all." -- Danlette Norris, Liberian professor.

This fifth and final installment in my series about the Liberian diaspora shows how members of this unique expatriate community raise money to fund education and health projects back in the war-devastated country they fled.

Even one dollar can make a difference in heavily-damaged areas like Maryland County, Liberia, which is on the southeastern border with Ivory Coast. That’s where Norris and some of the other members of the Rhode Island Liberian community come from. As an evening fundraiser stretched into the early-morning hours, hundreds of dollars filled tin-foil receptacles.


Part 1 of this series was about why so many Liberians are in the small state of Rhode Island.

Part 2 was about Liberian immigrants helping each other out, especially young and old.

Part 3 was about setting up shop and the challenges of getting papers in order.

Part 4 was about the most important issue of raising the children of the diaspora.

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Liberians in America, Part 4, The New Generation

"The community provides a sense of cultural identity to be able to instill certain cultural values; for example, hard work, dedication, respect for your father, your mother, the elderly, these are values that really help to make an individual a good person." -- Edmund Zar-Zar Bargblor, Liberian teacher.

This fourth installment in my five-part series about the Liberian diaspora explores the challenges Liberians face raising their children in America.

Rather than having just one meal per day -- a common diet for many a Liberian child – the children of Liberians in America often just want to eat junk food. Rather than praying to go to school, or having barely enough money to afford a pencil, the children of immigrant Liberians often complain about their schoolwork.

Rather than showing the traditional respect for their parents, many young Liberians in America talk back to them.

They also have many more opportunities to succeed in their schooling, and most are free of worries about basic survival. They live between two cultures, and they are forcing their parents to adapt as well.

Liberians in America, Setting Up Shop

"Here, life is how you make it. Everywhere is hard, but here, it is ok for many of us. Because many of us came here unexpectedly, and we are doing good here." -- Martha Gargar-Charley, Liberian owner of an African food store.

This third installment of my five-part series on the Liberian diaspora takes a look at businesses that cater to and hire Liberians. Gargar-Charley and another woman profiled in this video are thriving -- they’re earning money and creating jobs.

But many Liberians in the United States live in fear that they will be forced to drop everything and go back to their war-ravaged homeland.

Thousands of those who fled Liberia and came to America live under the U.S. Temporary Protected Status program, which allows them to work and own property. However, their status is temporary, and could suddenly be revoked.

The U.S. government says Liberia is now stable, so Liberians should be able to go back. But with jobs and sometimes businesses and homes, as well as children with U.S. citizenship, many feel they should be allowed to remain in the United States.

Part One of this series looked into why so many Liberians live in Rhode Island, while part two was about how Liberian immigrants help young and old.

The Immigrant Experience: Liberians in America, Part II

"We do help each other. Like me, I open up my home to people who do not have food. I shelter people. That is what I have been doing since I came here. I not only preach the word. And it's very important. It's good for the soul. You feel better when you do that." -- Beatrice Mansfield, Liberian Pastor.

This second installment of my series looks at how Liberians in Rhode Island assist the elderly within their community and help new arrivals adapt and survive.

Despite ethnic divisions in their own country, Liberians in the United States come together through their churches, civic associations and other organizations to make sure those in need get help.

Elderly Liberians who might have enjoyed frequent contact with their neighbors back in Monrovia’s open-aired courtyards now find themselves isolated in the closed-off, high-rise apartment buildings that house many of the newly-arrived in America.

Many Liberian youth who finally make it to the United States don't always know what they have gotten themselves into.

Sometimes, Liberian immigrants don't have any relatives here, but they find they can count on other Liberians to help them get going on their American experience.

The Immigrant Experience: Liberians in America, Part I

"Rhode Island is a small state. Rhode Island reminds us of Liberia. Liberia is just a little larger than Rhode Island." Elaine Traub, Liberian nurse.

"I can drive from here, two blocks, and meet another Liberian, and go downtown, and wherever I go, I will meet Liberians." Eleanor Gaye, Liberian restaurant owner.

While I was Voice of America's West Africa correspondent, from 2003 to 2008, my favorite country to visit was Liberia, partly because of the way people spoke English there with such energy and flavor, frankness and poetry.

I was always interested in finding out more about the Liberian diaspora as well. By most accounts, nearly a third of the country's three million people fled the war, corruption and neglect that ravaged Africa's oldest republic over the past 20 years.

Many of them have never returned.

In the United States, the largest concentration of Liberians is in Rhode Island, the smallest American state.

The first installment of this five part series asks members of the Liberian diaspora why so many of them decided to make Rhode Island their home away from home.