Sr. T. Nelson Williams

The Liberian Tragedy: Personal Experiences and Reflections on the Civil War Sr. T. Nelson Williams

'The Liberian Tragedy' gives a brief history of Liberia with emphasis on the major causes leading to the fourteen years of bloody conflict. It names the principal players in the wars and delineates the damage done to the nation. It recounts the pivotal role played by the International community, including the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, in helping to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The book reveals the humanitarian catastrophe created by the civil wars, like death and disease and the displacement of up to half a million Liberians. It points out that the war lords relegated love of country to the greed for power and wealth. In order to avoid similar problems in the future, it suggest the necessity of rehabilitating the child soldiers who became victims of circumstance. It suggests that these ills can be corrected by various social organizations like the church, the home, the school, the Boys and Girls scout movements, with a view to rehabilitating the child soldiers who were innocently dragged in the wars. The book ends by recommending the setting up of a war crime tribunal to try all of the war lords and their accomplices who killed more than 300,000 Liberians and made half of the nation's population destitute.