Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives U.S. Immigration Authorities announced Monday they had deported a Liberian rebel commander. Although the Immigration and Custom Enforcement, (ICE), said Mayama Sesay, 43, was deported on September 5th, it only made the announcement this week. The decision of an immigration judge to deport her in…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, senior reporter with New Narratives NEW JERUSALEM, Montserrado- When R. saw her son emerge drug-free after five months in a rehabilitation center in 2022, she thought her long nightmare had ended. The beauty salon owner had drained her savings—over $LD50,000 ($US270) to pay for the 33-year-old’s treatment at three centers over…
By Joyclyn Wea, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Liberia has approved its third Nationally Determined Contribution committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The plan, unveiled by Boakai government officials at a validation event with international partners and stakeholders at the Monrovia City Hall…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A U.S. federal court Friday sentenced a former member of The Gambia’s feared paramilitary unit to more than 67 years in prison for acts of torture carried out under the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh. Michael Sang Correa, 46, was sentenced by Senior Judge Christine M….
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Leading justice advocates are urging the government of President Joseph Boakai to make the creation of a war and economic crimes court its top priority and remove the proposed anti-corruption court from the mandate of the Office of the War and Economics Crimes Court, the…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives At the close of the second Africa Climate Summit, with brought African leaders together in Addis Ababa, campaigners are warning governments not to fall for “false solutions” such as carbon offsets markets that they said can worsen the climate crisis. In a press statement, ActionAid International…
By Jake Duffy with New Narratives PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – Laye Sekou Camara, known by the war names “K-1” or “Dragon master”, a former commander of the Lurd rebel group, was taken into custody Thursday after being sentenced by a federal court to 57 months in prison for lying in U.S. immigration proceedings about his role…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A top European Union diplomat warned Tuesday that disinformation poses a growing danger to democracies, as waves of Russian-backed propaganda from neighboring Sahel states reverberate across West Africa. João Gomes Cravinho, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Sahel spoke at a press conference in Monrovia…
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives KANGBO TOWN, River Cess— On a hot morning in this forest-fringed village of Gborgar Town deep in south-central Liberia, Marthaline Gbar sits hunched outside her zinc-roofed home, stirring a pot of simmering cassava leaves. The pot, barely half full, was meant to stretch across four children aged 5…
By Augusta S. Lafalay with New Narratives Summary: · Liberian mothers face a hidden postpartum depression crisis, with cultural stigma, spiritual beliefs, and lack of diagnosis leaving many to suffer in silence. · Experts warn that inadequate screening and minimal funding are undermining maternal mental health, destabilizing families and worsening outcomes for children. · Survivors…
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the “Investigating Liberia” project. The Swedish Embassy provided funding, but the founder had no say in the story’s content….
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon with New Narratives Liberia is facing a full-blown drug crisis according to a new report that finds the reasons for the crisis are rooted in poverty, failures of post war justice, unemployment and a growing regional drug trade. The report, the first to look at the reasons for the growing problem,…
By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives WEST POINT, Monrovia-When the sea turns rough, Elizabeth Gray and her family have nowhere to run. Water floods through their home in this low-lying informal settlement, forcing her three children to relieve themselves indoors while waves crash just meters from their door. As this year’s rainy season gets underway,…
Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives Summary · Ocean surges destroy fences along Liberia’s Sinkor coastline, with UN projections warning that 230,000 Liberians face losing their homes to rising seas by 2100 · Stark inequality emerges as former President George Weah’s residence stands protected by boulder barriers while neighboring properties are unprotected · Critical infrastructure is…
By Anthony Stephens and Allison Hunter with New Narratives Summary: Caroline Armah is exactly the sort of person the development world has tried to champion. The 33-year-old entrepreneur is building a business solving one of the most fundamental problems Liberia faces: affordable, childhood nutrition. Armah’s business Calaw Foodssells a nutritional supplement made of finely ground…
By Aria Deemie and Jake Duffy with New Narratives Summary: PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – On a warm Saturday afternoon, Chris Onanuga, Liberia’s newly appointed presidential envoy for tourism, mingles with young people at a recreation day in Voka Mission. Some kick a football; others seek shade beneath sprawling trees. To Onanuga, the scene is something more…
By Aria Deemie with New Narratives Despite a raft of government reforms and international partnerships, Liberia continues to face serious human rights challenges, according to the 2024 U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices released this week. The report found there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Liberia…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Leymah Gbowee, one of Liberia’s most celebrated peace activists, on Wednesday called on the country’s Legislature to pass a law making the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia a statutory body, thereby protecting it from the whims of a future president who…
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon and Anthony Stephens with New Narratives Summary: · Residents of Saye Town in Monrovia have destroyed a notorious drug den, accusing authorities of years of inaction against crime and addiction in their community. · The Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency welcomed the raid, but locals remain distrustful, citing alleged collusion between some…
By Aria Deemie, Environment Reporter New Narratives Summary: Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency said it is facing a legal challenge after telecom company Lonestar Cell filed a lawsuit contesting a $US15,000 fine for noise pollution at its Congo Town facility. The case, filed on May 27, is currently before the Civil Law Court in Monrovia. According…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter New Narratives Summary: Experts say Liberia’s new fully equipped environmental laboratory is a breakthrough that could transform how the country tackles pollution. The laboratory, launched last month by the Environmental Protection Agency, will allow EPA technicians to conduct forensic testing on air, water, and soil samples, allowing them to…
