The Liberian Community Organization of Illinois, in conjunction with Rainbow Push Coalition is sending over a million dollar worth of medical equipment to war ravaged Liberia early spring.
“What happens at home affects us here. As Liberians in America, we are trying to see what we can do to send relief to our country. Right now, we are in the process of getting together medical and educational supplies that are needed at home,” Gaye Sleh Jr, president of the Liberian Community Organization of Illinois (LCO) told The Chicago Inquirer.
Already, Metcare, an Atlanta based corporation, has pledged one million dollar worth of medical supplies for Liberia courtesy of Civil rights leader and Operation Push founder, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
By early spring, some of the materials would be shipped to the West African nation founded by American slaves. The US State Department has promised to offset the shipping cost of the materials.
“Liberians need everything. We need every support and assistance here and at home,” Sleh said, adding that LCO is teaming up with United African Organization and Union of Liberian Association of America to make things easier.
Sleh explained that LCO is raising funds to buy other needed materials in short supply in Liberia and to build a community center through a fund raising project.
“As you can see today, there is a need for Liberians and Africans to have a place to call their home. I’m very pleased with what the community is doing and that everybody is coming together.
“There are a lot of divisions since the conflict started in Liberia and people couldn’t go back. We are trying to bring everybody back to help build a stronger country within Africa.” Sleh said.
“We are praying and hoping for a perpetual peace in our country. We are tired of senseless fighting and innocent deaths. I’m glad that the United Nations, the US government and the international community have intervened and we would work with them to ensure continuous peace in Liberia. It is overdue and we thank God the help is now here,” he said.
Turning to the African community in Chicagoland, he urged all African nationals here to join the new United African Organization. “We see what is happening in the Asian and the Latino communities. If you come together, the government will listen to you, instead of going to City Hall individually. They will see us as disorganized Africans and wonder why can’t we send our leaders to articulate the issues.
“History is in the making. Africans are coming together. We might have had our reservations in the past when we were not committed but things have changed. It is a new day,” he said.
He also urged the international community to establish a trust fund for the over $500 million being raised for Liberia to be used for building schools and to prevent a corrupt government from misusing it. .
He called on the warring factions in Liberia to take to other vocations and stop the senseless fighting. “Some of them don’t even know what they are fighting for. They need to settle down. If they are worried about what to do next, the international community and local governments should assist them with the provision of social services and retraining programs to resettle them into the society.
“All the fighting and killing will not solve any problem. We need to sit down and resolve the issues instead of fighting,” he said and called on African leaders to begin to put their countries first.
“All the war going on in Africa is because of power greed. Africa is a beautiful place to live. We can make it a world power if we learn to settle issues amicably,” he said.
He explained that by demonstrating and protesting peacefully instead of warring “we would get our message across.”
Sleh said leaders like erstwhile Liberian president Charles Taylor, now in exile in Nigeria, should be brought to justice. “He needs to be in Freetown to account for what he did to the Liberian people,” he stated.
Sleh is also working with Catholic Charities to resettle Liberian refugees arriving in the country.
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