BOMI COUNTY — The Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) and the National Traditional Council Of Liberia (NTCL) have embarked on an initiative aimed at dignifying and showing respect to historic fallen kings and others who made tremendous sacrifices in preserving and sustaining peace in the country.
The initiative includes the rehabilitation and rededication of graves of fallen Liberian Kings, Chiefs and others across the country.
It commenced on Decoration Day-March 10 with the rehabilitation and rededication of the graves of Kings Sao Boso and Long Peter (Zolu Doma) in Gbarpolu and Montserrado counties respectively.
Speaking during the commencement of the exercise in Bopolu City, the Assistant Minister for Tourism at MICAT, Princess Turkolon, disclosed that the initiative was launched based upon a request made by the Chairman of the NTCL, Chief Zanzan Karwor during the celebration of World Tourism Day in 2020.
According to her, the initiative is intended to recognize the immense contributions of “great men, women and elders” who have served Liberia with great passion.
“On behalf of the President of the republic of Liberia, you have done extremely well and thank you for allowing us to begin in Gbarpolu. We are all here to celebrate the memory of our King. This is tourism; this is culture and we are all here to dignify our king. This is a historic holiday and historic project”.
Minister Turkolon pointed out that the initiative will help ensure that chiefs and traditional leaders do not feel forgotten or neglected in the Liberian society.
She used the occasion to urge young Liberians not to forget about their cultural values and heritage.
She called on them to always be willing to listen to their elders in a bid to know about the cultural values and traditional of their people.
“We have to bring back our culture and everything that we have lost through politics”.
Minister Turkolon emphasized that Liberia’s cultural heritage and values remain dead, and as such, actions must be taken to reawaken it.
She, however, expressed the hope that the new initiative will ensure additional revenue generation for the Liberian government.
For his part, the Chairman of the National Traditional Council of Liberia, Chief Zanzan Karwor commended President George Manneh Weah for giving ears to his recommendation.
According to him, the Liberian Chief Executive’s latest gesture shows that he holds with high esteem indigenous and traditional leaders of the country.
He described the initiative as “historic” adding that, former national leaders were not farsighted to respect and dignify the final resting places of those who made sacrifices for the advancement of peace and tranquility that all citizens and foreign nationals residing in the country enjoy today.
He claimed that some past national leaders (who he did not name) where only after enriching themselves and their immediate family members, neglecting chiefs and elders who are the original owners of the land.
Chief Karwor, however, challenged the traditional leaders and chiefs across the country to guarantee the preservation of the remains of their forefathers with respect and dignity.
He vowed to make additional contributions and provide artifacts that were previously used by the fallen kings to beautify the sites for the sake of revenue generation by the Liberian government.
“I don’t know what to do or say because, the thing I see here today-it has not happened in this country before”.