A Major Investigation Finds Climate Change is Driving Nine out of Every Ten Liberian Farmers to Want to Migrate
Coming up in this episode …
In the second of our two-part series on climate change, a major New Narratives investigation has found Liberia’s farming emergency is fueling a migration crisis. A survey of Liberian farmers finds years of crop failure has nine in every ten wanting to leave the country.
As the number of migrants rises so do the number of traffickers and other scammers preying on them.
We ask whether solar energy can solve our ongoing electricity crisis.
And, as the momentous news breaks that a war crimes court is coming to Liberia, we get reactions from Lofa county to the recent French court guilty verdict for Ulimo commander Kunti Kamara.
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Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org
In Part One of a Two Part Series: Climate Change is Here. Farmers and Coastal Communities Struggle to Adapt
As our new government takes shape we look at a looming problem that threatens to upend life as we know it.
We’re talking, about climate change. From Liberia’s coast to its forests people are feeling the impact of changing weather. In the first of two programs devoted to climate change we explore a new problem plaguing farmers: pests.
We find the Weah government’s failure to fund the massive coastal defense project has led to delays. In Nimba, we learn about smart farming practices that are helping farmers adjust.
And.. we ask Liberia’s representative on climate change what the new global loss and damage fund will mean for the country.
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Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org
SPECIAL: Democracy in Focus Goes to South Africa to Explore Reconciliation and See What Liberia Can Learn
This week… a special program
Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission said justice, reconciliation and commemoration of the country’s troubled history was key to moving forward. That has not happened. We visit a country that is dealing with is past … post-apartheid South Africa.
Thirty years since the system of racial segregation was ended we look at reconciliation efforts in South Africa and ask what Liberia has to learn.
This week.. Democracy in Focus comes to you from Johannesburg, South Africa with reporting from New Narratives reporters Anthony Stephens, Fatu Kamara, of Okay FM/Front Page Africa, and senior NN reporters Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon of Spoon FM and Front Page Africa and Joyclyn Wea of the New Republic.
Boakai Wins the Presidency as Women’s Representation Goes Backwards
After two failed attempts, 78-year-old Joseph Boakai is finally elected president. We look at what lies ahead after a bitterly contested poll. The presidential runoff poll was marred by low voter turnout….we ask citizens why they did or didn’t vote.
And women’s representation in the legislature drops even further ….sparking anger and frustration among women’s rights advocates.
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Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org
Election Fallout: Who’s in? Who’s Out? And What Does it Mean for Liberia?
Coming up in this episode ..
Liberia heads to a presidential runoff election in a rematch between incumbent president George Weah and former-vice president, Joseph Boakai. Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Massa Washington says the election of accused warlords to the legislature, and their allies to the executive mansion, is bad for the country.
And… Liberians elect an almost entirely new senate…we ask what new faces in the legislature mean for Liberia
You’re listing to Democracy in Focus, a collaboration between Front Page Africa and New Narratives with reporters from the New Narratives program.
Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org
Elections are here. We look at candidates’ policies on key issues and hear from one of two women candidates for president
Just days before the election we look at candidates plans on a range of issues. First up: agriculture. Also, as drug addiction takes more Liberian lives we look at candidates’ plans to stem the crisis and ask users what they need.
One of two women running for president, Sara Beysolow Nyanti shares her plans to build Liberia. And we hear from two visually impaired people who have defied their condition to find means to support their survival.
First Time Voters Want a War Crimes Court As Liberia Commemorates 20 Years Peace; Abortion Roils the Legislature and an Interview with Presidential Candidate Alexander Cummings
First-time voters overwhelmingly back a war crimes court in a survey…calling it “very important” in deciding their vote. One of two presidential candidates to back a war crimes court is Alexander Cummings. We talk with him about his plans for Liberia.
A new law meant to curb Liberia’s high rate of unsafe abortions has outraged opponents. But the government is standing firm.
And… 20 years since the signing of Accra peace agreement, Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee challenges Liberians to vote for justice.
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This podcast was funded by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. The funders had no say in its content.
PodcastExtra: Interview with presidential candidate Alexander Cummings
No Liberian has had the global business success of Alexander Cummings. The 67 year-old candidate for the presidency went from humble beginnings in Monrovia to the heights of global business as a top executive at Coca-Cola. He says that makes him well equipped to fix Liberia’s broken economy. But will Liberian voters be convinced?
Front Page Africa’s Gerald Koinyeneh and New Narratives’ Anthony Stephens interview the candidate in this bonus episode.
Govt. Kills Concession Meant To Curb Liberia’s Worst in the World Road Traffic Deaths, Political Parties Reneg on 30% Women Agreement and Two Candidates Commit to a War Crimes Court
Coming up in this episode .. More people die on Liberia’s roads as a percentage of population than almost anywhere else in the world according to the World Bank. Why then did the Weah government kill a $US50m agency meant to make roads safer? Critics point to an allegedly illegal contract to a Weah ally.
Political parties ignore their own commitment to field women in 30 percent of seats. Liberia’s low representation by women looks set to fall further.
Presidential candidates Alexander Cummings and Taiwan Gongloe commit to hold a war crimes court if elected, but President Weah and ex-vice president Joseph Boakai refuse to comment.
And a New Narratives survey finds a third of voters do not trust the newly introduced Biometric Voter Registration system ahead of October’s elections. You’re listing to Democracy in Focus
A $3m EU-funded aid project fails, the War Crimes Court gets a boost and rural Liberians struggle with dysfunctional service centers
A six-month investigation looks at the failure of a three-million-dollar EU-funded project meant to solve Liberia’s trash crisis.
War crimes court campaigner Adama Dempster has returned from meetings in the us with key officials in the American government. We get the latest. We check in with victims’ advocate Hassan Billity on the latest developments in war crimes trials in the us and Europe.
And citizens of rural Liberia struggle to get basic services at dysfunctional county service centers.
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Funding for this podcast came from the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia. The funders had no say in the content.
Whistleblowers in Fear, Economic Turmoil Hits the Region and Philanthropists Plug Healthcare Gaps
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Coming up in this episode… as corruption plagues the Weah government we talk to whistleblowers who say they’re paying a heavy price.
We look at the economic turmoil threatening political instability across the region. At the same time the government back tracks on claims it’s reduced poverty. World bank data shows things are getting worse.
The government loses its first case in the trafficking ring to Oman.
And, with Liberia’s health care system in crisis, some wealthy Liberians are plugging the gap one patient at a time.
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Funding for this podcast was provided by the US and Swedish embassies in Liberia. The funders had no say in the reporting.
The Latest on the Seized Container of Weapons; Progress on Sanitation Stalls and An Arrest Warrant is Issued for Trafficking Mastermind
In this episode: two months since police seized a container of weapons imported into the county we have the latest on the investigation.
The government claims it has reduced the number of people without access to toilets. World bank data says otherwise.
An international arrest warrant is in the works for the man who masterminded the trafficking of 350 Liberian women to Oman. His online history shows he started looking for Middle East partners to exploit Liberian women in 2018.
And we have the latest on war crimes cases in Europe and the United States.
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Reporting in this podcast is funded by the Swedish and US embassies in Liberia.
Teachers and Parents Demand Bridge School Leave Liberia, Government Concedes it’s Impossible to Keep Out Tainted Drugs and the Latest on Human Trafficking and War Crimes Trials
In this episode .. Seven years since us-based bridge international arrived in Liberia to overhaul schools. Experts, teachers and parents say it’s time to end the experiment.
After scores of children were killed by tainted imported medicines in The Gambia, what is being done to protect Liberians?
A Liberian security agent becomes the first government official convicted of human trafficking. He’s serving 25 years in prison as authorities close in on others. But what’s happening to the women who returned home?
And Finnish prosecutors are appealing last year’s acquittal of former revolutionary united front commander Gibril Massaquoi on charges he committed war crimes in Liberia. The appeal is hearing testimony in Liberia. We get the latest.
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In a Remarkable Tale of Resilience Liberian Trafficking Victims Fight Their Way to Freedom
In this episode, as many as 200 Liberian women were trafficked to the Middle East with promises of jobs and a chance to study. Instead they found themselves in hell.
But the women broke free from the trap that had caught millions before them. A year on more than half are home. The government has launched a major new push to crack down on traffickers.
Two years since the mysterious deaths of four government auditors a legislative committee that was supposed to look into the deaths has yet to report. We ask why.
And journalists are facing an increase in threats and physical attacks. Newsrooms tell us they are self-censoring out of fear. What will that mean for our democracy as Liberia goes to the polls?
COP27 A Mixed Bag for Liberia, and the Race is Own to Build Sustainable Food Sources
In this episode… Another gathering of global leaders fails to make commitments experts say will head off climate catastrophe. We report from COP27 in Egypt.
But while there was no new agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions there was one win for poor countries like our own.
As climate change hits food production we look at efforts to secure Liberia’s food sources.
A Liberian Rebel Faces Justice in Paris and the Anti-Corruption Watchdog is Silenced
The latest warlord to face justice for crimes in Liberia’s civil wars goes on trial. We report from the court in Paris. In Lofa County where he is alleged to have committed most of his crimes people say they are grateful to see justice at last. And the US Ambassador for War Crimes visits Liberia promising funding for a war crimes court. Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner John Stewart tells us he is hopeful a court will happen soon.
And three months since the government’s controversial act overhauling the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission insiders tell us the corruption watchdog is barely functioning. What does that mean for our democracy one year from elections.
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A Bill Banning Female Genital Cutting Looks Set for Defeat; Ulimo Commander Goes on Trial in Paris and a Logging Company is Exposed
ANOTHER BILL TO BAN FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING REACHES THE LEGISLATURE BUT DOES IT HAVE ANY CHANCE OF PASSING?
THE LATEST WARLORD TO FACE JUSTICE, KUNTI KAMARA OF ULIMO, GOES ON TRIAL IN PARIS THIS MONTH. WE HEAR FROM VICTIMS OF ULIMO IN LOFA.
IN RIVER CESS OUR INVESTIGATION FINDS ONE LOGGING COMPANY HAS SHIPPED THREE MILLION DOLLARS OF TIMBER WHILE TELLING THE COMMUNITY THEY HAVE SHIPPED NOTHING AND CAN’T MEET THEIR COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS.
The Silent War on Liberia’s Children
Nearly two decades since the end of the civil wars Liberia’s children are still suffering. 2022 is on track to see one of the highest numbers of reported rape cases in the last five years. The vast majority of victims are under 18. Reporter Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh looks at why rape continues.
In River Cess County, reporter Eric Opa Doue finds children struggling to get an education. He visits five schools that have been shut down and finds others barely functioning. The crisis in Liberia’s rural schools continues.
And we hear from two internationally acclaimed investigative journalists Ruona Meyer of the Solutions Journalism Network and Idris Akinbajo of Nigerian newsroom Premium Times.