Monrovia – When mudslide and floods erupted in next door Sierra Leone last month, aid came from one of the most unlikely of places, Liberia.
Like Sierra Leone, Liberia, for most part of the 1990s was engulfed in a bloody civil war.
Both countries have seen the worst in the past decade – plagued by war and most recently the deadly Ebola Virus outbreak.
The two neighbors also share a common nemesis in Charles Ghankay Taylor, a former President who headed the deadly National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
The former President is currently behind bars in the United Kingdom having been found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone by a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague.
He was also said to have participated in the planning of certain attacks, including the assault on Freetown, the Sierra Leonean capital.
The crisis spurred the signing of a non-aggression pact in 2007 when Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma took office.
Historically, both countries were destinations for former slaves from the Americas as well as people rescued by the British Navy from slave ships en route to the Americas.
Those who were resettled in Sierra Leone became known as the Krio and while those from the United States of America became known as Americo-Liberians.
Liberia became independent in 1847, while Sierra Leone remained a colony of the United Kingdom until 1961.
Historical connections aside, both countries have been hit hard by tragedies in the past decade.
In December 2013, an Ebola epidemic which began in Guinea ended up infecting more than 28,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and in the process exposing the paralyzing weaknesses in the countries’ health and public health systems. At least more than 11,000 people who died of Ebola.
The proximity of Liberia and Sierra Leone and a non-aggression pact has led to the two nations doing all they can to reciprocate gestures made in a time of crisis.
So, on August 15, 2017, a day after the mudslides hit Freetown, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf immediately sent a condolence message to her counterpart, Bai Koroma.
The heavy overnight rains triggered a mudslide and flood on the outskirts of Freetown, which led to the deaths of over three hundred persons and injury to several hundred others.
“During this difficult period of national tragedy, I wish to express our solidarity with you and the people of Sierra Leone,” the Liberian leader would say while stressing that it is the hope of the Liberian Government and people that the resilience and strength that the people of Sierra Leone have always demonstrated when confronted by challenging circumstances will be manifested again in the face of this natural disaster.
Lenn Eugene Nagbe, Minister of Information aptly put it: “Whatever affects Sierra Leone affects Liberia as well.”
Beyond the chatter, Liberia went beyond the call of duty with the post-war government’s army launching what it called, “Operation Neighbor Shield,” in which it tasked the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to convey relief items from the Government of Liberia to the Government and people of Sierra Leone (GoSL).
HQ AFL vide Reference B conveyed a committee to ensure the safe delivery of the relief items.
The mission was aimed at bringing relief to the tragedy that had left 400 people dead and about 600 missing in the mountain town of Regent on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown as a result of heavy downpour.
In identifying itself with Sierra Leone, Liberia not only sent relief supplies to Freetown in order to reduce human suffering but manpower as well.
A delegation of 61 personnel was composed of the Armed Forces of Liberia, the Liberia National Police, the Liberia National Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Internal Affairs used 12 trucks and 6 pickup vans and jeeps to convey personnel and relief items to Freetown
According Major General Daniel D. Ziankahn, the LNP provided 7 vehicles, LNRCS came with 2 vehicles and the AFL provided 9 vehicles for the smooth conduct of the operation.
The Liberian government in collaboration with business entities and other agencies garnered items such as bags of rice, mineral water, juices, blankets, mosquito nets, medicines, medical supplies, tents, camp beds, concertina wires, water balloons, sand bags, sugar, sleeping mats, rain boots, soaps, shower slippers, riot gears, hand cuffs and batons. Photos of some of the items are at Annex D.
The convoy from Liberia departed Monrovia for Freetown, Sierra Leone on 17 August 2017 in two phases.
The first phase left Monrovia at about 1400 hours and the second phase left at about 1800 hours. The two teams crossed the Liberian and Sierra Leone borders without any hitch.
Both teams found it extremely challenging from the Sierra Leone border to Zimmi town due to a very bad road condition. It is recorded that the LNRCS truck was very instrumental in the journey.
The truck was able to draw out every single vehicle that got stuck during the movement.
The team visited the mudslide site at Sugar loaf, Regent on its way to Freetown. The delegation finally arrived in Freetown on Saturday 19 August 2017 after spending two days on the road.
The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) received and escorted the team to its final destination for delivery of the items on behalf of the Liberian Government.
Appropriate authorities were contacted from both the GoSL and Embassy of the Republic of Liberia in Sierra Leone to prepare for the official turning over of the items.
The first turning over ceremony was done by LNP to the SLP on 21 August 2017 at 0900 hours at the SLP headquarters in Freetown. LNP donated special police items to the SLP which was warmly received by the SLP Inspector General (IG) of Police.
The IG thanked the government of Liberia and the LNP for coming to their aid at the appropriate time.
The items were turned over to the IG by the head of the LNP delegation which was put into use immediately after the turning over.
The deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the Republic of Liberia together with the Secretary General of Mano River Union led the delegation to the Office of National Security (ONS) of Sierra Leone on Monday 21 August 2017.
The ceremony was chaired by the Chief of Staff (COS) at the ONS on behalf of the GoSL.
The ONS COS welcomed the delegation, introduced members of his staff and allowed the GoL representative to also introduce members of their delegation.
The deputy head of mission stated the purpose of their visit and turned over the items sent by the GoL to the GoSL through the ONS COS.
The COS lauded the kind gesture made by the people and GoL to the people and GoSL. He expressed profound gratitude on behalf of the people and GoSL to the Liberian people for coming to their aid at this time of need.
The team was afforded the opportunity to use the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces workshop to conduct vehicle maintenance on all the vehicles on 22 August 2017. The team departed Freetown on 23 August 2017 at about 0030 hours.
The delegation had a major breakdown at the ferry crossing point.
One of the LNP vehicles encountered engine problem and the team left it in the hands of the road construction security officers for safe keeping to be recovered later.
The breakdown led to an overnight at the ferry point and the team finally set out for the border in the morning hours of 24 August 2017. After crossing the border, another LNP vehicle breakdown at Clay check point and the team left it under the watch of the LNP at Clay check point.
The delegation arrived Monrovia at about 2330 hours with 61 persons and 16 vehicles.