The ruins of the Ducor Hotel hovered over the city of Monrovia, Liberia, like a nightmare, when we visited on November 6, 2023. The hotel was built in the 1960s as part of the ritzy Intercontinental chain. Dignitaries like Golda Meir of Israel attended its opening and Michael Jackson danced in its ballroom.
The view from the moldering balcony over the city was superb.
It was unnerving to walk down the huge spiral staircase that had lost its banisters!
Liberia was prosperous during the 1960s and 1970s, and was considered one of the most progressive, prosperous countries in Africa.
Then the country's political parties fractured, and there was a decades-long civil war between descendants of slaves from the New World, who had returned home, and the natives who had been subjected by them.
The once-elegant ballroom, where Michael Jackson had danced, became the retreat of gangsters and homeless people, who scrawled on its walls.
Liberia is a small country, squeezed between Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast
Our local guide, Norris, was an attorney with a Liberian law firm who also owned a tour agency and a car rental business. He was the most fluent and insightful of our many local guides. Norris spoke of Liberia's squandered prosperity and described the once beautiful but now ruined Ducor hotel as the symbol of "who we were and who we are." Norris said that Liberia is still so undeveloped that, in contrast to Ghana, which sends its young people abroad to study and they come back to lead the country, in Liberia any young people who travel abroad to study never come back. Nevertheless, when I asked Norris if would consider emigrating, he acted surprised. "Never!" he emphasized. When I asked Norris what Liberia would need to do to reach its potential, he said that leaders at all levels must cease their dishonesty and selfishness. Bribery and corruption are major problems.
As we stood near the Liberty Monument, Norris described the history of Liberia, from its settlement by prehistoric tribesmen from Mali to the arrival of American slaves and their fights with existing peoples, to the recent civil wars and the struggling recovery from them.
Near the Liberty Monument is an old fort, with cannon, overlooking the city and the sea.
We drove down Broad Street, Monrovia's prime shopping street.
We met the pastor at the 1822 church where Liberia's constitution was adopted.
We then visited a "model village" which is recommended by the national tourist agency for foreigners to visit. Several villages competed for the honor. The village certainly seemed well-organized and ready for visitors.
When we arrived, villagers gathered into an open air cutural center to welcome us with a ceremony and dances by the children and teenagers.
We walked around the village to see how the people lived.
And then the villagers treated us to another presentation. As men in the audience drummed, a young fellow led out a monster, wrapped in straw.
The monster was addressed as "General," and he joked with the audience about local Liberian politics--an election was coming up and he told everyone how to vote. He then swung his straw to the music ad even turned cartwheels.
There were several motorcycles in the village, proclaiming their owners' status.
We also visited the National Museum of Liberia, for another taste of West African art
Liberians flaunt their religion. There were businesses with signs like "Christ Jesus Plumbing" and Messiah Bakery." Our bus was rented from the "Christ Centered Renewal Connecting Church."
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