[070742amePM]{.underline}

Ambassador Charles A. Minor:

I hope all of us have had the opportunity to visit the table in the back
of the room and had part of the great sandwiches and salads available.
We\'d like to continue with the sandwich section. For those of you who
were here when I started, I indicated that the two panels would be
sandwiched with a lunch of sandwiches, and then with a guest speaker. I
know a number of people have come in since we started this morning. I\'d
like to actually express a word of welcome to those who've joined us.
It\'s very clear that the nature of the seminar and the length of time
over an important working day was such that we didn\'t expect everybody
to be here from the beginning to the end, but that people would come in
at various components of the day to benefit from the particular section
of interest to them.

So we\'d like to welcome those who have joined us this afternoon, just
before and during lunch, including the friends who were kind enough to
sponsor this event; Jefferson Waterman \[International\] and a group of
companies that are involved in mining in Liberia. One of them is
represented by the chief executive here, Mr. Richardson, and Amlon,
involved in gold mining, and a new company, part of the group,
\[unintelligible\]. Is the president here? He\'s not. We would like to
ask them if they would stand, let us recognize the president, and thank
them for the sponsorship of this event.

\[applause\]

Why didn\'t you stand, Ken?

\[laughter\]

Ken Yates is one of the trio that\'s present here. We really appreciate
your continued support of what we\'re trying to do at the embassy. Thank
you very much. We trust that you will continue in the period ahead to
actually make money in Liberia, after so many years of investment and
following the growth and the effort you\'ve done there. Here at the
Library of Congress, we\'re not to advertise, so that was simply an
appreciation to those who have supported this event.

Let me now ask if we could welcome to the platform Dr. Wilton Sankawulo
Sr., keynote speaker for today. I remember him when he was at
Cuttington, one of the bigger boys at Cuttington College, when I was at
the University of Liberia, and then I forgot what happened to him until
he returned to Liberia as a writer and was involved with the National
Student Christian Council efforts at doing things when we were all
active as students.

I knew he went back abroad on a number of occasions, and in a particular
visit, I think it was to Romania, the university there awarded him a
doctorate of letters\--of literature under his counselor degree for his
literary achievement. That came before he got to be well recognized even
in Liberia, I guess. But he has been writing and doing research and
teaching in Liberia for a very long time, almost immediately after he
completed his graduate study in English and literature, first at
Cuttington College in Liberia, and I think at the University of Iowa. So
what is strange is that he never bothered himself about politics, but
politics bothered him.

\[laughter\]

And at one point in the effort to bring peace to our country during the
years of civil unrest, Wilton Sankawulo was asked to leave his literary
domain and the Ivory Tower of teaching to come and lead the politicians
and warlords, to try to bring peace to Liberia. He served then as
chairman of the then-transitional government from '95 to '96.

He has, since then, continued to do research and to write about various
aspects of life in our country, and quite recently his latest book that
is published, "Sundown at Dawn \[: A Liberian Odyssey"\], was published
in Houston \[Dusky Spark Publishing this year \[2005\]. He brought two
copies that we have in our library, and I was pleased to know that a lot
of his books are also here in the Library of Congress. I wouldn\'t want
to read all the details, because I\'d like for us to listen to him. I\'d
like now for us to put our hands together and welcome Dr. Wilton
Sankawulo, our guest speaker to, speak to us.

\[applause\]

Wilton Sankawulo:

Ambassador, friends, after the presentation this morning, the three
presentations we had, I thought my speech would be redundant. There
would be no need for me to speak, because for the first time I\'m
beginning to get insight into the relationship between the black people
of America and the black people in Liberia, and other parts of Africa.
But the Liberian situation is a peculiar thing. You know, we are not
well known here, even though this country gave birth to Liberia. And so
it is always necessary for us to make the point again and again that
Liberia is actually part of America, and America is a part of Liberia so
that our people here will be able to relate to us, and to work together
with us to develop that country. I've prepared this speech, so I will
have to give it to you to justify the time you took to invite me here.
\[Laughs\]

So, Your Excellency Charles A. Minor, Liberia's ambassador to the United
States, other officials of the Embassy of Liberia in the United States,
officials of the government of the United States present here, officials
of the Library of Congress, distinguished visitors or guests, ladies and
gentlemen. I\'m sorry, I have been under the weather, so I\'ll try to
speak as clearly as possible. It gives me great pleasure to participate
in this program commemorating the 160th independence anniversary of our
country. Liberia\'s Independence Day has always been a special occasion
for me because it coincides with my birthday \[Laughs\]. On a serious
note, I thank almighty God for saving my life and granting me the
privilege and honor of taking part in celebrating our freedom here in
Washington DC. The last phase of our civil war was so devastating that
it almost claimed my life. I thank the president of the United States,
His Excellency George W. Bush, whose intervention brought an end to it,
saving many lives, and for granting refuge to thousands of our people.

I am also grateful to his government, for his government\'s support to
our president, Our Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa\'s first
elected female president, as she tries to put together the bits and
pieces of what remains of our country after decades of warfare. I thank
the Library of Congress for jointly sponsoring this program with our
embassy. The involvement of this great source of knowledge in
celebrating our independence is symbolic of the fact that only
intelligence, not war, can bring practical and lasting solutions to our
many problems. Last but not least, I thank Ambassador Minor for
extending an invitation to me to participate in the program today. The
theme for this year\'s independence day celebration in this great
country could have not been more appropriate; "Liberian-American
Relations: Past, Present, and Future."

From the very beginnings of the Liberian state, our ties with America
have been on an even keel. They may have had their ups and downs, like
all other relations, but Liberians have never been in doubt that there
is no substitute for America\'s moral and material support for their
survival and progress. And I dare say Americans, too, have never been in
doubt that in Liberia they have a trusted friend on the African
continent, and on the world stage. Indeed, Liberians consider themselves
Americans, not by virtue of birth or nationality, but by the evolution
of that country from America. By their adoption of American culture and
by their love for America, we consider America our mother country. The
cause for this love relation between the two peoples derives from the
fact that Liberia was founded by Americans--by African Americans in
collaboration with the African brothers and sisters at the beginnings of
the 19th century as an asylum for black people of African descent.
Although many of them had won their freedom from slavery, our brothers
and sisters still suffered the yoke of segregation in the land of their
birth because of their color.

They felt that they would find freedom, security, and progress by
returning to the land of their origin. With the patronage of the
American government and influential Americans such as President James
Monroe, America\'s fifth president, after whom our country\'s capital
Monrovia is named; Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison,
Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and Bushrod Washington,
nephew of President George Washington they embarked on a voyage that led
to the creation of the first African republic on the western borders of
Africa. They took with them the American civilization, which we cherish.
In fact, it seemed as if they wanted to export America to Africa. We
have our Harrisburg, our Maryland, our Gettysburg, our West Point, our
White Plains and our Buchanan. Our constitution is exactly the same as
that of the United States. Our flag is like the American flag, with the
exception that it has only one star. English is our national language.
Christianity is the prevailing religious affiliation of Liberia. Many
American churches do not only maintain branches in Liberia, they also
maintain clinics, hospitals and schools, all of which are patterned
after those in America. Many Liberians, including myself, received
education from American missionaries. The average Liberian believes, the
average Liberian believes that their education is never complete until
they attend some American institution of learning.

The list could continue indefinitely, but suffice it to say that we are
proud of our American heritage, in the same way in which we are proud of
our African heritage. We believe that for all future generations, our
ties with America will always be cordial, friendly and strong. Two
questions have always surfaced regarding the Liberian experiment in
freedom. First, if Liberia was founded as an asylum for black people,
why have we been fighting among ourselves, the recent civil war being a
case in point?

Second, why should Liberia be among the poorest nations on earth,
although she maintains special ties with the richest and most powerful
nation on earth? I will attempt to answer the second question first. I
do not think Liberia\'s economic problems are due to lack of American
support. Money alone cannot build a nation. Building a nation has to
derive\--building a nation has never been easy for even those who have
the knowledge and the requisite material resources. Yes, we need all the
financial assistance we can get from America. However, to build that
social order that is truly responsive to our needs and aspirations, we
need to take measures that can address the prerequisites of nation
building. They include establishing an identity, promoting effective
communication, and putting our country first in every situation. These
noble objectives are attainable chiefly through commitment and
dedication to hard work, and effective use of resources that are
available to our people. We are fortunate to have the American example
as a blueprint to emulate.

Establishing an identity means expanding the totality of our experience;
not only what one group of people have done, but the experience of all
the people to discover the beliefs and values it contains, refining them
when necessary, and making them a component of our daily life. This is
vitally important for maintaining our self-respect, confidence and unity
of purpose, which are essential for the building of a nation that
represents the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors. The beginning of
this exercise is recording, analyzing and assessing our history and
cultural heritage to identify factors that unite us and use them for
nation building. In addition to English, we should select an additional
Liberian language for communication, as some of our sister states have
done. We should teach such a language in our schools. It will help
substantially to unite us, improve the learning process and restore our
confidence.

If we study our folklore, our culture and our art, we will realize that
peace and unity are core factors in our philosophy of life, are core
factors in our philosophy of life. But they have been obscured by
political and technical problems. We have been engaged in
self-destructive conflicts largely because circumstances divorced us
from our roots. I believe that we can maintain our characteristics and
still modernize, as the people of Ghana, Japan and South Korea have
done. To achieve true unity of purpose and destiny, we should conduct
universal education to break down once and for all the communication
barrier that continues to mar our relationship with fear and suspicion.
To this end, we should build enough schools in all parts of the country,
train more teachers, and above all make education pay. We also need to
build viable roads, radio and television networks to keep us in constant
touch with one another. Placing our country first means subordinating
our personal interest to the national interests. In the final analysis,
nobody\'s interest is saved---I'm sorry\--served, Is well served once
the national interest is ignored. Liberia will never be able, Liberia
will never safe or secure as long as a few of us are wealthy while the
vast majority of us are poor and dispossessed.

Finally, we should love one another. Love is a key factor to the
building of what President Tolbert called a wholesome, functioning
society. Neither money nor legislation can make people love one another.
I am not talking about being in love with each other; being in love is a
voluntary surrender of your personal interests and freedom to someone
else. I\'m talking about the love that derives from realizing that the
fate of one person in a society is inexplicably tied to the fates of all
members of that society. I mean respecting the rights of your fellow
citizens, treating them as you would have them treat you, giving to A
what belongs to A, and giving to B what belongs to B. I mean helping
your fellow citizens to rise when they fall, rejoicing with them when
they rejoice, and weeping with them when they weep. The mass killings
that took place in our country during the civil war showed our need to
love one another more. I was dismayed to see Liberian soldiers killing
Liberian people, neighbors betraying one another and looting each
other's properties.

Now we come to the first question. Why have we been fighting among
ourselves? The occasional scrimmages that characterize relations among
us merely derive from lack of communication, as I said earlier. There
was a time when each tribal group considered its enclave a nation. The
intrusion of any one from any other tribe into that enclave almost
amounted to invasion. Many of them---many of these tribes therefore
considered their repatriated brothers and sisters as invaders, having
been separated from each other by thousands of years---no, by thousands
of miles and hundreds of years. They found it difficult to understand
each other and accept their common heritage.

These problems are birth pains of the evolution of the Liberian state. I
am happy that Liberians have always risen above their conflicts and
stuck together to prove that the Africans, that Africans or black people
for that matter, are capable of self-rule. Liberia served as an
inspiration and an instrument for the wind of independence that swerved
over Africa during the '60s. She has always championed the cause of
freedom and justice in Africa and the world. There is every hope that
she will emerge from her present crisis to reclaim, once again, her
rightful place in the world community, even better than before.

What can Liberia and America do to make their relations more meaningful
and dynamic? I believe that the ball is largely in the Liberian court.
From my limited understanding of Americans, if you fall, they help you
stand up, but they expect you to walk for yourself. Personally, we have
fallen. We need America's help to stand up. If we shine, America will
shine, because we are America\'s best friends in Africa. We declared war
on Nazi Germany because it declared war on America. We permitted America
to use Liberian territory to conduct part of her military excursion in
North Africa during the Second World War. Thousands of our people are
contributing their skills, their knowledge to build America. We will be
a greater asset, asset to America if we stand on our feet.

What we need urgently are enough roads and electricity to attract
investors who will build factories and business enterprises that will
provide jobs for our people. At present, the level of unemployment in
Liberia is more than 80 percent. If our people get\--If our people go to
work, they will not have time to go to war. Certain infrastructures do
not have to be built free of charge. Liberia is blessed with abundant
natural wealth that can be exploited to repay whatever funds are used
for their construction. Liberia is rich with iron ore, gold, diamonds,
timber and the like. We are also rich in rainfall that can facilitate
viable agricultural enterprises.

The special relations between Liberia and America should be reflected in
certain privileges both Americans and Liberians enjoy in each other\'s
countries. I take the liberty to use this forum to appeal to the
American government to permit Liberians to come to America without undue
restrictions, to live and even work here to support themselves and some
of their relatives back home. Further, the government of America should
encourage investors to establish industries and business enterprises in
Liberia that can help provide job opportunities for many of our people.
This will reduce the necessity of their coming to America.

Liberians are a hard working people\--Liberians are a hard working
people but they lack adequate job opportunities. By helping them help
themselves, the problem of abject poverty which plagues them will be
arrested considerably.

I also take the liberty to appeal to our brothers and sisters, the
African Americans, to come to Liberia\'s aid. They founded Liberia,
therefore they\'re obliged to help develop it, not merely by handing
cash to Liberians, though we need plenty of cash, but by investing in
Liberia, by creating business enterprises with Liberians, by supporting
our educational, medical and industrial enterprises, and by migrating to
Liberia by large numbers. Some of their dreams should take them to
Africa, the land of their origin, to help develop that rich continent
which belongs to them as much as to us. Developing Africa is one way in
which Africans and people of African descent can affirm and defend their
humanity and their claim to that great continent. We can do it because
we have the human and material resources. Americans, too, should have
the privilege to go to our country without undue restrictions, to live
and do business with us.

When I said that the ball for making our ties with America more
meaningful and dynamic is in our court, it is because we need to create
a peaceful and stable environment that can encourage other nations to
help us and invest in our economy. Nobody will help build a nation that
is constantly on a war footing, for what they build today will suddenly
be destroyed tomorrow. Let us learn from our past mistakes and chart a
new course for the development of our country. No human institution is
perfect, but repeating the same mistakes from generation to generation
is indefensible. Let us pass on to our children a heritage they can be
proud of, a heritage they can build upon. Ladies and gentlemen, I
believe that the beginning of this endeavor is courageously examining
the instruments that govern the nation and symbolize her aspirations and
removing from them provisions that are divisive and deterrent to
progress. Insurgents can use them as an excuse to create confusion and
instability among us.

For example, our declaration of independence states, "We the people of
Liberia were originally inhabitants of the United States of North
America." This excludes the indigenous people who constitute more than
95 percent of the population. In fact, that statement is not
historically accurate because our brothers and sisters originally came
from Africa, and only returned there to reclaim their heritage. In the
same instrument, West Africa is referred to as a "barbarous coast." I
believe that Africans may be underdeveloped, but they are not
barbarians. Given the opportunity, they are capable of refinement, like
people anywhere. In our national anthem, Liberia is referred to as a
"land benighted." I believe that Liberians are not benighted. They are
undaunted, which means that they are fearless, brave and strong. It is
our heritage of courage that led to the founding of our great country.
The national seal of the republic states," the love of liberty brought
us here." What about those who are already there? \[laughter\]

The statement should be revised to read simply, "Love, liberty,
justice," to represent the motivations that inspired our ancestors, both
natives and repatriates, to found our dear country. Another matter that
is even more serious is the provision in our constitution that only
black people may become citizens of Liberia and own real property. I
believe that granting---that citizenship should not be granted to people
on the basis of the color of their skin, but on the basis of the
"content of their character" as Dr. King would put it. What we should do
is make laws protecting the interest of everybody, so that one citizen
will not take advantage of another. There are many African countries in
which white people are citizens, making great contributions to the
development of those countries. Ladies and gentlemen, segregating white
people is as bad as segregating black people, or segregating any people,
for that matter, on the basis of their color.

Another priority we should take seriously is putting Liberians in
control of their economy. Regardless of how much assistance we get from
America or from any other developed country, we will never develop if
our economy is left exclusively in the hands of other nationals. We
should compete with them by being enterprising. We should make them our
partners in progress in the true sense, as we often say.

Next, our administration of justice should be beyond repute. Our wages
and salaries, for example, should be restructured to enable us to
survive on our earnings. After working all our productive years, we
should be pensioned upon retirement. There are two reasons for the
Liberian brain drain. Most skilled Liberians and most skilled workers
neither get the necessary equipment nor the compensation to which they
are entitled when serving their country. Second, since there were, oh,
when they retire, sorry\--when they retire from activity duty they are
often forgotten, except those with political weight or connections. You
have to be a politician to get a decent income from the job you do, or a
pension at retirement. Consequently, corruption has become endemic in
our society.

Finally, we should encourage our people to cultivate within them a
burning desire to improve the quality of their life. As President
Tolbert taught us, we should not wait for others to do for us what we
can and ought to do for ourselves. We should regard the help other
people give us as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, our own
efforts and initiatives. In fact, others will help you only if they are
convinced that you are determined to help yourself. In addition, we
should be impatient for progress, by not waiting for tomorrow to do what
we can do today. It would take these and other measures that are
amenable to progress, not only America, but that also many other
industrial nations of the world will become our partners in progress.
Long live Liberian-American relations; may they rise to unsuspected
heights of achievements to ensure posterity for our two countries and
peoples. I thank you.

\[applause\]

Ambassador Charles A. Minor:

Well, I can\'t add anything more. I can only promise as representative
of the president and the government, I think it\'s a good prepared paper
that should be sent to the Commission on Government Reform.

\[applause\]

I wish to join in saying to you, Dr. Sankawulo, thank you very much for
your thoughtful and inspiring paper. We didn\'t expect any less of you,
knowing your background, and that\'s why we were proud to have you as
our guest speaker this afternoon.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are fast approaching the time for the next
panel. It is therefore my duty and pleasure now to ask the moderator and
members of the panel to come forward. The moderator, of course, is Mr.
Kwame Clements, a Liberian national, who has been in the journalistic
profession for a number of years. He worked at home and was director of
News and Publication. He impressed the United States State Department
through the embassy, that he was awarded several grants to study the
American political process, and he came to this country and received
additional education in this field. Returning home, he continued to be
an advocate for freedom, for free press, and for good governance, and
landed up incarcerated.

He therefore decided to seek another place where he could enjoy a little
degree of freedom and pursue his great objectives in life, so he came
back to the states where he went to George Washington University Law
School, and obtained a doctor juris---a juris doctorate degree, and
while there, of course, attained, the highest grades in his program.
Kwame has a BSC degree in economics from the University of Liberia, and
he is a practicing bar member of the firm Arnold & Porter, and in
addition to that he continues his journalistic profession by being
responsible for "The African World" program that features guests from
all over Africa, and is put on the U.S. television weekly. It is
therefore my pleasure to invite my co-patriot, Kwame Clements, Esq., to
moderate this next session.

\[applause\]

Kwame Clements:

I thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador, for a very nice introduction.
Ladies and gentlemen, our next panel will be discussing rebuilding the
Liberian state, a new era in U.S.-Liberia relations. I think the topic
speaks for itself. It says that there is work to do to rebuild our
country, and that rebuilding process will necessarily require a new look
at the relationship between Liberia and the United States. Our panelists
will be \-- \[inaudible\]. Is the secretary here? Well, our panelist
will be Ms. Alice Dear. I hope our second panelist will join us soon.
But talking about rebuilding \[inaudible\], talking about rebuilding the
Liberian state and the new era relationship between the United States
and Liberia. You\'ve heard a lot today about the history of Liberia-U.S.
relations.

Often the narrative of that relation casts Liberia\--often the narrative
of that relation casts Liberia in the role as the recipient, and the
U.S. as the constant provider. I beg to differ, because I think the
historical objective facts speak differently. Liberia has been there for
the U.S. at crucial moments. Our last speaker spoke about the role
Liberia played in helping the U.S. in the Second World War. I\'d like to
go back earlier to the First World War. Liberia originally gravitated
towards Europe, because of what we heard \-- the U.S. never established
a relationship early with Liberia; Europe was its greatest trading
partner. And at the outbreak of the First World War, Germany was
Liberia\'s principle trading partner. And so Liberia assumed a position
of neutrality initially at the outbreak of that war. But pressure came
to bear from the U.S., and the country declared war on Germany and sided
with the Allies. But Liberia paid dearly. Liberia's shipping
traffic\--Liberian ships bringing goods to Monrovia were torpedoed by
German submarines, crippling the Liberian economy, and Monrovia itself
was bombed.

After the First World War, government-to-government relations waned off,
but at the beginning of the Second World War the U.S. would come calling
again on Liberia. President Roosevelt, on his way from the Casablanca
Conference, would visit Monrovia and negotiate deals that would allow
the U.S. to build bases in Liberia to help supply the Allied war effort
up north.

At the outbreak of the Cold War, Liberia, again, was a strong, strong
ally of the U.S. Perhaps no other country other than
Israel---maybe\--voted as consistently alongside the U.S. than Liberia.
And major votes afterwards in the General Assembly at the Security
Council. The outbreak of that Cold War effort saw the U.S. build a Voice
of America station to help its propaganda effort around the world in
Liberia, and \[unintelligible\] navigation satellite station that
provided guidance for the U.S. Naval fleet in Liberia, only one of seven
or so in the world; the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, the largest embassy in
all of Africa, a diplomatic clearinghouse for U.S. diplomatic traffic.

So we come to this relationship not always with our hands out. We have
been giving, too, and that past, that record should inform us as we seek
to structure a new set of relationships with the U.S., a relationship
that I say is important for both the U.S.'s moral and strategic
interests. Or put another way, the moral and strategic imperatives for
the U.S. to see that relationship in its own interest. Where else but
Liberia can helping a country build itself anew \-- we send a signal to
the rest of Africa, and for that matter the rest of the world, that the
U.S. will stand by its friends, and help the U.S. win more friends. So
it\'s that bit of background I want us to keep in mind as we talk now
about rebuilding, or thinking anew the U.S.-Liberia relationship.

And let me start by introducing our panelist Ms. Alice Dear, a banker, a
diplomat and an Africanist. She\'s founder of A.M. Dear & Associates, a
business and investment advisory boutique that specializes in attracting
private sector investment to Africa. She was the U.S. executive director
in \[of\] the African Development Bank \[1994-2000\] serving as a
\[the\] U.S. representative on the board of directors of the African
Development Bank that\'s responsible for fostering economic growth in
Africa \[this position conferred ambassadorial rank\]. Before that she
served as a vice president for Africa and the Middle East in \[the\]
Irving Trust Company\--now the Bank of New York. She\'s traveled much
across Africa; fluent in French. She\'s got an M.B.A. from Pace
University, and a B.A. from Howard University. Ladies and gentlemen,
it\'s my pleasure to present to you Ms. Dear.

\[applause\]

Ambassador Alice Dear:

Good afternoon. It\'s certainly a pleasure for me to be here. When
Ambassador Minor telephoned me to invite me, I had not known that this
was going to be such an educational opportunity for me. This has been an
exciting day, and David \[Smith Jr.\], your enthusiasm has pumped
everyone up, I think. I think it\'s appropriate that I be here, and I
think this is why Ambassador Minor extended the invitation to me,
reminding me that I was a longtime friend of Liberia.

My ties to Liberia are probably a little unique, certainly a little
different; not the normal path for private sector. You heard my
background as a banker \-- commercial banker and development banker, but
my links to Liberia date back to my early days. After I left college,
after I left Howard University, I became a flight attendant with Pan Am,
and as you longtime African travelers may recall, at that time Pan Am
was the only airline flying to Africa, and Liberia was the main layover
point.

So all of our flights into Africa had layovers in Liberia, and this is
how I first came to become close to Liberia, and those friendships
formed so long ago have been maintained, and I have consistently been
involved in Africa, starting from 1969 when I first joined Pan Am up
until today. So those early links to Liberia date back to me having
contact with everyday people who, you know, turn out to be, over time,
government officials and eventual heads of state. So I know the
president dating back for 25 years, when I was a young banker at Irving
Trust Company and she was the Deputy Minister of Finance. And Charles
and I know each other from our banking days as well. So the ties to
Liberia are long and deep, and they\'ve changed over the years, but the
interest has always been there, and the friendships have always
remained.

I can recall my very first trip to Liberia, and David, this goes back to
some of your comments. And you forced me to start thinking about my
earliest days in Liberia, because as you talked about the history I can
remember the very first trip I took. And at that time crew members would
all get together, and one of the first things most people wanted to do
was go to the beach. And I can recall getting into the van, and a driver
was taking us to the beach, and a senior crew member jumped in the front
seat and said, "Let me tell you all about Liberia." And he starts giving
the history of Liberia to the junior crew members. And I got very
annoyed because he assumed that the driver, who was Liberian, knew
nothing about Liberia, and I stopped him right away. And of course, I
did not gain any friends on the crew, but I stopped him and let him know
I\'d rather hear about the Liberian history from the driver, from the
Liberian who was present.

And the driver was proud and shared history with us. And it was the
beginning of recognizing how people tend to treat Africans in general
\-- how crew members would come in, and I guess they represented the
ugly American in some instances; in other instances, the good American.

But you saw a microcosm of how people treated others. And it stayed in
my mind for a very long time; well, obviously even until today if it\'s
coming back into my memory. But it showed some inequities that were very
disturbing to me very early, and it certainly resulted in my reaching
out to know more about Liberians, because the crew members were not the
people I wanted to spend my few days in Liberia with each time I
traveled through there. So I became friends with airline personnel and,
you know, as we ventured out into the city, met other people and then
were introduced to other Africans who were living in Liberia. And over
time, when I went into banking and started traveling to Liberia as a
banker, I met government and political and financial people who have
remained good contacts and friends to this very day.

So I\'m interested in Liberia. I have a long-term interest. I feel very
deeply tied to its history, but I\'m so happy today to be a student, and
to learn so much more, David, and as I said, one of the exports from
Liberia needs to be David\'s energy. I think Liberia finds itself at a
very exciting moment, and as we talked, and as David, you made your
comments, and Dr. Batiste, as you spoke, too, about Liberia\'s history,
when Art Collins talked about the importance of a private-public
partnership \-- not his business, but the generic private-public
partnership \-- and talked about Bob Johnson\'s trip, I thought about
the unique opportunity Liberia is to forge ties with the African
diaspora that is being sought by the African Union in general. As the
African Union reaches out to the African diaspora as the sixth region of
the union, it\'s reaching out not only to the diaspora around the world,
but certainly the African American diaspora is an important part of
that, and it reaches out to its own diaspora living in the various
regions of the world.

But I was thinking, as I listened to the others talk, that this is such
a unique opportunity for Liberia to reach out to African Americans, as
part of its diaspora. And I hope it\'s not an opportunity that we\'ll
let pass by, because I think there really is \-- obviously there is a
story to be told, but it needs to be put together, as you say, David, in
ways that people can receive it better, that young people can receive
it, and academicians can receive it, as well. It\'s information that has
to be told because it\'s just bits and pieces, and I learned, as I
mentioned to you, I knew about John Russwurm, but I never knew about him
leaving to go to Liberia. So there are a lot of pieces that even people
who think they know a lot about African history and players important to
African American history \-- need to have those pieces put together and
added.

The interest that I took over the years, as I moved from my Pan Am days
to banking, took on the private sector involvement in Africa, corporate
involvement.

And I was involved in financing, and so it was very early, very early in
my career that I became involved in the finances in Liberia. And trade
financing and general correspondent banking was the area of focus of my
financial career. And later, when I went into work with the African
Development Bank as a development banker, I became very sensitive to the
development needs. And when I was a commercial banker I was accused, by
my colleagues, as having a development banker\'s heart, and then as a
development banker I was accused of having a commercial banker\'s heart.
So I think someplace in between is where I found a level of comfort, and
I certainly had become very sensitive to the needs of private sector
development, generally, in Africa. And that range includes, again, the
public-private sector that Art had mentioned earlier. U.S. government is
playing an active role, but there is certainly a more active role on a
daily basis that\'s touching people, that\'s played by NGOs
\[non-governmental organizations\]. And then there is the private sector
role that is equally important.

But there is another role as well that we have to remember that can be
played at all those levels, and that is the Liberian diaspora in the
U.S. They have a very important role to play, both within the NGO
community, within the private sector community \-- and I shouldn\'t say
both, because there are even more areas as entrepreneurs themselves,
whether they come back to Liberia or not. But as they help to create and
build that bridge that you talked about, Dr. Sankawulo \-- I think you
bridged very well the historic and the academic with practicalities of
today. There is a need to create job opportunities, there is a need to
invest, there is a need to educate and to strengthen health facilities.
There is all kinds of -- there's all kinds of work to be done, and there
is a cadre of people who need to do it, and it\'s Americans, it\'s
African Americans, it\'s Liberians joining hands to create that
partnership that will make a difference.

I didn\'t have the opportunity to travel on the trip with Bob Johnson,
and I\'m looking forward to Secretary Slater talking to us a little bit
about that trip. But certainly, we all know that infrastructure is very
important, and there is a lot that has to dictate, a lot of rebuilding
that has to take place in Liberia, as it does all across Africa. Liberia
is in a particular dire need for rebuilding, and there are some
opportunities that I hope that we\'ll learn a little bit more about on
the corporate level, and the private sector will get involved in. Over
the years, my passion has really developed on women\'s empowerment, in
small and medium scale businesses, and I really think that aside from
the private sector, we need to help build infrastructure in major
projects. There is a lot of work to be done by small and medium scale
enterprises because I think more people are reached, actually, and the
sizing of projects is more appropriate for Africa when we talk about
small and medium.

Certainly when you compare the existence of small and medium scale
businesses in the U.S., those are actually comparable to major
businesses that would be on the continent, but if we look at the small
and medium scale as viewed from the African context, we\'re talking
about reaching more people and we\'re talking about mobilizing \[an\]
entrepreneurial class in Africa that can be helped, that can be promoted
and supported with not great amounts of money. And I think that this is
where a lot of us can play an important role.

There are a number of funds that have been created. There are a lot of
different kinds of support, financial support being offered to the
developing world in general, and I think we have to be diligent in
identifying some of these funds and looking at some of the opportunities
for us to direct these \-- the attention and the funding to Liberia. A
couple of areas of development that are underway now I\'ll share with
you, and I\'m sure some of you may actually be involved in them. Others
may have read about some of the activities.

But certainly at the U.S. government level, we know that USAID, the
Agency for International Development, is actively involved in the \--
well, to my knowledge, certainly health and education, but I\'m sure it
goes beyond those two fields. Someone, I think, was from NDI \[National
Democratic Institution\] earlier, and certainly they played an important
role among the NGO group. But within the government, USAID, the African
Development Foundation (ADF) is working at the grassroots level in
assisting and promoting entrepreneurs in several areas. And not long
ago, I guess the end of 2006, I believe it was, that ADF had actually
developed support and investments in eight diverse projects in Liberia
that ranged from agriculture to business services, covered a wide area
of agricultural processing, textile industries that are going to be, I
think, the areas in which growth will take place generally among small
businesses for export purposes.

Liberia is also eligible for AGOA, the Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act, and AGOA just completed its annual forum in Ghana, just this past
week. I\'m sure Liberia was represented, Ambassador, and I hope that
there will be some opportunities that come out of there, but certainly
just reading some of the responses from people who participated in AGOA,
the articles covered more \-- the press releases covered more
interviewing Ghanaian entrepreneurs on the ground, but I certainly know
that Africans from all over had come, had attended the forum. And as
they talked about the involvement generally in, on the entrepreneurial
level and the contacts that were made and the networks that were
strengthened, it\'s typically textile and agricultural processing that
is really touching more people. The greatest numbers, when you look at
AGOA, and the exports to the U.S. are, of course, overwhelmingly in oil.
But we know that that\'s not really touching the largest number of
people.

It's the smaller businesses \-- as I mentioned, it's the smaller,
medium-scale businesses that are going to make a difference. And so
these areas, certainly agricultural processing, textile development,
will be one area \-- some areas in which everyday people, small
entrepreneurs can take advantage. All the way back \-- if I go back to
my early days in Liberia in 1975 \-- I was a little ahead of my time but
I ended up starting a business with a friend that I just recently
revived last year, but as I traveled back and forth to Africa, people
would always ask me, "Where did you get that? I want that. Get one for
me when you go back." And I used to give things away, saying, "Well,
okay, I\'ll pick it up when I go back to Africa." And very often things
would change. I lived in Zaire for a while, and had gotten a lot of art
and crafts in Zaire, and of course, you know, things changed radically
several times over in Zaire, but what finally \-- what I finally
realized is that things change so rapidly in Africa that just because
you left there two weeks ago and you\'re going back next month doesn\'t
mean you\'re going to find the same thing there.

And I ended up \-- we ended up starting a business, and a lot of crafts
from Liberia were part of our inventory. And we were working with women
there who tie-dyed T-shirts for us, and we had clothing made; tie-dyed
T-shirts and matching skirts. And we thought we were making a fashion
statement; we were a little bit ahead of our time, though \[laughs\].
But I still have -- but I still use regularly raffia woven placemats.
I\'m talking about 1975 \[laughs\]. And I still have these. So I can
attest to the quality of crafts that existed in Liberia back in those
days. And I think as we talk about training and developing businesses,
certainly a lot of skills were lost over the years. And a lot of the
talent that existed in those days has even left -- has certainly not
been passed on to a new generation. But there are opportunities for
those crafts and those craft skills to be redeveloped.

And certainly some of the work that will be done with women in general,
women entrepreneurs and traders will involve training and improving the
quality of products that are now being made, to make certain that they
are able to be marketed to a very demanding U.S. market. But I think
that there, again, is an opportunity to tie people into the history of
Liberia and the U.S., and to make the Liberian product a product that
might be sought after, and if only for those historical links, it might
be distinguished from products coming out of Ghana and southern Africa
and a lot of other areas.

We all know and see advertisements for the whole RED campaign, for
Bono\'s work with \-- I\'m forgetting the name of his company, Edun \--
and there is a developing market for premium brands, 100 percent cotton,
and there is a story to be told. And I think the story, intertwined with
products, can make a statement about Liberia. And that might be
something for us to take a look at. I think there needs to be some
brainstorming this afternoon, maybe after Secretary Slater, you speak,
maybe we can talk about some of the real ways in which we can get things
moving. But I certainly think that Liberia is in an interesting and
unique situation to develop the history and make those links with actual
products, and market it in a different way.

I mentioned the role of NGOs, and as we talked about bringing in and
developing certain support for not just market women, but small and
medium-scale enterprises, NGOs are playing an important role.
Coincidentally, both Secretary Slater and I serve on the board of
Africare, and Africare is actively involved in Liberia, and has been
dating back to '92. It stayed throughout the war, and has been actively
engaged in health facilities and in education at a community level, and
had a partnership \-- I\'m not sure if the partnership still exists, but
did have a partnership with Johns Hopkins; but, basically providing
education at the community level in both health and traditional
education.

Currently there is another initiative underway. There is a women\'s fund
that\'s been put together, and it\'s called the Sirleaf Market Women\'s
Fund, and it was obviously promoted and inspired by President Johnson
Sirleaf. There are a number of individuals and a number of corporations
that have come together, and so far \$2 million has been raised, and the
whole objective of the fund is to develop the markets across Liberia.
And so far there has been a needs assessment, and about 10 markets have
been looked at. There is a study that should be completed by the end of
the year that will look at approximately 84 markets across the \--
across the country, and look at ways to develop those markets and to
strengthen them, to train the women in \-- well, strengthen in trading
practices in general, but training them in entrepreneurship. And again,
there is another role to play, because so far across the continent, as
individuals, as NGOs have become involved in helping local groups,
helping NGOs locally, helping associations of crafts people across the
continent, the important piece that they\'ve left out in many instances
is the market to sell to. So if people are developing \-- if women\'s
groups and associations are developing crafts to be sold abroad and
they\'re only marketing them to local tourists, obviously there is a
problem.

So this whole new campaign that has been launched RED \-- by Bono, the
RED campaign, by Edun, by a number \-- and promoted by a number of
entertainment figures could easily be replicated, I think, for everyday
people like us to be involved, and to promote the kinds of crafts that
come out of Liberia. The Liberian Education Trust is another NGO that,
again, was inspired by President Sirleaf. She wanted to make certain
that educational initiatives were, were identified, and so the Liberian
Education Trust was created, and their whole raison d'être is to build
schools, to train teachers, and to make sure that there are scholarships
available for Liberian students. So there are those kinds of
opportunities for us to get involved, regardless of where your interests
are, whether it\'s health, whether it\'s education, whether it\'s
private sector entrepreneurship. There are areas to become involved in.

For the Liberian diaspora \-- and I think it\'s an important source of
income to Liberia, and I\'m sure there is already a lot of money being
transferred back home, and we know the importance of funds being sent
back to families globally. We know the importance of that. But with the
Liberian diaspora, there's \-- I think there is a certain approach to
take that should concentrate on the numbers that are located in a
certain area. And I know that Rhode Island happens to have a large,
large percentage of Liberian \-- I don\'t want to call them refugees,
but Liberian citizens who have settled in Rhode Island \-- and
coincidentally, at one of the -- at a fundraiser for Liberian Education
Trust, I guess it was the first fundraiser in New York last year, last
September, one of my was from Liberia -- no, one of my American guests
was from Rhode Island, and we ended up taking some photos, and he went
back to Rhode Island. And I wrote up an article and had the photo of him
with the president published in the paper. And I didn\'t know they were
going to publish everything I wrote; I wrote this long article thinking
that they would edit it, but the whole thing was published, and the
number of photos I\'d sent \-- I thought they\'d select one, but they
published all the photos in the local newspaper \[laughs\].

So my friend \[laughs\], who happened to be the subject in, you know,
the photos, ended up getting all these calls from Liberians in Rhode
Island. So he\'s engaged now. He had made a commitment already at the
reception, but now he\'s been invited as a speaker, and he knows that
that means, you know, additional financial commitment later. But it was
just an indication to me of how easy it is to get involved, how easy it
is for all of us to get involved, and we can easily be a voice for
Liberia with not \-- without great effort. People need to be sensitized
to the importance of being engaged. I mean, we certainly have heard and
been inspired by a history that is very different from any that we\'ve
had, that gives a direct connection for all of us, whether we\'re
Americans, African Americans, if we\'re residing here. There is this
connection that we have all learned about, and it deepened for those of
us who knew a lot already about Liberian history. It\'s a unique story,
and all of us could be that important voice that reaches out to other
people.

And it\'s that kind of partnership that is going to be very, very
significant and can make a difference in Liberia. And each of us have to
undertake that as friends of Liberia. And I think we can all identify as
friends of Liberia, because we\'re here. Each of us can take on that
responsibility, and know where to go as well. Know that there is a very
enthusiastic historian who could provide us with any background
information we need, know that there is an ambassador who is ready to
give us supporting documents, know that there are Liberians with
information available to us. And know also that there are Americans that
are deeply engaged in doing the work necessary to build these bridges.
If I mention one last thing, I\'d like to just talk a bit more about
women\'s empowerment, and underscore that. Clearly, we have the story of
the century with the first African woman being named president of
Liberia, and not just named president of Liberia, but a woman who has
been deeply committed for a very long time in empowering women.

And I mentioned the Market Women's Fund and Liberian Education Trust,
and that comes from a deep commitment by the president, and shows where
her interests lie, and her interests are certainly in empowering women
and doing something for market women, many of whom represent her
strongest and I guess probably most faithful of her constituents. The
opportunities abound in the kind of funds that are being created. I
mentioned just one fund, the Sirleaf Market Women\'s Fund that\'s been
organized specifically for Liberia, but there are a number of other
funds that have been created, and there is a growing tendency, a growing
tendency among social investors to look at these funds, because many
people who are investing or who are willing to invest discretionary
amounts of money want to see a difference that they make.

I\'m not talking about the large private equity investors; I\'m talking
about everyday citizens who have the ability to make a small investment,
but want to see that it works, want to see that it\'s making a
difference in someone\'s life. So the kinds of social investment funds
that are being developed now are really attracting a large number of
people. Acumen is one organization that has funds, but there are several
that are being created and have been created. And I don\'t have the
names of a couple of new funds that have been created, but Nicholas
Kristof, the "New York Times" journalist, wrote in one of his articles
\-- I was just reading the article, and he did a little blog on the
side. He had taken a trip to Malawi and had written a story for the
"Times" in general about the trip to Malawi. But he wrote in his blog
that he visited a recipient of the small investment he had made through
one of these social investment funds. And it was \$100, and it was to a
baker in Malawi.

And he said he showed up at this baker\'s little kiosk, and he knows the
man never dreamed he would ever meet any of the anonymous faces to him
that were actually helping him expand his business, but he had a photo
of him talking with the baker and talked about how enthusiastic the
baker was in telling him what he was able to do with this small
business, with just less than \$1,000 that was invested by a number of
Americans contributing to this fund. He was able to expand his bakery,
and then that expansion translated to him being able to educate his
children, put them in school. And I think it\'s that kind of story that
would resonate with people who have something to give, but don\'t know
exactly how to go about it. And it seems to me that we certainly could
identify those kinds of companies, those kinds of small businesses in
Liberia.

As I mentioned, Africa Development Foundation invested in eight
companies, eight particular companies. It was a total of \$2 million, so
these are relatively large amounts of money, but we certainly know that
there would be these very small investors, the kinds of investors who
would be initially helped by, say, the Market Women\'s Fund, but would
grow, and could then benefit from a larger amount of money being
invested. And think about that kind of story, where you have this actual
identification of an individual, and you can actually make a difference
in that person\'s life, but stay linked to it. And your interest goes
back to there being this tie in Liberia.

So I think there is a lot of work for us to do. There is a lot of
interest that we need to generate and develop and inspire, and I hope
that each of us here will think about the role they can play
individually in reaching out to your friends, reaching out to your
colleagues, reaching out to anybody who will listen and hear about
Liberia\'s story. It\'s a good one, and we all know the importance of
marketing. We can be those marketers. We can be the ones that make the
difference. So I\'ll stop here and look forward to us being more engaged
in questions and answers later this afternoon, and hope we\'ll
brainstorm and figure out ways that each of us can be directly engaged.
Thank you.

\[applause\]

Kwame Clement:

Thank you very much, Ambassador Dear. The next speaker is Rodney E.
Slater. He\'s a partner at the premiere Washington, D.C. firm of Patton
Boggs, where he specializes in providing his clients advice on how to
bridge the gap between transportation capacity and demand through
public-private partnerships and innovative and creative findings. His
expertise in that area is not hard to understand. He previously served
as \[former\] President Clinton\'s transportation secretary, where he
pushed through innovative legislation, including the Transportation
Equity Act, so over \$200 billion would go to surface transportation
improvement in the U.S. He\'s a man of many firsts, having served as
head of the Federal Highway Commission, where he was the first African
American to head that organization. His roots in transportation go back
to Arkansas; he headed the Arkansas Highway Commission. Fresh out of law
school, he served as assistant attorney general to President Clinton.
Eastern Michigan graduate, Arkansas University juris doctor, served on
many boards, United Way, for one. Africare, as you heard. And if you
ever go to watch the Nationals play baseball at RFK, you must thank him.
He was part of that investor group that brought baseball back to
Washington after decades and decades of absence. I think we\'re pretty
lucky to have him. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Slater.

\[applause\]

Former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater:

Well, first of all, I\'d like to say that I feel as if I\'m the lucky
one to have the opportunity to join with you in this symposium; to be on
a panel with my dear friend, Alice Dear, Ambassador Dear, and to also
have the good fortune of meeting Attorney Clements for the first time
today. Ambassador Minor, Mrs. Minor, please know that I am very, very
pleased to be here. To all of the friends and partners of Liberia, to
the members of the embassy staff, and to all who have gathered, this is
a day of celebration. It\'s not often that any institution can celebrate
over 160 years of existence, and through the ups and downs to come
forth, as you do today, clearly, with the reflection on the past and
some appreciation for the present, but more with an eye on the future;
embracing again, really, the dreams that gave birth to this wonderful
country some 160 years ago.

It is said that once the mind reaches forth to embrace a new idea, it
can never, ever return to its former state \-- never, ever return to its
former state. I was watching television a few nights ago, and I happened
upon a station where they were playing the second generation of the
story "Roots." And all of us are familiar with that story. I remember, I
was in college, and I\'ll tell you, there was something about the story,
something about the connection that gave me a sense of grounding, a
sense that my deep -- that my roots ran far deeper than I ever imagined;
clearly before Arkansas, and clearly before my family\'s coming to the
United States. And I reflected on how difficult it was, probably for the
first time, because when I saw the movie some years ago I think that my
\-- it was all so new, so you couldn\'t really anticipate the next move.
You were just waiting to experience it when you got to it, the next
scene.

And with so many stars involved, it was also interesting to see who
would come around this next corner, who would open this next door, to
see this beautiful bouquet in many, many respects, this beautiful
bouquet of all of the talent that sprang forth again from the many seeds
that were planted in years past that gave meaning to the story "Roots."
But what struck me, watching it this time, was the struggle, and just
making the connections. You know, you could go back so far on one
occasion, and then it seems like Alex, poor Alex would hit a brick wall,
and then he would find himself able to turn another page. And lo and
behold, it would lead him back ever farther and ever farther. And it
seems like the farther back he went, clearly the farther forward he
came, because through the study of this beautiful and wonderful history
and the making of the connection, he was able to draw links, and to lay
out the chain, the chain of which he was a part, and an important link.

And the chain he would give form to by sitting on the porch and
listening to the stories, those beautiful and rich and profound stories
of struggle and sacrifice, of pain and of triumph; those beautiful and
wonderful stories. I remember some years ago, just after President
Clinton had written his book, he said to me, "Look. I know you\'re near
50." He said, "I think any person who has the good fortune of living 50
years should write a book, because there are stories that deserve to be
told." There are the sacrifices that deserve to be revisited, so that
you are ever conscious of that which you have overcome. And thus, you
are able to muster the will, the will and the strength and the resolve
to believe anew, and to act on that belief, believing that the best days
are yet ahead of you, yet ahead of your family, yet ahead of a country.

I think that this is the spirit that draws us here today. That is the
spirit that many will enjoy as you gather on Saturday night for the
wonderful time that I\'m sure will be had by all then. That is the
spirit that you can see in the twinkle of Alice\'s eyes when she talks
about those early experiences, and what she purchased, and the fact that
it still has value. It still has value. And the value is not just in the
product itself. The value is in the crossing of the pond, and sort of
retracing one\'s steps. Because that\'s what Alex Haley was doing. He
was going back. And there is this point in the story where he goes to
Annapolis, and he cannot figure out, from what he sees there, how it
came together in that moment when his ancestor, Kunta Kinte arrived
there. And he realized, looking back across the Atlantic, that to find
the answer he had to retrace that middle passage and make his way back
across the Atlantic. And then where did he go, upon arriving there? Not
to a library. Not to a Library of Congress.

\[laughter\]

No. No. No. No. He went to the storyteller, the person who could recall
generations upon generations upon generations, upon generations. And I
remember the scene where he was sitting there and hearing the stories,
and how he would nod off a little bit, because it was pretty long. I
mean, the gentleman had gone back many, many generations. And he
actually passed the part where he said "Kunta Kinte," and Alex, he was
just asleep, and then he said, "but he left his village," and he was
going out to find some wood or something for a drum, and all of a
sudden, all of a sudden, you know, there is that drumbeat. There is that
drumbeat. And it\'s a beat that echoes beyond the expression of the word
itself. It is something that is actually alive, and has life; that story
that merely needs to be tapped for one to come to grips with his or her
place along that continuum, as a part of that story. And so we have him,
then, hearing the echo of the drum, after the word "drum" has been
expressed.

And then he wakes up, out of his \-- not sleep, but daze \-- burdened
by, \-- burdened by the trials and the vicissitudes of the moment.
Burdened by what you see on television, or what you\'ve been taught over
years, and you wonder whether it\'s true and accurate; burdened by just
the wear and tear of going through a day of life and experiencing the
common day demands of life. So in this daze, there is this drumbeat that
echoes from the word "drum," that represents the connection between
Kunta Kinte leaving his village and going to find wood for his drum,
never to be seen again in the flesh. But then when Alex hears the echo
of the drum, he says, "repeat that, repeat that, repeat that." And then
in that moment he finds the connection, the connection. I think that
this celebration is about finding the connection. Interestingly, though,
it was a connection that was given birth much in the same way that
Alex\'s journey was given birth; from here to there, going back across
the middle passage and planting a seed.

You know, a lot has transpired since 1816 and the establishment of the
American Colonization Society. A lot has transpired in this country,
where individuals during that time saw a need to create this body
because the promises and the aspirations and the hopes and dreams of
this country were not being realized for people of color. And they \--
through their own initiative, and clearly with the help of others \--
wanted to reconnect to that which was before, and that which was real,
that they might find, with their eyes on the future, that which could be
real again. And so 1816 \-- and then over the years of struggle, 1847,
and this nation, Liberia, comes forth. And Joseph Roberts \-- look at
that link \-- Joseph Roberts to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. It covers a lot
of years, it covers a lot of good times, it covers a lot of difficult
times.

It is important for us, as we celebrate, to try to recall them all, and
in doing so, to try to believe, yet again, in reconnecting with that
which is real, though past; a belief that that which we can create in
the future can be real as well, when it comes to connecting our two
countries as never before, when it comes to tapping the resources of our
two countries as never before, when it comes to lifting up and locking
hands in a way as never before, when it comes to realizing that the best
is yet to come, as never before.

Alice mentioned the trip with Bob Johnson to Liberia. This was my first
trip. As secretary, I had an opportunity to go, but things got a little
difficult and that trip was canceled. I had hoped that I could walk
along the runway of the airport and see it as Rev. Jesse Jackson
\[*sic*, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) \] has described it. I was
hoping that I could take the resources of the Department of
Transportation, 100,000 strong, in the way that President Clinton had
challenged me and others in our administration to do. But again, because
of the heightened conflict that was a trip never to be made.

But Ambassador Minor, I cannot tell you how I felt when I got the
opportunity to travel with Bob Johnson. And what is interesting about
that trip -- and I want to come to a close with these comments. I
clearly went knowing how important government-to-government relations
could be, and I think Alice did a wonderful job connecting those dots
when she talked about USAID and she talked about the Millennium
Challenge Account and she talked about AGOA, and that initiative of
going forward. All of that is very, very important. Having good
governmental diplomatic leadership and connections is, very, very
important. But I\'ll tell you, when I got a chance to make the trip with
Bob I saw something that I probably could not have seen as a member of
the administration, because clearly I would have been wearing that hat
and looking at the experience through that prism.

But going with Bob, an accomplished entrepreneur, and seeing the kind of
excitement that could be generated with that trip by the head of state,
or a high official in the Department of State, or some other member of
our Cabinet here in the U.S., or whatever \-- but to see the kind of
connection that he could make, and to see the response, the various
acknowledgements in the paper, and on various other \-- many
communications reports, radio or whatever \-- the way that we were
greeted on two occasions by President Johnson Sirleaf, and the unique
way in which the two of them interfaced; she with her background in
economics, and he with his background in business, and the nature of
that conversation. And her sending forth the clear message that it is
good for me to argue about the kinds of policy changes that must be made
to clearly bring about the kind of good governance infrastructure and
policies and procedures that have to be put in place.

But at the end of the day, I have got to create job opportunities for my
citizens. We have got to get the lights on. We\'ve got to get the roads
built. We\'ve got to get the schools improved. And what are the things
that you, that business, can do to help me in that regard? And how can
we work together to make that happen? And clearly, you know that this
trip was born out of \-- and again, this is quite interesting, the
Clinton Global \[Initiative\] summit, which is as much about private
sector engagement as public sector engagement. And I\'m sure that
that\'s because the president -- (former- President Clinton \-- when it
comes to public service, he\'s kind of run his course in that regard,
right? But you know that there\'s still much to be done. So, how do you
position yourself, and how do you use your influence, and how do you use
your relationships to bring about a positive good, much like it was
reported just the other day with former President Nelson Mandela, and
how he\'s putting together this Elders group; again committed, after
serving their terms, to bringing about the good days and the good
experiences that they know can come, just as surely as day follows
night.

And so that is how we were welcomed. And I got a chance to walk on the
roadways, and I got a chance to see the airport, and I got the chance to
see the runway, and we visited the port, and we actually got out of town
a bit. And we were able to see the roadways along the countryside, and
people, people excited, excited about not only their current state, and
the reality of the current state, but excited about what could be built
with the kind of leadership that President Johnson Sirleaf provides, and
with the kind of partnership that was there in evidence with our
presence. And so I am pleased to be here to work with all of you to
celebrate a milestone, 160 years. And I\'m also here with all of you to
rededicate myself, as I know you are rededicating yourselves, to the
task yet at hand. And I want to close with this. 160 years is a long
time, but in the stream of life, it\'s not.

So I want to end where I began. You see, Alex Haley with, with the
reoccurring line in the story for him \-- you know, whether he was
debating with his father about whether he\'d go back to Alcorn and get
an undergraduate degree, and then go on to get his master's and his
doctorate, which really is what his father wanted him to do \-- he
wanted him to be a professor, as he was a professor, at Arkansas AM&N
College \[now the University of Arkansas Pin Bluff\]. Professor Haley
actually taught my in-laws. And interestingly, he\'s buried in Little
Rock, Ark., in the military cemetery not far from my own grandfather.
And every time I go home, I try to visit not only my grandfather\'s
gravesite, but the gravesite of the father of an individual who has
become very much my mentor, George Haley, Alex Haley\'s brother.

But the point I really want to make is that Alex Haley was thinking
about the fact that we\'re given this life to live, and how do we make
it matter? How do we make it matter beyond the date of birth and the
date of death? How do we make it matter in between? And his father
clearly was saying, make it matter by becoming someone that your family
can be proud of, someone that your race can be proud of, someone that
your nation can be proud of. And he wanted that as well, but he didn\'t
think that he could fulfill his own aspirations by merely becoming, in
his own mind, a professor, because there was a hunger that had to be
satisfied that this would not satisfy.

And what he just kept coming back to was the fact that he knew some of
the story of his family, but he just didn\'t know all of it. And he
would come in contact with people who could go back generation after
generation after generation, and he recognized that there was this wall
that prevented him from doing so. But almost on a daily basis, there
were those in his family who were beating against that wall as they were
telling the stories about Chicken George and Kizzy and Kunta Kinte. And
at the end of the day he realized that if he could tell his own family
story, then maybe he would have justified his own existence, his own
existence, his little space along that continuum. Now, if you go to
Henning, Tennessee, and you go to the family home and the porch where he
would hear the stories from his grandmother and his aunt and the like,
he\'s actually buried right there on the porch area, right in the yard
there. And they buried him there not in the family plot, because he
wanted to be close to where he first heard the stories.

It\'s almost as if he wanted to be as close as he could, so that he
could always hear the echo of the drum. It\'s almost like a heartbeat,
the echo of the drum. And there, at the gravesite, you will find the
gravestone. And there is an interesting phrase that I\'d like to
conclude my comments with. It clearly has his name, and it has the date
of birth and the date of death. But it also has this phrase: "Find the
good and praise it." Well, I think that over the last 160 years, when it
comes to Liberia there is a lot of good that is there, that is deserving
of praise. And it has all led to this nation now being represented by
one of its best and one of the world\'s best. And she beckons us with
all of her many, many partners in this effort, she beckons us to join
her in grasping this future that awaits, and in doing so, in the belief
that the best is yet to come. And so, just as they say you can\'t judge
the value of a diamond by looking at its tip, I submit we cannot truly
judge, measure, ascertain, appreciate the value of all that this country
has to offer by merely looking at the last 160 years. The best is yet to
come. Thank you.

\[applause\]

Kwame Clement:

You know, \[unintelligible\] produced some wonderful black people, you
know, Maya Angelou, \[unintelligible\] Rodney Slater where thanks to you
today, we can add another one to the pantheon; Alex Haley and his dad.
It\'s been a wonderful presentation by the former secretary and Ms.
Dear, and I think we should give them another round of applause.

\[applause\]

Well, it\'s question and answer time, time for you to participate in
this. And we welcome your questions, probing as they may be. I think our
two panelists are ably suited to answer them, at least as it pertains to
our topic. I think the call there was fostering business-to-business
relations to help improve investment in Liberia. Ms. Deal, of course,
ticked off NGOs, and business-to-businesses, too, but as well as
government-to-government relationships. So with that as our backdrop,
let\'s hear from you. Yes. What\'s your name, please, and your
affiliation?

Male Speaker:

Citizen of Liberia, my title. To either one of you \-- you both went to
Liberia with Robert Johnson? Oh, just you did? Okay. Then the question
is to you. When you went to Liberia for a few days and whatnot, what
were some of the things that came to you, in terms of immediate type of
business that would be advantageous to Liberian people?

Former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater:

Sure, thank you. I can offer just a couple of thoughts. Clearly, I think
there is a great opportunity for tourism. I don\'t know that you have to
have, at least at the outset, a lot of the luxury hotels. What you have
to do is give people an experience that, I think, is sort of consistent
with the experience that they would enjoy as they would walk along the
pristine beaches that you have, and bathe themselves in the cool and
clear and beautiful waters. And I think you can do that and give them
that experience without necessarily, in the short-term, having what you
could probably build over the long-term. So I\'m saying that I think
tourism is a business that can be taken advantage of now.

Now, there would be some difficulty to that, because clearly you\'ve got
to address the issue of how do we get there? But I think that with some
improvements to the airport, you know, minor improvements, and with some
enhanced relationships with airlines, that that issue can be addressed.
I also think that, you know, there is this sort of natural or ecotourism
that\'s starting to take hold. And what people want is what\'s real in
an experience, as a result of that. And again, I think in the short-term
you can enjoy some of those experiences.

A couple of others; clearly with the presence of a company like
Firestone, I think that you can look to build on that, hopefully with
some processing, to actually take place in the country rather than just
extraction of raw materials. Also, I\'m very excited about the Metau
\[spelled phonetically\] Initiative, and I think that that\'s going to
result in some improvements to the infrastructure, especially the
railroad. Also, there are ways to, you know, improve the roadways so as
to enhance your farming industry without, you know, a lot of effort,
that I think would also be helpful, but you\'d need those farm-to-market
roads to do that.

Those are the businesses and the business opportunities that come to
mind, you know, and clearly I think obvious with that is just
construction in general, whether it\'s constructing the roadways,
rebuilding the runway, improving the rail lines. I know Metau is going
to do some of that improvement, and hopefully Liberians can be right in
the middle of that. And it\'s not the workers that are actually used who
live there. So those are just some thoughts that come to mind.

Kwame Clement:

Yeah, your name and affiliation, please.

Male Speaker:

Fred Smith from the African Connection\--

Kwame Clement:

Excuse me. You want to comment on that, on the last question?

Ambassador Alice Dear:

Thank you. I didn\'t go on the trip, but in talking to a friend who
happened to be on the trip, I was relating \-- I just came back
yesterday from Benin, and I was there following up on a negotiation of a
contract with the government for a power plant. And so in talking to the
friend who did go on the trip \-- and I didn\'t know it at the time; I
was telling him about what I had been doing, and he shared with me that
he had been on the trip to Liberia, and that the energy needs were
great. And I knew they were great, because President Johnson Sirleaf
talked about \-- had promised to Monrovia that she would bring
electricity. And in fact, when the contractor and I met, the exporter
from the U.S. and I met, he said, "You know, there is a plant behind me,
an unused electrical plant that someone who is in need could have a
really great deal on this price." And he said, "Do you know anybody who
needs it?" I said, "Yeah, Liberia."

And so it was Sam Smoots who told me, who was on the trip, so Sam was
saying, yes, they need it. In fact, I don\'t know if it was while you
were there, but the lights went out at the airport? Or, maybe they were
talking about this having just happened. And he was saying the airport
needs it. The city needs it, too, but the airport really needs it,
because think about how serious it is when the plane is ready to land
and the lights go out. And he related that\'s what had happened. So as
soon as we finish this project in Benin, as soon as we finish
negotiating that, I want to follow up to see about this project, and the
ambassador and I have already talked about it. And I\'ll get a study \--
an electrical study on the industry from him.

But I\'ve become much more sensitive over the past couple of months as
to the importance of the energy, before we actually develop the other
sectors. And I hadn\'t thought of it in terms of which was the most
important. You think about the needs of Africa being so great, and the
needs of Liberia being so great, but certainly the energy is needed if
there\'s going to be development, generally. So that\'s one big
important project from the private sector side I think that should take
place soon.

Kwame Clement:

And Dr. Sankawulo?

Former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater:

Let me just make one other thought, because we talked about this in a
general sense, and I think it picks up on something that Ambassador Dear
just noted, and that is we did talk about the possibility of having a
green initiative for the country, because it is \-- I mean, it\'s very
beautiful. The one thing that I noticed, just upon the first impression,
was the lushness of it, the greenery. It\'s just beautiful. And you
don\'t want to lose that as you build the sort of industrial kind of
base that\'s necessary for job creation. And so there was some thought
about how you just start at the beginning with a strength, and that is
approaching this whole issue of energy and development from a green
perspective.

And I don\'t know of anyone on the continent who\'s doing anything like
that, who has talked about that. It\'s actually something that\'s
happening in a very selective fashion on all continents, but what it
could do is it could put you in league with and partnership with those
places that are leading the way. And I think when you establish that
link, there then is some sense of obligation and partnership that
results as well, that then leads individuals and countries to sort of
view you in a different light, want to work with you in a different way,
and it could spur some things that could be very, very, very positive.
And I don\'t think you have to give up any, you know, self-initiative to
do that. It\'s just a matter of trying to find alliances and connections
and partnerships. So that was one thing just discussed, but it\'s only
been discussed. I know, Ambassador, we may have had some discussion with
you about that as well.

Ambassador Alice Dear:

I\'ll come back for a second. I think we\'re going to keep inspiring
each other with thoughts. I mentioned textiles; they\'re gaining part of
the textile industries, but they\'re gaining farming in general as an
important area. The one thing that struck me, all those years back when
I first went to Liberia, the land is so fertile, and I just never saw
agriculture taking place on any large scale. And I always thought if I
had -- if I was starting over and I looked at what area I wanted to go
into, I think it should be farming. Obviously I wasn\'t starting all
over, so I never went into farming \[laughs\], but I think there is
still a lack in that area. And as you think now about how many more
people are in tune with the importance of eating healthy, and
particularly when there are questions about the imports of food that
we\'re getting, there are questions about it so think about the
importance of organic farming and how that would be well received, and
we would have a ready market here.

Kwame Clement:

Okay?

Male Speaker:

Fred Smith from \--

Male Speaker:

Let me take him down there, I\'ll come to you. No, no, let\'s take him.

Fred Smith:

Oh, Fred Smith from African Connection, Los Angeles, Calif. First, let
me take this opportunity to commend Ambassador Minor for the panelists
that he has selected and the program that we held this week; very
interesting and very rewarding, and I hope I will be able to share with
others who couldn\'t make it to be here today, and also our guest
speaker, Wilton Sankawulo. This is my first time meeting him, but his
presentation this morning I think should be sent to all Liberians in all
the different states of the United States, and a copy of it should be
made available to all libraries and universities and organizational
Liberians so we can read it. I think he contributed towards the future
of Liberia, and I must commend him for his presentation this morning.

My question first is to the former secretary of state \[*sic*
transportation\], Rodney Slater. I\'m happy with the way you connected
our past and present through the story you read about "Roots." I wanted
to know, we talked about, this morning, Joseph Jenkins Roberts and all
the contributions of African Americans. Do you consider yourself a
modern-day African American, who has gone on to not only duplicate what
Roberts and others did, the founding fathers did, but to make it much
better by your background in transportation? Liberia need roads to the
market, just the way you illustrated. Do you think that would be the
contribution of this generation of African Americans, just as Jenkins
Roberts did during the creation of Liberia? That\'s my question. And to
my sister, who is former ambassador of \-- which country, Kenya? Am I
correct?

Ambassador Alice Dear:

No, no, \[ambassador\] to the African Development Bank.

Fred Smith:

African Development. And my question to you simply is that you talk
about AGOA, you talk about all these programs that would benefit African
market toward the European world or to the western world. People have
complained that the market is not actually free; there are some
restrictions. Do you see the role of Kofi Annan, his new role as the
chairman of the green revolution who would be working with African
farmers \-- do you see that as a big step in helping African products
get to the world market and get its due in terms of shared benefits and,
you know, do you see that as an opportunity?

And to Kwame Clements, you mentioned the contribution Liberia has made
to the relationship between Liberia and America. Why hasn\'t the United
States government taken that seriously in rewarding Liberia in terms of
\-- the \[unintelligible\] is about to expire for a lot of Liberians,
and they are troubling about it. Why those connections and contributions
for Liberia? Why are they not in turn benefiting Liberia when it comes
to immigration issues and other issues?

Kwame Clement:

Thank you very much. Three convoluted questions. Who wants to go first?
Ladies first.

Ambassador Alice Dear:

Well, it true that there is nothing free; that is to say that there are
all kinds of complications or requirements that come, obligations that
come with initiatives that are developed. And so that certainly is the
case with AGOA, but the eligibility requirements are more on the Liberia
side, having to make sure that you\'re marketing quality goods. Now,
it\'s not easy to develop a market. That\'s why I was talking about the
importance of making those linkages and perhaps tying it to a story that
would distinguish Liberia from other markets. But as the markets are
developed, as AGOA encompasses now, I think, 35 eligible countries, if
not 38, Liberia is competing against some countries that have organized
themselves and have had several years to do that. So Liberia is a bit
behind in that regard, so it\'s going to be much more of a challenge.
But it certainly doesn\'t mean that it\'s impossible.

And Kofi Annan\'s role in bringing attention to the importance of
agriculture is important. It\'s significant because people will pay
greater attention when there are people whose names have recognition.
And it will attach importance to the role. While I\'m standing here,
neither Rodney nor I could go back to the Africare board if I didn\'t
make an announcement, if we didn\'t make an announcement. On October 18,
Africare will be celebrating and holding its annual Bishop Walker
memorial dinner, and the honoree is President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. So
please mark your calendars, October 18, here in Washington at the Hilton
Washington Hotel. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be honored. And
Africare \-- we honored Bill Clinton last year, and I expect this to be
an even bigger celebration, so you will want to be there.

Lastly, as we talked about historical links, again, Mr. Sankawulo, I
thought about \-- as you were talking, and you just mentioned the
importance of what he was saying, it reminded me also of an African
Development Bank meeting, and when I was looking at the photos I saw
Romeo Horton as a young man up here, and Romeo Horton is one of the
instrumental people to the African Development Bank being founded, and
Clarence Parker, and he was telling the story at the ADB meeting, and I
had heard the story before because we were friends, and he had been
telling it to us. But at the ADB meeting, he started telling the story.
And, you know, the president, then president of the bank \-- he\'s from
Morocco, Omar Gabash, and he doesn\'t get excited. This man got all
excited. He mobilized the team of people to sit down with Romeo right
then and to write the story, because that was African Development
Bank\'s history.

And fortunately it was recorded and written, because Romeo passed not
long after that. But it brought me back to the thought of what we say
during African American History Month, that African American history is
America\'s history, and there is this tie, notwithstanding the
importance of the 95 percent that\'s left out in the introductory to the
Declaration of Independence. Still, you could say that Liberia\'s
history is American history. And that\'s another tie we should be
making, as you talk about that drum. It just reminded me that that\'s a
tie. And one other historical link \-- again, I saw her photo here,
Angie Brooks. Angie Brooks was the first African woman to be the
president of the General Assembly. And I\'m very pleased to say that
both she and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are members of Alpha Kappa
Alpha sorority, my sorority.

But there are these links. You know, we keep coming back with these
historical connections, and those are important things that we can draw
out and make people recognize; that there is this link. And I keep
saying "one last thing." In 1991, I was at the first \-- you probably
were there, too \-- at the first African American summit in Cote
d\'Ivoire. And President Houphouet-Boigny extended citizenship to all
African Americans and said that you all should have a passport, and
you\'re welcome back to Cote d\'Ivoire. He never told the embassy, so
they didn\'t know that they were supposed to issue passports with no
problem. But that might be something that should be debated in Liberia,
particularly if they identify Liberian history with American history.
Perhaps that\'s a dual citizenship that could be extended, with the
understanding that there are responsibilities that come with
citizenship. Thank you.

Former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater:

Well, I\'ll be brief in my response, and I also know that the conclusion
to the discussion is drawing to a close -- or the discussion is drawing
to a close. But let me also echo the comments about the leadership of
Ambassador Minor in putting this together. I very much enjoyed the
opportunity to get a call from him, and I, too, have very much
appreciated his leadership as he interfaces on behalf of Liberia with
not only the U.S. government, but with others of us as well. And so I\'d
like to acknowledge, I\'d like to acknowledge his leadership and express
my thanks for being a part of the program.

\[applause\]

And I\'m so pleased that Ambassador Dear mentioned Africare and the
program that\'s coming up, our annual Bishop Walker dinner so once again
\-- and you should know that Bob Johnson is actually going to chair that
dinner, and this is relatively new. So once again he is stepping forward
to really play an instrumental role as relates to U.S.-Liberia
relations. The question, as I heard it, for me in particular was, what
can, you know \-- I hope I can paraphrase you well, but what can African
Americans do in particular with the kinds of experiences that we may
have had that could be of benefit to Liberia? And let me just answer it
in two ways, and it sort of includes and refers back to comments that I
made earlier. When I was in the administration, I looked forward with
anticipation to my planned trip to Liberia. Unfortunately, that one did
not occur, but everywhere I saw an opportunity to do things that I
thought would strengthen our ties with the continent; I worked to try to
do that.

And whether it was open sky agreements or liberalizing our relations
with various countries, we attempted to do that, Liberia included. And
we ended with about 50 open sky agreements, and as I recall, 12 to 13
were on the African continent. And when I started with 10 of those
agreements before me, meaning that it had been consummated by
secretaries before me, with the 40 that we produced \-- you know, at
least a fourth were on the continent. And that was pretty significant.
At the time we did not have any sort of liberalized relations with
African countries, which means that basically our aviation relations
were with the colonial powers that had ruled the continent. So
everything was going through Europe, and then to the continent. Now, the
business reality is that that is pretty much still the case, but at
least the policy and the relationships have been altered so that there
are the direct connections. And that\'s what open skies provides.

And I think we\'re going to see more and more efforts. I know Delta is
making a commitment to fly directly to the continent. I almost, working
on the private side, worked out a relationship with Continental to do
the same. Hopefully we\'ll see some of that play out over time. We also
sent training delegations to the continent, and that was all a good
thing. But, you know, those terms come to an end, and so that\'s why I
was so pleased when I ended up at the Clinton Global \[Initiative\]
summit on Friday, unable to get there before that, and I bumped into Bob
Johnson, and he said, "Look, I have been working on something for the
last few days, and I\'d like for you to join me in doing it." And I
said, "Well, what is it?" He said, "I can\'t tell you right now, but
I\'ll get back to you, because I\'m headed over to Cecily Tyson right
over here," and he mentioned one or two other people.

And then President Clinton called him up and he started to say that he
was so touched, meaning Bob, when he heard President Johnson Sirleaf
speak at the opening of the Clinton Global \[Initiative\] summit, and
that as an African American \-- and I\'m just sort of sharing with you
his words, because I would like to hope that they speak for me as well.
But he said, "I just sat there and said, 'I\'ve got to do something.'
And it took me a few days to figure it out, you know. And frankly, I
heard others who were called forth, and they signed with the \[former\]
president their commitment to do certain things. And it just dawned on
me that we should start a fund." And he said, "I didn\'t know what the
amount would be early on, but as the week started to conclude I
committed that it would be \$30 million."

And so that\'s what he\'s announcing. Now, I\'m on stage with him, and
this is the first time I had heard the \$30 million.

And needless to say, I eased over closer to him as a billionaire to know
that we \-- you know, everybody on the stage \-- would be making this
kind of commitment, but recognizing that, frankly, with his unique
experience, clearly he was one who could make the commitment, and with
our help and with the support of everyone else, make it happen. But I
also knew that there was a personal commitment that I could make, and
that was making the trip, looking at the port, looking at the airport,
the roadways, coming back, trying to get engineering firms, design firms
and the like committed. And that\'s what we have been working on. And I
can tell you that Parsons Brinckerhoff, Booz Allen, a number of
companies we\'ve interfaced with \-- and things look pretty good, and
hopefully we\'ll have something to announce on that soon. And Sam
Smoots, who was mentioned earlier, has been very much in the thick of
all of this.

Male Speaker:

Thank you very much. The immigration thing, my question, I think you
should provide us an opportunity to participate in the great American
democratic tradition of lobbying our congressmen, putting pressure on
them to act in our interest. There are quite a few of us Liberians
across the U.S. I know Liberians in Rhode Island have successfully
lobbied their Congressman Kennedy to push the issue. I think we should
see it as a challenge, and adversity that can create an opportunity to
make our voices heard in the American political process. That would be
my answer. We\'re kind of pressed for time, so I think we\'re down to
two questions. You\'ve got one question? And I think Wilton has got one,
too? Okay. Why don\'t we take three questions, and then let me put the
onus on the panelists to be very short in creating an answer, okay?
Let\'s hear from Dr. Sankawulo first, then I\'ll come to you.

Dr. Wilton Sankawulo:

In regards to investment, one area we often neglect, which I think is
sounding like a campaign to the development of a nation, is the
literature traditional to people. You know, when we study Western
civilization, we see that the growth of the countries have been
synonymous with the growth of the literature. Even right now, as we have
this problem in Iraq and other parts of the world, we see books are
being published. There is communication, investigation going on. People
know what is happening. But Liberia has no literary tradition, really.
Because the few books that have been published have been published
mostly in America or in Europe, you know, and our people have no assets.

Now, when you go to Nigeria or Ghana, these are people who, when their
colonial powers came, they developed their literature, and so the people
can study their own history, their own ways of life, you know, and
things like that. And then begin to understand themselves. All that we
are doing, if we do not develop that area we\'re just building tomorrow
to break down again what we have built. So I think \-- for instance, why
should they consider \-- America, they don't want to consider Liberians
as American-Liberians? And then Americo-Liberian \[unintelligible\]
consider the Liberian people are native people, you know. I mean, those
of us who have gone to school, we don\'t care. We know the true story.
We\'re not going to worry about it. But for those of our people who are
not acquainted with what we know, we learned in school, we have
problems.

So I think some investor or some publisher, who established a branch as
the British did for Nigeria and Ghana and some of the other places where
they were so that these people would begin to express what is in their
hearts, you know, both native and Americo-Liberian, whatever it is, or a
different tribe, that would begin to know the truth, so now I came here,
I've learned a lot, you know; I find these people are part of us. We are
the same, you know, but people have mixed understandings. So I think
some investment will be made, you know. Let\'s go to the former
secretary, you know, and go for an investor who can encourage people to
do some writing, do some research in this area to explain the Liberian
situation to Liberians, not just Americans. They will know that we are
one people, that we have a job to do; we have to do it, and to develop
our country. Thank you very much.

Kwame Clement:

Okay, for some background, Slater?

Former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater:

I agree. Yeah.

Male Speaker:

I don\'t have a question. I do want to make a statement, because I will
be remiss if I don\'t say something about the tremendous potential of
Liberia, from the mineral sector.

Kwame Clement:

Introduce yourself \[inaudible\].

Nathaniel Richardson:

Okay. I\'m Dr. Nat Richardson, I\'m the president of AmLib United
Minerals. It\'s basically an American company, gold exploration company.
And I would like to make a prediction: within the next decade, Liberia,
per capita, will be one of the richest countries in west Africa \--

\[applause\]

\-- because you will see many goldmines. You will see many, maybe up to
three or four active iron-ore mining. You\'ll see diamonds. So Liberia,
many of these development things we have to do, we\'ll have the
resources to pay for it.

\[applause\]

Kwame Clement:

And Dr. Smith?

Dr. David Smith Jr.:

Hi, I\'m David Smith, the author of "The African American Presidents,"
and my question is for both the panel members. The Chinese are doing a
lot in Liberia right now, especially their transportation system. So,
how are they taking the lead, especially over the United States, since,
you know, our long historical connections, which I feel more comfortable
about because I write about the history of the country \-- how are we,
you know, letting the Chinese take the lead on rebuilding Liberia, when
we have so much historical investment in Liberia?

The second question is, how do we market the tourism of Liberia? Because
I went to Jamaica because I saw the commercial, "Come to Jamaica and
feel all right." Why can\'t we have like a "Come to Liberia," "Come home
to Liberia," something like that? And how can we help them market that,
into strengthening the historical connection? Like you said on "Roots"
\-- and I mentioned when I gave a presentation this morning that we have
to put these stories on film to reach our young people. So how do we
start that?

Male Speaker:

I think we\'re down to our last two minutes, literally. So you want to
take that \--

Rodney Slater:

Yes. Well, without focusing directly on China or any other country, let
me just say that I think that there is a recognition that there are
resources available in Liberia, and that there is a lot of hope and
promise there. And a lot of countries are expressing their interest in
being a partner with Liberia to develop those opportunities. The U.S.
can ill afford, especially with the relationship, to not be a part of
that effort. I like the idea about, you know, a good tag line, you\'re
right. And I like "Come home." I like that as an expression. But again,
it goes to the historic link. It says that in so many words. And it also
goes to, I think, the point that was made earlier about literature, and
capturing the story, the feel, the spirit, and seeing that connection.
You know, the really religious connections, the AME Church \-- I mean,
there are just many, many connections there to be built upon.

Kwame Clement:

Well, that\'s it. Thank you very much for our panel, members of our
panelists. Thank you for coming, and we will see you next time.

Male Speaker:

Thank you.

\[applause\]

Angel D. Batiste:

Excuse me. If I could just say a couple things before we do leave. First
of all, I\'d like to say that the day\'s program has been webcast, and
it will be available on the African Middle Eastern Division Web site for
those of you who would like to go back and review this. Unfortunately we
must conclude today\'s program, but on behalf of myself and my
colleagues in the African Middle Eastern Division, I\'d first like to
thank the Embassy of Liberia for allowing us to co-host today\'s
program. I\'d like to thank all of our distinguished panelists. Each and
every session was extremely dynamic, and I look forward to future
discussions on Liberia. At this point, the ambassador would like to make
a few comments.

Ambassador Charles A. Minor:

I\'d like to follow Dr. Batiste and say how pleased we at the Embassy of
Liberia are to have had this opportunity to co-host today\'s event with
the Library of Congress. We are delighted to have had this
collaboration. We trust that this will continue in the future, for we
definitely have a number of areas that we certainly can explore. We are
indeed grateful today to have had the level of participation on the
panel, our guest speakers. These were all the first names that appeared
to us, and every single one of them agreed, and I am indeed very
delighted. I can\'t tell you how much it means to us at the embassy to
have people like yourself take so much time off your extremely heavy
schedules to be able to join us, and to discuss this important topic,
because we believe that it will propel Liberia as we move in the new age
under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to rebuild our country.

One of the persons we invited who has just come \-- and it\'s too late
for him to say anything, but it\'s Chief Toppe \[spelled phonetically\].
He is the grandson of a parliament chief of Nimba County, and he has
suggested to the embassy that we make a provision for a kind of symbolic
chieftaincy in the United States to help to make that link from the
traditional Liberia to Liberians in America.

\[applause\]

So we\'ll be working with the chief on that. Now, I\'d like to say to
you that this is one in a series of events that are intended to help
Liberia in its efforts, in renewing the country, rebuilding our
infrastructure, reuniting our people.

I\'d like to make a few announcements of a few important events that
have bearing on a number of questions that have been raised, and that
are to follow up on this particular event. As you may recall, many of
you in this room, that on Feb.15, and 13, 14 and 15 here in Washington,
there was a series of events. One was a donor\'s conference, a
partnership forum for the first two days. At that event, you will recall
a number of bilateral partners decided to announce the forgiveness of
Liberia\'s debts. And that began the process of trying to get the
bilateral debt reconsidered. Now, let me tell you, one of the issues
that the president is preoccupied with is the question of the huge debt
burdening the country. For a population as we have, \$3.7 billion of
debt that we cannot service is a major problem. That debt is almost
divided equally in three parts.

The first part is the bilateral debt. And that debt is what you heard
about being forgiven by the United States, by Germany, by China and by
the United Kingdom. The other type is the multilateral debt. Now,
that\'s the debt we owe to the African Development Bank, of which it has
been one of the executive directors, the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. But those institutions cannot write off the
debt. This money doesn\'t belong to the president of those institutions;
those are assets of the member states. So you\'ve got to work with the
member states to agree on a program where those debts can be either
serviced, reduced, forgiven; whatever is possible.

And we\'re currently in the process of doing so. I have been
communicating with a number of countries \-- even one of the letters I
just signed to go back to the office is to be sent to one of my
colleagues, to convey to his president the wishes of our president, to
speak on the question of some of the multilateral debt. So we are
working on it as we speak. The third section of the debt is the debt
that we owe commercially, both international banks as well domestic
individuals and organizations. That\'s a tough one, because we\'ve only
been able to determine what those debts really are. Some of them are
real, some of them are based on an accumulation of interest and compound
interest. So we are working on that.

One of the difficulties we have in that particular domain is the fact
that quote, unquote it is "virtual capitalists." A bank is that, and
I\'m just waiting for Liberia to please find somewhere that will go and
grab it, because we owe them. So that\'s a very tough position to be in.
And the government cannot even borrow money until we can get ourselves
relieved of that big debt burden we have. So that\'s one of the major
preoccupations that we are occupied with. And that will impact the
extent to which we can support some of the infrastructure development
that is required. I make that announcement because a lot of people do
not know the issue, and I think it is important for us to try to explain
it. The other concern we have; if you cannot borrow money you\'ve got to
attract private investment, direct capital investment into your economy.

The meeting on Feb, 15 was intended to achieve that objective. It was
well attended, cosponsored by OPEC as well as the CCA, Cooperate Council
on Africa. Many Liberians in the diaspora and friends of Liberia were
unable to attend that event, and because of its success it was decided
that we will organize a road show to take the investment possibilities
for Liberia around the United States. I have here \-- and we have been
distributing this pamphlet that talks about a U.S. private sector
investment symposia in Liberia. These will include one in Washington, DC
exactly one month from today at Capitol Hilton Hotel.

There will be a second one in Minnesota on Sept. 8, a third one in
California Sept.15, the fourth one in Georgia, Sept. 22, and I think the
last one will probably be in Rhode Island, where there are many
Liberians. The intention here is to discuss the potential we have in
Liberia for investment. Dr. Richardson has mentioned a great potential
in mining. His company and other companies are probably going to be
mining gold that will compete in terms of volume and export to their
\[unintelligible\] gold fields; is that right?

Male Speaker:

Right.

Ambassador Charles A. Minor:

So there is great potential in that sector. Let me also point out that
at the end of these series of investment events in this country, they
will culminate in an investment get-together in Liberia, at the end of
November or the beginning of December. Now, the exact date is to be
finally decided after these events, to which we will be inviting the
participants of all of them to come to Monrovia and see to what extent
on the ground what we have said, what we have offered, what we have
talked about, can be put into reality in the country. And that, of
course, will be inclusive of investment in things like publishing, et
cetera, et cetera. At the same time in November or early December we
will have an infrastructure conference, and here again, Secretary Slater
will be asking you for your assistance to take a look at our need in the
area of infrastructure development, and try to attract businesses to
joint venture with Liberians, to try to extend the activities in the
country to build roads, to build homes.

A mention was made of Firestone. Firestone\'s current plan is to
increase their export of natural rubber from 1 percent of world
consumption to 10 percent in the period ahead. Now, that\'s a huge
order. And to do that you need more roads to be built in plantations,
you need a huge amount of houses for workers, so there is going to be a
great demand for infrastructure development in the country; electricity,
water supply, all of those in huge demand. And we will be finding ways
in which we can begin to explore means of achieving all of those
possibilities in the country. While I mention the question of rubber,
for almost 20 years we have not done any work at replanting. So you now
will have to tear down all the old trees and replant rubber. But it is
well established that those trees are extremely valuable assets as wood
products.

And we\'re now talking to companies through the good offices of Bob
Johnson, Secretary Slater and others, to identify firms that will go in
with kiln, to go to work on the rubber wood, excellent for all sorts of
furniture, parquet floors, et cetera, et cetera. Mention was made of
AGOA. Yes. Liberia is now admitted to AGOA. I attended a conference last
week, and AGOA allows Liberia to export into this market without porter
and without duty. Now, again, we are attracting investors to come to
Liberia, joint venture with Liberian partners to produce goods and
services to export to this market. So we will be looking forward to all
of you who are interested in helping. We\'re now part of OPEC, we\'re
part of the Export-Import Bank. All of those are available to help
Liberia.

So we do expect that we will get your attention and that you will talk
to your friends and others who can join us in all these activities.

The last announcement I wish to make is one that will build up on the
kind of work that Dr. Smith has done. The state of Maryland and Liberia
will a month from today also sign a memorandum of understanding for
sister state relations, with a concentration on Maryland and Bong
counties in Liberia. And on that occasion it has been suggested that we
begin to publicize to the people of Maryland state why this relationship
is important and necessary.

So as part of that arrangement for sister state relations, we are
expecting to present an exhibition on Liberia at the Reginald Lewis
Museum in Baltimore for about six to 12 weeks. Information on Liberia\'s
history, much of the information and items that would be on display are
from Dr. Smith\'s collection. He tells me today he has 100 pieces, but
now I\'m told he has 150 pieces. So all of that will be on display in
Baltimore in about a month and a half's time. So we, again, can have an
opportunity to take a look at what made this important relationship that
we have been talking about today.

I think these are the important announcements I wish to make as we
celebrate our 160th anniversary of our independence. I\'d like, again,
to thank the Library of Congress and to thank each and all of you for
being here today. I thank our moderator, and for the moderator of the
earlier session already has left, and all our panelists for taking time
off. Ms. Dear came all the way from Benin only yesterday to be on time
for today\'s session. I thank you and I wish you God speed as you go
back from here this afternoon. Thank you, again.

\[applause\]

\[end of transcript\]