First Person: Liberia Taken to Heart

See more photos from the Liberia Action.

I started off my adventure in helping Liberia cancel their unjust debt by collecting signed valentines.

While tabling at the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) conference in Virginia, we were able to collect about 54. I thought that was a lot.  Every little bit helps, of course, but little did I know that close to 10,000 valentines asking U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to cancel Liberia’s debt had been collected.

The day before the action, we had a Cancel Liberia’s Debt Call-In Day.  I couldn’t help but overhear Neil talking to a one of Jubilee’s Treasury contacts about how we were tying up all the lines. I hadn’t realized until that moment how many people were actually behind Jubilee and care about Liberia.

Jason Weakley, the policy intern, and I worked a good amount of time on a gigantic Valentine’s Day card in pursuit of Liberia’s debt cancellation. We poured 10 clear bags full of cards and letters, written from children to seniors, onto a large table in our conference room.

I chose some of my favorites, along with valentines Nathan Fishman, the Outreach and Congregations fellow, had chosen earlier. We then rubber cemented the valentines, along with “We Heart Liberia” printouts to poster boards. Nathan, Jason, and I then continued to tear apart old cardboard boxes so we would have large signs to hold. 

When we hit our destination — the corner of 15th Street and New York Avenue NW to be exact — I realized how cold it actually was. 

In my rush to leave home earlier that morning, I had no gloves, no scarf, just the clothes on my back and jacket.  I tried to help monét cooper, who coordinates our web projects, by taking some pictures, but I was only able to take a few because my fingers stopped working. 

While I jumped and moved around to stay warm, a few speakers spoke about the need for cancellation of Liberia’s $3.7 billion debt. It was wonderful. 

My favorite part of the action was speaker Emira Woods, who is Liberian and the co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). While she was speaking, she called out all the people passing by the action in front of the U.S. Treasury building.

She said “All you walking by think about what it would be like to have no clean water!”  I watched as one young woman slowly turned her head to see who Emira was talking to. I wonder if she thought about that as she walked back to her heated office.

After about four different speakers, all discussing why their organization supports the cancellation of Liberia’s debt and why they decided to stand in the freezing cold to support Liberia, Neil Watkins, Jubilee’s national coordinator, and Debi Kar, who directs our policy and media work, along with representatives from Jubilee partners Africa Action, IPS, Friends of the Earth, and Church World Service walked into the U.S. Treasury. 

The remaining supporters cheered them on in hopes that they would return with good news. 

After everyone dispersed, Nathan and I tried to fit the large valentine card into the trunk of the cab, but since it didn’t fit we ended up taking the Metro. 

When Nathan and I returned to the office, we started on the work we’d left to participate in the action. 

When Neil and Debi returned, however, the tone seemed to change. The office was full of questions, laughter, and discussions about the meeting they had with Treasury officials. We were all excited about the culmination of a month’s hard work, but I was excited because I never expected the Call-In Day to tie up the lines and the action to go so far. 

post by Laura K. Shaw