WEEK FIVE: Visualizing Liberia

What is that totally overused phrase, “a picture says a thousand words”?

This week I received a new assignment as part of my work as a Carter Center intern in the Liberia program. I was tasked with reviewing footage from a national conference that was held in Gbarnga in April. Then, I am to edit the footage together to capture the diversity of opinions that were expressed regarding the traditional and formal justice systems in the country.

For those of you who think this task sounds a little tedious compared to perfecting “arabesque pirouettes” to Nine Inch Nails, well, you’d be in for a surprise.

I popped in the first of six DVDs from the national conference to view the raw footage on my laptop. I think two hours passed before I realized that I hadn’t even moved; it was captivating to uncover footage of a country that I had spent a month reading and learning about only through words.

As a visual learner, I felt like a thousand light bulbs went on in my head as I saw the Liberians filter into the building, exchange greetings and make speeches. Things like a “National Traditional Council” and “the first female president in Africa” now mean something to me beyond mere academic ponder. To hear the music, see the buildings, watch the kids play outside…these are the things that make all of the detailed analytical work relevant and full of meaning.

And, as with everything, as things come to life – they also become more complicated.

This national conference brought together an incredible breadth of stakeholders to discuss access to justice in post-war Liberia. From the President of Liberia to law fellows to traditional chiefs, the eclectic group truly represented nearly all walks of life. And, there were nearly just as many opinions represented.

In Liberia, custom-based practices have historically been the predominant method of conflict resolution. In the aftermath of the war, however, there was a need to strengthen the existing local judicial framework to resolve a vast number of cases regarding a broad range of crimes. Different countries have dealt with a similar problem in different ways. For instance, Rwanda brought back gacaca and Sierra Leone developed community policing. Liberia, today, has the unusual mixture of traditional practices alongside a statutory system.

For instance, a chief may resolve a dispute in a rural county by having the accused perform a physical test, known as “trial by ordeal”, to determine guilt or innocence. At the same time, a man accused of bribery may appear in a formal court in Monrovia and be represented by an attorney. Can these two methods work effectively side-by-side? This conference asked that exact question and there is no clear answer.

Mixed in with the fascinating video images of Liberia, I started to appreciate the daunting challenges of harmonizing not only different legal practices, but also the whole range of issues that accompany such a systemic change: power hierarchies, inherent gender relationships, respect for elders, the educational superiority of urban youth, ethnic tension, disparate incomes, international intervention, and the tenuous nature of trust.

So, when I consider the fact that I’ve been enthralled with the physical challenge of perfecting “pirouettes” for over two decades, it gives me pause to realize that watching footage from a national justice conference in Liberia is, indeed, more riveting than doing “soudechauts”…even without the Nine Inch Nails.