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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Reflection on Guest Speaker
You've had the privilege of listening to Assata speak about her experiences in Liberia. Please reflect on this presentation. Include a description of what you learned and how it connects to class activities.
I learned about how Charles Taylor, the president, didn't want to give up power when it was his time to leave office. So he started a war where his soldiers were fighting rebels. Eventually, these soldiers were going from house to house and killing everyone. In the end the United Nations had to end the war in Liberia. This is connected to us because their is the presidential election going on today and this is also about a president.
The story presented by the guest speaker, Assata, was really fascinating. She talked about being a little kid when the war began and Charles Taylor told the people he would not step down from office. It must have been very scary to be so young, because seeing your friends leave and soldiers come to your home town must be very scary. To see food and jobs become scarce and to see her grandma sneak food to the neighbors must have been scary as well. She talked about child soldiers and soldiers who raped women, which reminded me of the regional studies we did during the Africa unit. We read some articles about how that effected families, and so I was able to connect this presentation to what I learned before. It was great to have a primary source to better understand how civilians are effected by war.
Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia for a six year term. He promised a better life but only one year into his presidency, the country began to change for the worst. At the end of his six year term, Taylor refused to step down from office and a civil war broke out. Rebel and government armies went on a killing spree taking out random, innocent people. Finally, the United Nations intervened and brought the war to a close. This connects to our class because we frequently speak about dictators who attempt to control countries around the world. Also, we have learned about other wars such as those in the Middle East that were ended with the intervention of the United Nations. Last but not least, it connects to the civil war we learned about in Sudan.
President Taylor promised to make Liberia a better country but he actually became a dictator and raised the prices on food, housing, and education. When the election came around again he sent soldiers around in order to make sure he became president again. Then rebels sent troops to fight the soldiers, thus causing the civil war. Taylor's soldiers forced children to become soldiers and raided homes. The U.N. finally stepped in to stop the fighting. The U.N. has had to step in and stop some other altercations between countries.
I learned about how nasty a war could be. From young ids getting taken from their homes for war. Also the women and girls getting raped and not being able to fight back because if the did then the soldiers would kill them. Also people where not allowed to help other people even though some people would not listen and at night would help people who needed it. The president that had started this war because he did not want to step down from office was Charles Talor. Now that the war is over they are starting to rebuild and making everything better and more stable from what it used to be. This connects from what we learned in class because we talked about genocide which I believe that this was. Also people fighting against the government showed nationalism because they care about their home and do not want anything to get worse than what it was before the war started. This also gave the class an inside view of everything and we are always talking about looking at it with not a biased point of view.
This presentation was very helpful in connecting the ideas and information that we learned earlier in HWC. I learned that Charles Taylor, because he was a dictator, used the military in order to attempt to gain control of Liberia. He attacked towns, stole wealth and possessions from houses, killed civilians, and forced children to become soldiers. Eventually he was stopped, but the damage was already done. Assata's story connects to what we learned in HWC because this story is about a dictator who used an army to try and control a nation, similar to Joseph Kony's army in Uganda and other resistance armies.
From Assata's presentation I learned about Charles Taylor and the Liberian Civil War. Taylor was elected by making promises that he could not keep. This connects to American society because that is how candidates get peoples' votes. Also, I learned how bad the Civil War was. Soldiers came and looted items and raped women and they also shot anything moving.
Throughout the presentation, Assata discussed how Charles Taylor had a corrupt presidency and how there was a war because of this. After his first year he increased the prices of everything and then he refused to step down when his term was over. People rebelled and there was a war not far from Assata's house. The fighting eventually ended when the UN came in and broke it up. Charles Taylor was recently found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to prison time. I found this all very interesting. Also, i learned that they have similar cultural beliefes as Mrs. Moses in the fact that you must not question your elders and that you must respect them.
I learned about how Charles Taylor was considered the 'war lord' and ran for president. During his term, groceries, property and other things got more expensive. After his first term, the people didn't want to reelect him, but he wanted to continue to control the country. Because the people wouldn't listen to him, he sent government troops into villages and communities. Lots of violence erupted. People died from starvation, houses got looted by soldiers, and kids were forced to become soldiers. The UN finally came into Liberia with their soldiers and stopped all the violence. Currently, Ellen Sirleaf is the President of Liberia, and the country has been flourishing. In our Africa unit, we talked about lots of violence between the government and the people, like with Congo, so this relates to that topic. In the past, we learned about some African culture, but the presentation confirmed some points, for example, how you can't question your elders because that is disrespectful.
One thing that she said that caught my attention was that the president in Liberia serves for 6 years, whereas here he/she serves for 4. They are similar because the president (here and Liberia) can only serve for two terms. Not a lot of kids have the money to go to school, which i connected with the idea of developing nations, and how it lacks capital and education. She also mentioned that it is against her culture to question your elders because they are said to be smarter than you. We talked a lot about different cultures in the first unit of this class. The recent war in Liberia was caused by president Charles Taylor, and how he did not want to leave office. People left their homes because of the violence, and children were stolen and taken into the war. Many died from the battle itself, but starvation claimed the lives of many. Food was scarce during the war, and you got in trouble if you shared food with anyone. I thought this was loosely related to the idea of tyranny, which is the act of applying substantial amounts of force on people, or abusing your powers. This was ceased when the UN troops entered Liberia. According to her religion, she believes that it is because of God that she is alive today, and we should not take life for granted. We also learned a lot about religion in the first unit of this class.
I think that Assata's presentation was very helpful. It taught me about the problems that occurred in Liberia. Prior to this presentation I did not know that there was a genocide caused by Charles Taylor in Liberia. Her presentation taught of the horrible things that happened to people. Also, he was taking people and forcing them into his army. His army raped women and stole anything of value from peoples' homes. This connects to Joseph Coney in Uganda. He enslaves people into his army just like Charles Taylor did.
From Assata's presentation, I got to learn about the Liberian Civil War from a first hand experience of the war. It connects to things we have talked about in other African cultures, especially the resect for elders. That also realtes to the culture in the Middle East. I learned how people are greedy and hungry for power. Charles Taylor reminds me of Ghaddafi in that they did not want to step down as a leader.
Having the privilege of listening to Assata and her experiences in Liberia, there were many concepts new and similar that were learned. For example, the Liberian Civil War in 2002, was caused by the president from 1996, Charles Taylor who refused to step down from office. There is a new election every six years and during his presidency it was more of a dictator period where he had basically ruined most of the country as well as increased the prices of most necessities such as education, living and rice. As a result people at first perceived this statement of his refusal as a challenge to get rid of him and see what he would do about it; no one would listen to what he had to say and in doing so, he sent in troops to the area and many casualties resulted. Many families had evacuated the area and those who did not were killed or looted of their belongings when the government troops went to their houses. The civilians had no other choice other than to obey the troops or basically die, but the war had ended once the UN became involved. This connects to class activities because it is an example of how life in other countries is affected by similar concepts in the US. It is also shows to relate to other countries in other areas of the world having similar events occurring/occurred.
Assata explained her experience during the war in Liberia. The war began because of the President that was elected, Charles Taylor. The Liberians weren't as educated as he was because he came to America to get his education and then went back to Liberia to become President. After his first term, he decided that he didn't want to step down from office. The Liberians didn't have much power to do anything about it though, since he was president. So the President sent out his soldiers, which were the rebels, and they were killing everyone. Kids were forced to become one of them because they didn't want to get killed. To end the war, the UN sent over soldiers to help the Liberians defeat the rebels and Charles Taylor. Charles Taylor was then found guilty for all of his actions and was sentenced to jail. This relates to what we learned in class because we have been learning about different wars like the Spanish American war and we have been learning about dictatorship.
From Assata I learned a lot about Liberia that I did not previously know. I learned that during the war soldiers came into the houses of the people and took anything they wanted. The people could not resist this and had to let them just take their things. Also, children were grabbed from their mother's arms and taken. In addition, children were taken and sold for slavery and other purposes. This all connects to what we have learned in class because once again the president refused to step down. This has been the case in many countries throughout history. Finally, I learned to appreciate what I have because obviously people in other parts of the world have suffered far more than I have. Assata had a great appreciation for her family and stressed not to take things for granted and to appreciate our family.
After hearing Assata speak about her experiences, I gained new insight into the civil war in Liberia. Firstly, I learned that Charles Taylor, a local warlord, ran for president. He promised prosperity for Liberia: claiming that things would improve in the country. However, the opposite happened. He began raising prices for products and institutions. After six years, Taylor refused to step down from presidency. He sent soldiers to regain power, and after frustration in gaining the approval of Liberia, he announced that soldiers would kill everybody: one street at a time. After this brutal violence began, the U.N. stepped in to take control of the situation. In this class, the United Nations getting involved in civil wars or other conflicts has been a common occurrence. In addition, Assata spoke of not questioning her elders. This is among one of the many cultural aspects of Liberia. This clearly demonstrates the contrast between American and African culture (learned in the Africa unit).
I learned about the things that happened in Liberia. A connection that i made is that that their are problems in the government just like there is in many other African countries. I also learned about how the corrupt leader started a war in Liberia. Also how the soliders can take they want from the people by force. That is what I learned from the guest speaker.
The war in Liberia seemed to be relatively short compared to other wars we have dealt with in class. The war in Liberia was initiated when Charles Taylor refused to step down from office. During his campaign, his intentions were false from the start. He promised better education among with other things he failed to deliver. Years into his presidency, he increased the price of rent, rice and other foods. People weren't able to afford such commodities and things became scarce. After his term had come to an end, he refused to leave. People in Liberia were enraged and acquired weapons . These "soldiers" would steal from people's houses, shot children and raped women and little girls. They turned young boys into vicious human beings. Taylor then sent his soldiers from village to village and street to street killing many people and babies. The United Nations finally caught wind of the events in Liberia and intervened to end the war. The other wars we learned about in class were also because of disagreements with the government.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI learned about how Charles Taylor, the president, didn't want to give up power when it was his time to leave office. So he started a war where his soldiers were fighting rebels. Eventually, these soldiers were going from house to house and killing everyone. In the end the United Nations had to end the war in Liberia. This is connected to us because their is the presidential election going on today and this is also about a president.
ReplyDeleteThe story presented by the guest speaker, Assata, was really fascinating. She talked about being a little kid when the war began and Charles Taylor told the people he would not step down from office. It must have been very scary to be so young, because seeing your friends leave and soldiers come to your home town must be very scary. To see food and jobs become scarce and to see her grandma sneak food to the neighbors must have been scary as well.
ReplyDeleteShe talked about child soldiers and soldiers who raped women, which reminded me of the regional studies we did during the Africa unit. We read some articles about how that effected families, and so I was able to connect this presentation to what I learned before.
It was great to have a primary source to better understand how civilians are effected by war.
Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia for a six year term. He promised a better life but only one year into his presidency, the country began to change for the worst. At the end of his six year term, Taylor refused to step down from office and a civil war broke out. Rebel and government armies went on a killing spree taking out random, innocent people. Finally, the United Nations intervened and brought the war to a close. This connects to our class because we frequently speak about dictators who attempt to control countries around the world. Also, we have learned about other wars such as those in the Middle East that were ended with the intervention of the United Nations. Last but not least, it connects to the civil war we learned about in Sudan.
ReplyDeletePresident Taylor promised to make Liberia a better country but he actually became a dictator and raised the prices on food, housing, and education. When the election came around again he sent soldiers around in order to make sure he became president again. Then rebels sent troops to fight the soldiers, thus causing the civil war. Taylor's soldiers forced children to become soldiers and raided homes. The U.N. finally stepped in to stop the fighting.
ReplyDeleteThe U.N. has had to step in and stop some other altercations between countries.
I learned about how nasty a war could be. From young ids getting taken from their homes for war. Also the women and girls getting raped and not being able to fight back because if the did then the soldiers would kill them. Also people where not allowed to help other people even though some people would not listen and at night would help people who needed it. The president that had started this war because he did not want to step down from office was Charles Talor. Now that the war is over they are starting to rebuild and making everything better and more stable from what it used to be. This connects from what we learned in class because we talked about genocide which I believe that this was. Also people fighting against the government showed nationalism because they care about their home and do not want anything to get worse than what it was before the war started. This also gave the class an inside view of everything and we are always talking about looking at it with not a biased point of view.
ReplyDeleteThis presentation was very helpful in connecting the ideas and information that we learned earlier in HWC. I learned that Charles Taylor, because he was a dictator, used the military in order to attempt to gain control of Liberia. He attacked towns, stole wealth and possessions from houses, killed civilians, and forced children to become soldiers. Eventually he was stopped, but the damage was already done. Assata's story connects to what we learned in HWC because this story is about a dictator who used an army to try and control a nation, similar to Joseph Kony's army in Uganda and other resistance armies.
ReplyDeleteFrom Assata's presentation I learned about Charles Taylor and the Liberian Civil War. Taylor was elected by making promises that he could not keep. This connects to American society because that is how candidates get peoples' votes. Also, I learned how bad the Civil War was. Soldiers came and looted items and raped women and they also shot anything moving.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the presentation, Assata discussed how Charles Taylor had a corrupt presidency and how there was a war because of this. After his first year he increased the prices of everything and then he refused to step down when his term was over. People rebelled and there was a war not far from Assata's house. The fighting eventually ended when the UN came in and broke it up. Charles Taylor was recently found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to prison time. I found this all very interesting. Also, i learned that they have similar cultural beliefes as Mrs. Moses in the fact that you must not question your elders and that you must respect them.
ReplyDeleteI learned about how Charles Taylor was considered the 'war lord' and ran for president. During his term, groceries, property and other things got more expensive. After his first term, the people didn't want to reelect him, but he wanted to continue to control the country. Because the people wouldn't listen to him, he sent government troops into villages and communities. Lots of violence erupted. People died from starvation, houses got looted by soldiers, and kids were forced to become soldiers. The UN finally came into Liberia with their soldiers and stopped all the violence. Currently, Ellen Sirleaf is the President of Liberia, and the country has been flourishing. In our Africa unit, we talked about lots of violence between the government and the people, like with Congo, so this relates to that topic. In the past, we learned about some African culture, but the presentation confirmed some points, for example, how you can't question your elders because that is disrespectful.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that she said that caught my attention was that the president in Liberia serves for 6 years, whereas here he/she serves for 4. They are similar because the president (here and Liberia) can only serve for two terms. Not a lot of kids have the money to go to school, which i connected with the idea of developing nations, and how it lacks capital and education. She also mentioned that it is against her culture to question your elders because they are said to be smarter than you. We talked a lot about different cultures in the first unit of this class. The recent war in Liberia was caused by president Charles Taylor, and how he did not want to leave office. People left their homes because of the violence, and children were stolen and taken into the war. Many died from the battle itself, but starvation claimed the lives of many. Food was scarce during the war, and you got in trouble if you shared food with anyone. I thought this was loosely related to the idea of tyranny, which is the act of applying substantial amounts of force on people, or abusing your powers. This was ceased when the UN troops entered Liberia. According to her religion, she believes that it is because of God that she is alive today, and we should not take life for granted. We also learned a lot about religion in the first unit of this class.
ReplyDeleteI think that Assata's presentation was very helpful. It taught me about the problems that occurred in Liberia. Prior to this presentation I did not know that there was a genocide caused by Charles Taylor in Liberia. Her presentation taught of the horrible things that happened to people. Also, he was taking people and forcing them into his army. His army raped women and stole anything of value from peoples' homes. This connects to Joseph Coney in Uganda. He enslaves people into his army just like Charles Taylor did.
ReplyDeleteFrom Assata's presentation, I got to learn about the Liberian Civil War from a first hand experience of the war. It connects to things we have talked about in other African cultures, especially the resect for elders. That also realtes to the culture in the Middle East. I learned how people are greedy and hungry for power. Charles Taylor reminds me of Ghaddafi in that they did not want to step down as a leader.
ReplyDeleteHaving the privilege of listening to Assata and her experiences in Liberia, there were many concepts new and similar that were learned. For example, the Liberian Civil War in 2002, was caused by the president from 1996, Charles Taylor who refused to step down from office. There is a new election every six years and during his presidency it was more of a dictator period where he had basically ruined most of the country as well as increased the prices of most necessities such as education, living and rice. As a result people at first perceived this statement of his refusal as a challenge to get rid of him and see what he would do about it; no one would listen to what he had to say and in doing so, he sent in troops to the area and many casualties resulted. Many families had evacuated the area and those who did not were killed or looted of their belongings when the government troops went to their houses. The civilians had no other choice other than to obey the troops or basically die, but the war had ended once the UN became involved. This connects to class activities because it is an example of how life in other countries is affected by similar concepts in the US. It is also shows to relate to other countries in other areas of the world having similar events occurring/occurred.
ReplyDeleteAssata explained her experience during the war in Liberia. The war began because of the President that was elected, Charles Taylor. The Liberians weren't as educated as he was because he came to America to get his education and then went back to Liberia to become President. After his first term, he decided that he didn't want to step down from office. The Liberians didn't have much power to do anything about it though, since he was president. So the President sent out his soldiers, which were the rebels, and they were killing everyone. Kids were forced to become one of them because they didn't want to get killed. To end the war, the UN sent over soldiers to help the Liberians defeat the rebels and Charles Taylor. Charles Taylor was then found guilty for all of his actions and was sentenced to jail. This relates to what we learned in class because we have been learning about different wars like the Spanish American war and we have been learning about dictatorship.
ReplyDeleteFrom Assata I learned a lot about Liberia that I did not previously know. I learned that during the war soldiers came into the houses of the people and took anything they wanted. The people could not resist this and had to let them just take their things. Also, children were grabbed from their mother's arms and taken. In addition, children were taken and sold for slavery and other purposes. This all connects to what we have learned in class because once again the president refused to step down. This has been the case in many countries throughout history. Finally, I learned to appreciate what I have because obviously people in other parts of the world have suffered far more than I have. Assata had a great appreciation for her family and stressed not to take things for granted and to appreciate our family.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing Assata speak about her experiences, I gained new insight into the civil war in Liberia. Firstly, I learned that Charles Taylor, a local warlord, ran for president. He promised prosperity for Liberia: claiming that things would improve in the country. However, the opposite happened. He began raising prices for products and institutions. After six years, Taylor refused to step down from presidency. He sent soldiers to regain power, and after frustration in gaining the approval of Liberia, he announced that soldiers would kill everybody: one street at a time. After this brutal violence began, the U.N. stepped in to take control of the situation. In this class, the United Nations getting involved in civil wars or other conflicts has been a common occurrence. In addition, Assata spoke of not questioning her elders. This is among one of the many cultural aspects of Liberia. This clearly demonstrates the contrast between American and African culture (learned in the Africa unit).
ReplyDeleteI learned about the things that happened in Liberia. A connection that i made is that that their are problems in the government just like there is in many other African countries. I also learned about how the corrupt leader started a war in Liberia. Also how the soliders can take they want from the people by force. That is what I learned from the guest speaker.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Liberia seemed to be relatively short compared to other wars we have dealt with in class.
ReplyDeleteThe war in Liberia was initiated when Charles Taylor refused to step down from office. During his campaign, his intentions were false from the start. He promised better education among with other things he failed to deliver. Years into his presidency, he increased the price of rent, rice and other foods. People weren't able to afford such commodities and things became scarce.
After his term had come to an end, he refused to leave. People in Liberia were enraged and acquired weapons . These "soldiers" would steal from people's houses, shot children and raped women and little girls. They turned young boys into vicious human beings.
Taylor then sent his soldiers from village to village and street to street killing many people and babies. The United Nations finally caught wind of the events in Liberia and intervened to end the war.
The other wars we learned about in class were also because of disagreements with the government.