Global Voices Information Sheet

Liberia

Courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk

Liberia: A Brief History

• Founding: Liberia was founded in 1822 as a place where freed slaves were returned
from America. It gained independence in 1847. It should be noted most of the freed
slaves were born in America and their heritage came from other parts of Africa. They
became known as Americo-Liberians.
• First Civil War: From 1989, Liberia began a civil war between government forces and
the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, headed by Charles Taylor. The war killed nearly
200,000 people and caused millions of refugees to flee. This continued until 1996, when
Taylor was elected president.
• Second Civil War: Taylor won the presidential campaign largely due to terrorizing
people. He committed many human rights crimes against his people. And, he is said to
have supported forces in Sierra Leone, trading weapons for diamonds, and have used
child soldiers. Opposition to Taylor started almost immediately. The war restarted in
1997, lasting until 2003.
• Present: In 2003, Charles Taylor resigned his presidency, ending the war and fleeing
into Nigeria. He was eventually turned over to the International Criminal Court and is
currently being tried for war crimes. In 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President
of Liberia. She is the first elected female head of state for Africa.
Key Terms

• altruistic – unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others

• civil war – a war between parties, factions or groups within the same country
• opportunism – taking advantage of opportunities and circumstances
• patriotic – a person who vigorously supports his or her country and its way of life
• telecommunications – the science of technology and communications
For more information on the history of Liberia view the interactive history at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,988886,00.html

If students are interested learning more about the rebuilding of Liberia, encourage them to read, This Child Will
Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa’s First Woman President by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Global Voices Secondary Educator Resources

Note to Educators:
The following activities are designed to stimulate a current events discussion. Generative in nature,
these questions can be a launching point for additional assignments or research projects.
Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities to meet the contextual needs of their classroom.

In some cases, reading the article with students may be appropriate, coupled with reviewing the
information sheet to furt her explore the concepts and cont exts being discussed. From here, teachers
can select from the questions provided below. Activities are structured to introduce students to the
issues, then allow them to explore and apply their learnings. Extension and conclusion activities are
included to challenge students and finally, encourage them to reflect on the issues at hand.

Since these activities are designed as discussions rather than formal lessons, assessment strategies
are not included.

Themes and Course Connections

 Immigration, emigration, refugees, diversity, culture, multiculturalism, citizenship, family
heritage, inclusion
 Course Connections: Canadian and World Studies, English, Global Issues, Geography,
History

Materials
 Chart paper
 Markers
 Computers and internet

Specific Expectations and Learning Goals

Students will:
 Learn about refugees
 Take a critical look at media sources
 Participate in active class discussions
 Research their cultural herit age
 Write a memoir
 Plan a lesson on diversity to be taught to an elementary school class

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Pack your Bags (estimated time: 10 minutes)
a. Explain to students that in this exercise they will attempt to put themselves, at
least imaginatively, in the shoes of a refugee. From this activity, students should
understand that refugees are generally not able to plan their migration in
advance; consequently, they end up ill-prepared to face the incredibly difficult
situations ahead of them.
b. Tell students that they will be given two minutes to gather their belongings,
what ever they choose, since they are being forced from their house and
community, and will most likely not return. During these two minutes students will
brainstorm and write down what they should take. (Teacher note: you can shout
out distractions like taking 10 seconds to lock the door, etc.)

2
 c. From there, lead a discussion on the lists that have been created and their
content by asking:
i. What did you take with you? Why?
ii. Why did you think you would need these things ?
iii. Did you take identific ation/documentation with you? Why would you need
this? If you did not bring this, how can you prove who you are?
iv. Was there anything you left behind that you wish you had brought wit h
you?
v. Did you choose to bring any sentimental belongings with you?
vi. How did this activity make you feel?
d. Ask students to compare this activity to what they think refugees experience
when they are forced to flee their country because they fear for their safety or are
in search of a better life.

2. What is a Refugee? (estimated time: 15 minutes)

a. Write the word refugee on the board and ask students to give their ideas of what
a refugee is. Record their responses.
b. As a class define refugee.
c. Divide the class into small groups.
d. Ask each group to research the following information:
i. What causes a person to become a refugee?
ii. Where would they choose to go after they have left their home country?
iii. Looking at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which of these
rights may be violated as related to refugees?
iv. What happens to a refugee when they reac h a new count ry? What
difficulties do they face?
e. When the groups have finished their research, ask them to share their findings
with the class.
3. Invite a guest speaker from the Historica-Dominion Institute Passages to Canada
program (http://www.passagestocanada.com/en/) who will share with the class their
experiences in their native countries and the trials they encountered prompting their
departure as refugees to Canada and their experiences here as newly arrived
immigrants.

Thinking
1. Read the Global Voices Column independently (estimated time: 10 minutes )
a. Reflection:
i. Ask students to record point-form notes in res ponse to the article.
ii. Ask students to record five questions that they are unsure of from their
initial reading of the article.
iii. Make sure that students do not record a plot summary; instead, ask that
they address new things that they learned and questions t hat they have.

2. Media Lit eracy (estimated time: 10 minutes)

a. Ask each student to perform an OPV L on the Global Voices column.
i. Origin: what is the sourc e of this column?
ii. Purpose: why was this column written?
iii. Value: what are the facts and statistics in this column that give it value?
iv. Limitations: whose perspective is the column written from, does this
cause limitations?
b. When this is complete, bring the class back together and discuss student
answers.

3
Communication
1. Teaching the Younger Generation (estimated time: 30 minutes)
a. Explain to the class that by living in such a diverse society it is important not to
pass judgment and to practice inclusivity. Therefore, they are going to teach a
lesson on diversity to an elementary school class. Ask:
i. What is diversity?
ii. Why is it important to teach students about diversity?
iii. What other factors are important to teach along with the topic of
diversity? (For example, inclusion, culture, respect, etc.)
iv. When teaching about diversity, what is important to tell younger
students?
v. What message do you think is important to get across during this
lesson?
vi. When the lesson is complet e what do you want the students to walk
away wit h?
b. Divide the students into groups of four.
c. Ask the groups to creat e a 20 minute lesson or skit on diversity that they will
teach to an element ary school classroom. Encourage them to include games,
activities, projects and a presentation.
d. When the lessons are complete, have each group present their lesson to the
class.

Application
1. Memoir: My Family History (estimated time: continuous project)
a. Ask the students to write a memoir about their family history.
b. Have students prepare by talking to family members and finding out the following
information:
i. Where is my family from?
ii. When did they first come to Canada?
iii. Why did they first come to Canada?
iv. Where did they first settle?
v. Are there any other interesting facts about my family?
vi. Do we practice any traditions from our country of origin?
vii. What is unique about our culture?
c. When the students have gat hered all of this information explain that it is now time
to write their memoir.
d. Using their research they must decide:
i. Are there specific milestones or events in their family history that they
would want to talk about ? What are they?
ii. What changes has their family gone through?
iii. What milestones has their family reached? What troubles have they
faced?
iv. Where and how will the memoir end?
e. When the students have finished writing their memoirs, ask them to hand their
work in for assessment.
f. To finish up, encourage the students to bring in traditional items, clothing, music
and food from their respective countries of origin. Have them set up stations that
document their family’s past and journey to Canada along with their challenges
and successes.

Additional Resources
In addition to the above lesson plans, you may want to share some additional resources with your
students. Listed below are some links to useful online resources:

The UN Refugee Agency - http://www. unhc r.ch/

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
4