22 April, 2008:  This coming June the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia—the body created after the Accra peace talks in 2003, which brought an end to over two decades of civil war in the country—will be holding hearings in St. Paul, MN. At first glance it may seem strange that such a deeply personal and uniquely Liberian institution such as the TRC would choose to “take its show on the road” so to speak. What Liberia’s TRC meeting in St. Paul, MN—and its later visit to Ghana—actually represents, is the most recent innovation in the field of transitional justice. The TRC of Liberia is groundbreaking in its commitment to the process of securing statements not only from the current residents of Liberia, but from the Diaspora as well.

In the interest of getting a true picture of what exactly occurred during the period of conflict which stretched from January 1979 to October 2003, the Liberian government has decided that statements should be taken from those who chose to flee the violence—relocating primarily in the U.S., the UK, and several surrounding West African nations. While this may seem like a natural component of getting at the truth, the voices of those who have left conflict-torn regions for good have been more often than not left out of the process of piecing together an account of a country’s violent past. Despite the logistical and cultural challenges that such a project entails, the TRC of Liberia has been diligent in making sure that all whom experienced Liberia’s troubled past will have the opportunity to have their voices heard and the chance to be a part of the country’s endeavor to re-imagine their society in their future.

“The TRC is an attempt at cultural transformation,” said Rev. Gerald Coleman, one of the nine commissioners of the Liberian TRC, at an event held last week at American University, “it’s the chance to build a bridge of hope for a new nation.”

The large Liberian Diaspora population is the result of over 20 years of civil war, the origins of which can be traced back to the very settlement of the country and the arrival of free-slave settlers from the United States and the Caribbean beginning in 1822. There was tension almost immediately between Americo-Liberians, as they have come to be called, and the indigenous Africans already residing in the area. The Rice Riot in 1979 over the growing price of rice and other commodities is viewed as one of the starting points of formal conflict, which grew to full-blown civil war in 1989 and again in 1999. Between the two wars an estimated 200,000 people lost their lives. Many Liberians chose to flee the country during these conflicts.

The TRC of Liberia was created in May 2005 and, according to its website, “has been charged with the responsibility of investigating the root causes of the conflict in Liberia, amplifying historical truths and thereby undermining falsehoods that have overtime assumed the status of historical truths.” It is also given the task of establishing “an independent and accurate record of the rights violations and abuses occasioned by the conflict and set the basis for justice and reconciliation that will foster national repentance, strike the delicate balance between accountability and forgiveness in order to heal the land and unite the people.”

In order to accomplish this mandate, the TRC has felt that it must include the stories of those who left the country and who did not return, either by choice or matter of circumstances. “So many Liberians had to flee,” explains Patricia Minikon, an attorney and Cultural Advisor to the DC TRC Project, “their perspectives, stories and voices need to be included to get an accurate portrait of exactly what occurred.” In the interest of gather statements from the Diaspora, The Advocates for Human Rights, a Minneapolis-based organization, launched a pilot program in Minnesota, a state with a high number of Liberian citizens, in the fall of 2006. The program was so successful that statement-taking was subsequently expanded to St. Paul, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, Washington, DC, Newark and Trenton, Providence, and Atlanta and internationally to London, UK and Accra, Ghana.

The Advocates have trained volunteers within the United States to take voluntary statements from members of the Diaspora and give referrals to counselors, immigration attorneys, and social services providers when necessary. While this aspect of the TRC represents a revolutionary approach to transitional justice, this is not to say that the project has not encountered challenges in its pursuit of collecting personal statements.

The primary obstacle is the need to educate the individuals in the Diaspora about the TRC and their role within it. Many potential statement-givers are understandably reluctant to speak about their personal ordeals and often don’t understand exactly how their statements will be used and what will be required of them. The volunteers must first assure participants that they will not be forced to testify in a courtroom setting, that their confidentiality and privacy will be maintained, and that their information will be kept out of public record and the media.

The Advocates have been able to collect thousands of statements despite these obstacles. Hundreds of American volunteers have also been given the opportunity to have a hand in reconstructing the past and building a brighter future for the citizens of Liberia. When the TRC arrives in St. Paul in June not only will it be showing its dedication to following the truth wherever it may reside, but it will create—as it makes history itself—a lasting legacy for future transitional justice mechanisms which will come after them.