By Emmanuel Clarke and Isaac Vah Tukpah Jr., USA
Continued from last publication
Chapter 8
The 1979 Rice Riot and the 1980 Coup
Social agitators like Gabriel Baccus Mathews, Amos Sawyer, Dew Twan-Wleh Mayson and many others, introduced violence in Liberia that changed George Weah’s worldview forever. At the age of twelve, George Weah’s world came crumbling down when the city of Monrovia was embroiled in a torrent of violent demonstrations on Saturday April 14, 1979 by political dissenters in the likes of Baccus Matthews and his People Alliance of Liberia, PAL along with other progressive movements.
Chapter 9
Growing Up in PRC Liberia
The periods between 1980 to 1985 were dark times in Liberia for politicians and anyone who dared to openly criticize Samuel Doe or the government of the PRC. Getting adjusted to a bad situation and not making it a mind-sore while focusing on one’s passion is what George Weah did as a teenager during the People’s Redemption Council, PRC’s reign in Liberia during the 1980s.
He witnessed the government’s brutality against its own citizens, and at one point, he saw neighbors turning against neighbors during an attempted coup in 1985. Clara Town and the Gibraltar Communities were not in the best of shape during the 1980s. The PRC’s coup added to the sufferings of the already struggling people in Gibraltar and various communities around the country. As a survivalist, if there was no food at home, he found food by whatever means necessary to fill his hungry belly—be it joining the older boys in the neighborhood to cook midnight food or something they referred to as, “Join before you chew/clear (JBC)”.
To be continued
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