Liberian president shows '' good leadership '' by surrendering a quarter of his wages

AARHUS - Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf already has a lot of honor behind her name. She became the first female elected president in Africa and won the Nobel Peace Prize. This week she also won the award for African leadership and won 5 million dollars. That money is meant to improve Afrians leadership. Her successor, Gerorge Weah already set a good example by giving a large part of his salary back to Libera. He needs the money to get Liberia over the ebola-crisis.

By: Jordi Wolf

Current President Weah, who previously lost the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005, wants to prove that he takes the problems in Liberia just as seriously as his predecessor. The country is slowly trying to overcome a crisis. In 2014, the country was hit by an epidemic of Ebola. More than 4800 people did not survive the epidemic in Liberia.

A new president

For the new President of Liberia, it was a familiar environment at the end of January, a full football stadium in the capital Monrovia. The old footballer takes over from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who stand away from her power. The new president is facing new challenges.

Tonia Dabwe fled from Liberia to Ethitopia in the 1990s and became so in the Netherlands. According to Dabwe, one of the many challenges for the new president will be more equal economic rights for women. Currently, Tonia Dabwe runs an organization that promotes these rights for women in Liberia.

The moment to ask for more female rights looks strange from outside. Just after the country's power was for years in the hands of the brand new winner of the first female elected president in Africa. Yet her successor, a man, will have to take on this enormous challenge. Certainly because, according to many other people, other challenges have more priority. Dabwe is not only positive about the new president; "He has to prove himself, he has received a messianic status, but there are not many examples of his leadership, for example he often stayed away from meetings in the Senate, so she said against the Dutch NOS ."

Former president make place

Ex president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf really thought it was time to hand over the baton. For years she was in the power of one of the poorest countries in the world. Where the new President Weah can focus on the future, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf mainly had the task of restoring the country. Restoring civic wars, fight against Ebola, introducing women's rights and so on. Many see her as the founder of peace in the country.

An eventful past must make space for new hope

Liberia comes from a turbulent past. For a long time, Liberia was mainly in the spotlight because of the civil wars. On Christmas Eve 1989, people in Europe were mainly celebrating that the Berlin Wall had fallen and ended the split between East and West. For Liberia, the bloodiest period in the country's existence began less than a month later.

With a brief pause in 1997, the civil war continued in 1999 and stopped again in 2003. Old president Charles Tayor was convicted for five years of war crimes. The fact that his ex-wife now supports the new president creates mixed feelings about the new president. You could say that the money from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to improve the leadership of Africa is desperately needed here. Nevertheless, according to Dabwe, most Liberians are positive because according to them the worst things are behind them. With that, she is mainly referring to the civil war and ebola that cost the country many lives.

People are afraid of a new virus

A woman from Guinea crossed the border with Liberia at the beginning of January. There she died of lassa fever a few weeks later on the 11th of January. The fever has some symptoms that can also be seen at Ebola. The woman got a headache, vomited a lot, hat diarrhea and a swollen face. The last symptom, in particular, frightened the inhabitants of Liberia. Was someone found with Ebola again?

After the death of the woman, 28 people with the woman had contact with had been examined. Fortunately, none of these people were infected with the lassa fever. People can contract lassa fever by coming into contact with food or other objects that contain traces of urine or feces from rodents. At lassa, about 1% of the patients do not survive the virus. This figure is around 50% at Ebola. The reaction of the Liberian population indicates how scared the country is still for a new crisis.

The country seems to be able to look to the future again

Despite the fear of a new crisis, Liberia may slowly start thinking about a more positive future. Of course there is still much work to be done for the new president. Business Insider placed Liberia fourth when it comes to the poorest countries in the world.

Yet you also see that positive changes are taking place in Liberia. For example, more and more new hotels can be found in the capital Monrovia. Old half-destroyed hotels disappear from the picture. An example of this is Hotel Ducar replaced by Hotel Bella Cassa right in the center of the lively capital. The hotel was in the past especially for chic guests. The previous hotel had a lot to endure during the civil wars that Liberia knew.

The hotel symbolizes the changes in Liberia. There are still enough subjects where the country wants to make progress. Yet these are the small things that the people are adhering to. Now the new president must prove that, like his predecessor, he has '' good African leadership '' and does not need the help of the woman who earlier beat him in an election.