Protestations

Yesterday I went to get lunch at a local Lebanese restaurant. All the restaurants are owned by Lebanese, and almost all serve Lebanese food. As I drove up the road with one of my colleagues, we could see that there the traffic was not moving ahead. We did a u-turn and headed off to a different restaurant in the opposite direction only to find that the police were blocking the road in that direction. While we idled there trying to decide where else to get food, we realized what the hold up was. It was a protest.

This time it was students protesting about the free education that they had been promised but that had not been delivered. The professors at the university are on strike (I think for lack of payment), so the students are not being taught. They were taking advantage of a visit by President Johnson-Sirleaf to the university to share their feelings. I was amazed at the police response. Police is not really the right word. These were fully outfitted riot police with plastic shields, threatening batons, and blue helmets marching in lockstep like a Roman battalion. The color of the helmets indicated that they were some of the 14,000 UN peacekeepers on the ground to keep order. Even so, I was surprised at their violence towards what seemed to me like a peaceful protest.

I think I am showing my naiveté. This protest may have been peaceful, but too many are not. I understand that not too long ago, protests were a common occurrence, mostly of ex-combatants protesting that the promises made to them by over eager politicians had not been delivered. Promises of jobs, food, education, hope for the future. Politicians should be more careful what you promise an ex-combatant who could easily revert back into old ways.

I wander how protests will be handled when there is a major draw down of peacekeepers here over the nine months.