She like a man

“She like a man” my driver said in reference to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. He meant it as a compliment. With the nickname of ‘Iron Lady’ I could see what he meant. This is her history as told by my driver.

She is tough. During the election she traveled all over the country into small villages along difficult roads. She went among the people. She shook their hands and spoke with them. She is like us.

She suffered. She suffered much that woman. During the war….

She was jailed by Doe. Then he let her out because of pressure from the US government.

During Taylor’s time, no one spoke. No one could say what was really happening, but Ellen spoke. She said that there was too much killing going on and that it had to stop. Taylor said that Ellen was trying to overthrow his government and she had to be stopped.

Ellen managed to escape to the Ivory Coast during Charles Taylor’s time. She was evacuated, but a customs official signed her documents. He knew what he was doing. He knew she was a wanted woman by the Taylor regime and that he would pay the price for his signature on a piece of paper. He later killed himself rather than face his punishment with the government.