Sharon R. Pinder
2007-08-24 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE -

I first met my daughter about a decade ago. I was a volunteer with journalist DeWayne Wickham’s Woodholme Foundation, which provides scholarships for at-risk youth. As chair of the education committee, I recruited Biah, our first international candidate. She had recently arrived in the U.S. from war-torn Liberia, where she witnessed her mother, stepfather and siblings massacred during a brutal civil war. Through a series of unusual circumstances, Biah was taken from a refugee camp and brought to America to seek political asylum.

My husband Reginald and I embraced Biah into our hearts and home, and she soon became a part of our family. We’ve watched her blossom and today she is a Registered Nurse at the Washington Hospital Center. She earned an associates degree in nursing and a BS in public health. Her goal is to return to Liberia to help with its recovery.

As ironic as it seems, Maryland, my home state, has had a long-standing relationship with my daughter’s country. It began when the 1832-33 session of the Maryland legislature created the Maryland State Colonization Society and allocated $200,000 to send freed blacks to Africa. On the heels of Nat Turner’s revolt, the society’s primary purpose was to reduce the possibility that free blacks might induce slaves to revolt against their oppressors. Members thought removing freed blacks would be prudent. The freed blacks settled in Maryland County, first established as an African republic in 1827. It was granted independence in 1854. In 1857, what was then the Republic of Maryland united with the country of Liberia. Today, Maryland County is one of fifteen counties in Liberia. It is located on the southern boarder of the country.

Liberia, which means freedom, is a beautiful country. Considered by many as the true gateway to West Africa, it has a major port and is richly endowed with water, diamonds, mineral resources and forests. It also has a climate favorable to agriculture and has been a producer and exporter of basic products, primarily raw timber and rubber.

In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel Doe ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against Doe’s regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which Doe was killed. The period of relative peace that began in 1997 allowed for the elections that brought Taylor to power. But major fighting resumed in 2000. By 2001 the United Nations placed a ban on the sale of blood diamonds that fueled the war. During 14 years of on-again, off-again fighting, approximately 200,000 Liberians died. Another 1.5 million, including Biah, were forced to flee their homes.

On January 16, 2006, Liberia inaugurated Africa’s first female president. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard educated economist, has made significant strides toward restoring Liberia’s peace and infrastructure and is working hard to meet the challenges of a country that collapsed from 14 years of civil war. During her tenure, she has been extremely successful in obtaining billions of dollars from the private sector to invest in the new Liberia.

On Monday, Maryland and Liberia will make history again. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with superintendents from the Liberian counties of Bong and Maryland to formalize the first Maryland Sister State Relationship with the continent of Africa.

I have been asked to chair the citizen-volunteer executive committee of the newly formed Liberia Sister States Program — by people who had no idea about my Liberian-born daughter. Coincidence? I think not. I thank God for connecting the dots. On Friday my husband, daughter and I will stand proud and witness this historic alliance between our two homelands. And we’ll once again celebrate the enduring alliance between ourselves.

Sharon R. Pinder is president and CEO of The Pinder Group, LLC and serves as executive chair of the Maryland - Liberia Sister States Program. She can be reached at Sharon@thepindergroup.com.