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Pres. Richmond
Mohammed Konneh |
The 14-year civil war in Liberia left
millions of our fellow Liberians emotionally
scared, some more so than others. In such
situation, it is human nature for people to
identify the wrongs of others.
However,
logic dictates that in the midst of lawlessness, as in the
case of the upheavals in Liberia, there is enough blame to
go around. The recent exchanges between some of our brothers
have certainly highlighted this phenomenon. In view of the
sensitivity surrounding the Liberian conflict as it relates
to the Mandingoes, I am appealing to everybody to exercise
restraint and empathize with each other.
My
sincere sympathy and prayer go out to the families that lost
their loved ones in this unfortunate chapter in our nation’s
history. We must all take full and collective responsibility
to heal the wounds we have inflicted and continue to inflict
on each other.
The
purpose of FELMAUSA is to be a beacon of hope for the future
of our people. As a Liberian of the Mandingo heritage, I am
touched by the accounts of the war as told to me by people
that lived it. There is no way we can deny the burden and
pain each person carries. Neither can we marginalize
anyone’s emotional pain. How can we learn from our
collective experience as a people is what matters.
The
Mandingoes are a strong and vibrant group of people with
rich cultural heritage and customs, which are the sources of
our strength. Given the massive challenges facing our
country and community in particular, I want to appeal to all
the sons and daughters of the Mandingo ethnic group to
harness our collective potential to advance the interest of
the community.
We must
compliment each other rather than tear each other apart. It
is my fervent belief that when we come together as a
community, there is nothing we cannot resolve. Let us
therefore embrace each other, in spite of our shortcomings,
to fight against injustices that target our people. We
cannot afford to be divided into bickering camps, pulling
each other down.
Let us
also keep our eyes on the bigger picture of empowering our
children through educational initiatives so that they can
compete in the 21st century Liberia. This is
FELMAUSA’s ultimate goal. As the first President, I am
encouraging all the talented people in our Community to get
involved in FELMAUSA’s activities as we endeavor to rebuild
our people’s spirit after 14 years of civil war. Please be
reminded that the cause of the community is greater than any
one of us. While we MUST not forget the past, let us focus
on the way forward. Let us work together to adopt
appropriate policies that will strengthen FELMAUSA and
enable us to initiate meaningful projects for our people. If
we are to lead the Mandingo ethnic group of Liberia to a
better tomorrow, let us focus on the things that unite us.
Moving
forward
Moving
forward, FELMAUSA continues to explore the possibility of
working with all Liberian Mandingo organizations in the
America and Europe as well as the National Mandingo Caucus
of Liberia and the Concern Mandingo Society of Liberia to
initiate a NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING for all our people that
died during the 14-year civil war. We hope to make this an
annual event in loving memory of all our people and fallen
heroes.
God
Bless Liberia and long live Mandingo Unity
Richmond Mohamed Konneh
President-FELMAUSA
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