WE ARE ALL LIBERIANS, LET’S LEAVE IT by Stanford Peabody

Uncle Jesse was a fixture at our house in Jallah Town.  He was my father’s oldest brother.  He had his own room in the house and though he didn’t pay any rent and ate off my father’s table, nobody really noticed or cared that he was a sponger.

Nobody also noticed that Uncle Jesse was a molester.  I caught him trying to slip into Maryann’s room many times, can’t say how many times he did get to go in.  Maryann was 15 years old and helped my mom take care of us kids.  I was about 10.

I blew the horn on Uncle Jesse, not that I meant to do it, but he had been very mean to me and had at one time even told on me for some other issues for which I was punished.  It was solemn; Maryann came forward and told about all the times Uncle Jesse had been doing this.

This is the same issue with Wally, who was a rogue in the community.  Family members always rescued him when all indicators showed him to be the culprit of some theft.  During the war he was shot while looting.  Just maybe, If Wally had been reprimanded or some other drastic action taken, he would have changed his ways and thought twice about exposing himself to such risky action. 

You may be wondering what happened to Uncle Jesse.  Well, Cousin Mona, Ma Teetee, and all the other family members from Vai Town came and all they did was to say, let’s leave it, we’re all family.  Then Ma Teetee, apparently appointed by the others, was the one sent to tell me that she did not want to hear this anywhere, anymore.

That was the end.  Uncle Jesse maintained his little room, sponged on the pappy and continued in his ways and went on to rape or molest many other little girls. 

That was until yesterday when sitting in New Jersey reading the Liberian news I heard that several Liberians were deported.  Friends at home told me that my Uncle Jesse had been amongst those deported.  I knew he was in Jail, but did not know that he was deported.

There are so many of such people and events that each of us can point to and say, this same thing happened, I know.  We swept it under the rug all in the name of being “we are all Liberians, let’s leave it.

I hope there was a way to know the amount of issues that we as Liberians have swept under the rug all in the name of being Liberians.

When issues are swept under the rug or left inadequately addressed, they tend to linger and create further problems or issues.  Let us remember Uncle Jesse today and pray that we tackle all our issues in the right way so that we do not leave them lingering and re-appearing like Uncle Jesse’s, which in the long run caused him to serve jail time and deportation, not to mention the victims who may have indelible scars on their minds, and maybe their bodies.

Do you know of a situation, which was swept under the rug?