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Liberia Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa. In 1821, native African rulers granted a tract of land on the west coast of Africa at the mouth of the St. Paul River to U.S. representatives and colonization began. The town that was formed was called Monrovia (in honor of President James Monroe) and the colony, Liberia. A constitution modeled on that of the United States |
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| was drawn up and Liberia became an independent republic in July 1847. They were not recognized by the United States, however, until 1862. Claims by Liberia over interior territory was disputed, not only by the indigenous people but also by European states, but U.S. support led to a series of agreements with Britain and France between 1892 and 1911 which marked the present boundaries. But Liberian (i.e., descendants of resettled American slaves) control over the indigenous people (who were usually treated as second-class citizens) was constantly an issue.
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| Over the years indigenous peoples attempted to gain political power but were regularly pushed down again and again, until, on April 12, 1980, a bloody coup was staged by army personnel under the leadership of Samuel K. Doe, an ethnic Krahn. The current government was killed and Doe assumed power. One of the members of Samuel Doe’s government was Charles Taylor, who was born of Americo-Liberian parents, and earned a degree in economics in the U.S. where he was influenced by Marxist and Pan-African ideas. He was found embezzling funds from the Doe government and fled to the U.S. There he was imprisoned for stealing $900,000 in Liberian government funds but escaped from a Massachusetts prison. In 1989, he returned to West Africa and launched a revolt against Doe. Some background about life in Liberia… The Zulu family lived in a small rural area called Kumah. This was a traditional Krahn tribe settlement of about 75 people. There were mainly small villages that surrounded the large city of Zwedru on all sides. Zwedru was a big city on a creek where only the Krahn tribal people lived. They spoke their tribal language of Chien. The Zulu family lived in a mud hut with planks on top. Rufus Zulu was born in 1969. He went to school in Kumah until 7th grade. The school only went to that level, so then Robert (his father) went to Zwedru to take Rufus to high school. It was a 4-hour walk. Rufus stayed in the city and went home on weekends and holidays. Robert worked in a saw mill for a while and built a place for Rufus to live while going to school in Zwedru. Then Robert went back to the village. He became the secretary to the town clerk/chief. On September 21, 1990, a cry went up that their town was being invaded by Taylor’s rebels. Many, including some of Rufus’s family, were able to escape into the “bush” before the town was destroyed and the remaining inhabitants killed. For many months Rufus and his family hid out in the jungle, running from raiders, finally coming to the Cavalla River which is the boundary between Liberia and Ivory Coast. Some people on the opposite bank came across in canoes and took them to Ivory Coast. The Red Cross gave them aid and helped them get settled near the town of Guiglo and to get registered with the U.N. refugee system. While in the Ivory Coast, Rufus’s family was given a plot of land for them to farm to provide the family with food. Rufus also needed to “hustle” odd jobs to raise money to supplement what the family could grow. During this time he went to high school and received a diploma. They thought they were now safe. But rebel gangs from Liberia from time to time carried out raids on the refugee settlements until the U.N. provided them protection by building a refugee camp in 1995. Rufus and his family continued to live on their own until a major uprising in December 2003 when they took permanent refuge inside the camp. Several Lehigh Valley congregations (see list below), led by a group from St. Timothy Lutheran Church, agreed to sponsor a Liberian family that was to be resettled in the United States. The family consisted of a total of twelve members. They included the head of the greater family unit, Robert Gaye Zulu, his wife, Esther Gaye Zulu, and their children and grandchildren, plus Shad Torh who is the husband of one of Robert’s children. The move to a new life… Then Rufus was notified that he and his family
were to be resettled in the United States and that 13 years after
his family were expelled from their homes they would be given
a new home. Rufus and his 4-year-old daughter, Famela, traveled
from Ivory Coast to Belgium, to Atlanta, to Philadelphia, and
after a stop at Lutheran Children and Family Services in Philadelphia,
arrived in the Lehigh Valley at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February
11, 2004. He found a cousin, Benorah, and her three children already
living in Allentown. |
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| When
Rufus Monsuah Zulu and his daughter Famela arrived in Allentown
they were settled into an apartment in Allentown. They were to be
followed by the rest of the family shortly thereafter. However,
in April 2004, Robert Zulu received notice that their case had been
closed. They learned that the Priority One Group (the expedited
cases) had been closed because peace had been declared in Liberia
and the situation was no longer considered extreme. |
 Rufus and Famela shortly after arrival in Allentown |
Rufus and Famela adapted well to life in the United States with Rufus working full time and Famela beginning to attend school. In October one of our church members noticed that Famela had swelling on her face (she had been complaining of not feeling well). She was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) for examination and then transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). There she was diagnosed with Burkett’s (Non-Hodgkin’s) Lymphoma. This particular cancer is a very aggressive type and requires an equally aggressive treatment plan. She began receiving a combination of chemotherapy and other treatments. She initially spent two weeks at CHOP to receive the first set of treatments after which she was released to return home and to receive further treatments at LVH. The lives of Rufus and Famela were on a roller coaster during the cancer treatments. There were good days, and bad days, some very bad. Despite fears that we might lose Famela a couple times, she managed to rebound each time and completed treatments. Eventually a CT scan showed no cancer that May. She has now been declared cured. Rufus and his daughter have now settled into a normal routine like any other family. The rest of the family has not been able to get approval to come to the United States. They returned to their former home in Liberia but were not able to reclaim their home because someone else now occupies it and, since they were gone such a long time, they have no claim on it. They are trying to settle permanently and rebuild their lives. Rufus has been sending some money to help them survive. They must buy their food because they cannot farm. The St. Timothy congregation is in the process of mounting an aid effort to the Zulu family.
People
from the following congregations Christ Lutheran Church,
Allentown |
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Revised 2-10
140 South Ott Street • Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104
610-435-4512 • Fax 610-435-4541
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