Travel back in time in Liberia

Back in the 60’s and 70’s, I lived on a small remote iron ore mine called Mano River, in West Liberia surrounded by jungle. For a small child it was ideal; animals abounded, we were free to roam and have adventures and very kid could be Tarzan. As kids, we had pets which would be considered exotic anywhere else in the world; chimpanzees, spider monkeys, pythons and of course dogs, cats and anything else we could lay our hands on. We were from all over the World; Philippines, UK, Holland, USA, Indonesia, Liberia, Ireland and this confused melee lived happily together in a place without television, huge supermarkets or much of what we consider essential today. My family left Mano River in 1975 and moved to Southern Africa which started a whole new adventure but deep down I never forgot or stopped loving that small remote jungle camp in the middle of no-where.

Fast forward 38 years, and I am now fat and in my late 40’s and suddenly find myself back in Liberia working to deliver a schools programme across the country. Top of my “Bucket List” has always been to re-visit my childhood haunts and see if it could still be all that it was. So once I had settled into life in Liberia, arrangements were made to visit my long missed home.

Downtown Buchanan (Neil Coker 2013)

The trip down to Mano River was fairly uneventful for the first three hours, good tar roads constructed by the Daewoo Corporation during the relative calm of the early to mid-1980’s but then we hit the Klay Junction and hit the dirt. Even though I have lived in many remote areas and travelled on many dirt tracks and roads, this was something else. Lack of maintenance and the annual rainy season had effectively destroyed the road system and our 4x4 had to reduce speed significantly to maintain momentum. We were frequently overtaken by the small motorcycles made by the Chinese and Indians which have become ubiquitous throughout Africa as they weaved their way through the washed out culverts, potholes and fallen trees. As we had taken the back route to Mano River, mistakenly thinking it would be in reasonable condition due to lack of use, we had to cross a large number of bridges. Now a bridge in Liberia can be many things! Some were substantial steel plate structures manufactured by the mining companies in the 1940’s and 50’s, some were simple lengths of steel I-Beam laid next to each other spanning the gap and some were palm logs. Now in the dry season, which we are still in, none of these are a problem but come the rainy season these become death defying adventures which only the brave or fool-hardy will attempt.

Hybrid Bridge in Grand Cape Mount consisting of Palm Logs, I-Beams and Steel Pipes (Neil Coker 2013)

When we eventually reached Mano River after some 5 hours driving we were fortunate to meet up with an old mine employee called JP. To my delight he remembered a lot of the families I grew up with and knew the mine well. He explained that the mine had closed in 1985 and during the war and subsequent period, the looters and scrap metal dealers had destroyed the mine and its camps. After negotiating a fee, he agreed to show me around. First stop was the Clinic and Hospital. Back in the mine’s heyday this was the jewel of the County, international standards, medical staff from all over the world, inoculation programmes and a well-managed interaction with the community. Move to 2013 and it is a very different scenario. Hospitals are a much needed asset throughout West Africa and particularly in both Sierra Leone and Liberia in the midst of their post-war re-development. In Mano River, the buildings have been stripped and everything of value either destroyed or stolen.

 

The old mine hospital at Mano River, my youngest brother was born here in 1972 and it is a criminal waste to see what has become of it (Neil Coker 2013)

But onward and upward to the staff school next. Back when the mine was operating the school served both expat and national staff member’s children. I can vividly remember the very American centred education syllabus with Social Studies and books brought from the US for the Library. My earliest memory is of playing with “Lincoln Logs” in the Kindergarten. The school was a simple C-shaped layout flanking a basketball court on top of a hill. I doubt pupil numbers ever went over 30 but we had fun. On the right was the Library where every recess we had to line up to get a small drink of water out of a paper cone.

 

To the left was the Principal’s office - avoid at all costs! (Neil Coker 2013)

In every mine across Africa, then as in today, socialising was the centre of the mine. In the case of Mano River we had Club Mano. It was a fairly simple structure but contained a lot for our entertainment, bearing in mind we had no television, infrequent radio (World Service or Voice of America) and videos and dvd’s were a thing of the future. In the building the children had their own area which had a small bar where you could buy drinks and, best of all, a popcorn machine! The adults were somewhat better served; a library, bar, pool room, darts and for the benefit of all of us a theatre where movies were shown on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I vividly remember cultivating a working relationship with the projectionist so that I could be the one to help him running the projector in return for first call on the movie posters!



Club Mano Theatre – scene of many a happy matinee with warm Coke and fresh popcorn, what more could any kid want? (Neil Coker 2013)

Back in 2003, immediately after the war, the UN had patrols on the mine and photographs showed huge amounts of equipment and structures still in place. “013, every piece of steel has been taken by the scrap dealers scouring the country. Fortunately, current economics have now resulted in an Indian company purchasing the mine and it is now in the process of being re-invigorated. As new investment comes into Liberia, the future is looking bright and perhaps one day another kid will grow up in the jungle and have memories he or she will always cherish.

What is left of the Washing Plant at Mano River (Neil Coker 2013)

 

 

Iron ore in the raw (Neil Coker 2013)