From the Field
Oct 10, 2011
Despite Nobel Prize, Sirleaf’s Re-Election Not Guaranteed
Photo by Tamasin Ford -- former child soldiers in Monrovia, Liberia
PRI`s THE WORLD: Liberians go to the polls on Tuesday to choose a president, less than a week after the incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was named a Nobel Peace Prize winner. It’s a pretty heady campaign endorsement, and it’s angered the other candidates in the race. But the Nobel is no guarantee that Sirleaf will win re-election.
Sao Marwlo drives a motorcycle taxi in the capital Monrovia seven days a week. He’s 19, and he can’t afford school fees to finish high school. He only earns about $60 a month. He said he won’t be voting for Sirleaf.
“The Old Ma, she really fooled us,” Marwlo said, using Sirleaf’s nickname, Ma Ellen. “She promised us a lot of things, and she never did it.”
Bio
Bonnie Allen is a freelance journalist living in Liberia, West Africa. Recently, she's reported from Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Uganda, Malawi and Liberia. She produces radio, print, and film.
The Canadian journalist worked for the CBC and CTV for 10 years. She holds a Masters Degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford.
Allen has lectured at the University of Liberia and trained journalists in Liberia and Ghana on human rights reporting, justice and gender issues, documentary production, and feature writing.
uganda 2010
