COMING UP IN THIS EPISODE.

WE SPEAK WITH THE NEW HEAD OF LIBERIA’S WAR AND ECONOMIC CRIMES COURT DR JALLAH BARBU.

VICTIMS DEMAND TOUGH PUNISHMENT AS FORMER LURD REBEL COMMANDER “K1 GOES ON TRIAL IN THE US

GOVERNMENT CELEBRATES AS CARBON TRADING WINS APPROVAL AT THE UN COP 20 CLIMATE SUMMIT. BUT FOREST COMMUNITIES SAY THEY’RE BEING LEFT OUT.

AND…..THE RAINS SUBSIDE AFTER THE WORST RAINY SEASON FLOODING IN MEMORY. BUT EXPERTS WARN WORSE IS TO COME AND LIBERIA IS NOT READY.

WELCOME TO OUR PROGRAM LOOKING AT THE STATE OF LIBERIAN DEMOCRACY. IT’S A COLLABORATION WITH FRONTPAGE AFRICA WITH REPORTING FROM JOURNALISTS IN THE NEW NARRATIVES PROGRAM. I’M ANTHONY STEPHENS.

AND I’M EVELYN KPADEH SEAGBEH.

Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish embassy in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org

Welcome to this special edition of Democracy in Focus, a collaboration between New Narratives and Front Page Africa. I’m Anthony Stephens.

In this exclusive interview, I speak with Jallah Barbu, newly appointed executive director of the Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts. Dr. Barbu will lead Liberia’s long overdue effort to hold those who upended the country and left 250,000 dead, accountable at last. Just a month into the job Dr. Barbu has already faced a host of challenges, chief among them, a lack of funds.

But he says he is honored to have the role and understands the weight of expectation he carries for the millions of Liberians still suffering the aftermath of the war.

Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish embassy in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org

In this interview, Anthony Stephens speaks with Seidu Swaray, a leading mental health counsellor and executive director of the Liberia Association of Psychosocial Services. Swaray’s group provides psychosocial services to Liberians, including victims of the civil wars. He describes the profound mental health challenges facing the country after the civil wars and advises people how to deal with trauma that the upcoming court may trigger.

Funding for this podcast comes from the Swedish embassy in Liberia and the American Jewish World Service. See more of our collaborations with media in West Africa at www.newnarratives.org