Why Am I Richer Than the Thieves in Liberia? By Rabbi Gbaba

Transcription

1 Why Am I Richer Than the Thieves in Liberia? By Rabbi Gbaba In all my life, I never had to steal In order to be rich over night Or, in order to eat Wear decent clothes, Or to live in an average home setting Just to find happiness For true happiness came my way naturally When I met face to face With the man called Christ And the reason why I am richer and happier Than thieves in Liberia today Is because I sought first the kingdom of God And all his righteousness By humbling myself before the Lord So that everything else May come my way with ease: For an example

2 I patiently went going to school To learn the difference between right and wrong And to be a law-abiding citizen of the universe So that I may have a blessed marriage, A blessed and well educated and loving wife And beautiful children and grandchildren, A safe and happy Christian home, A steady source of honest income And a host of good family, friends and supporters Apart from the haters, Whether family or foes I mean those who envy me For making the right decisions in life But that is not my kpor-meni The Kpelle man says For I am about sharing Christ s values With those who are willing to learn And to make a difference in the lives of others So here is how I share my values Not by only saying but by also doing

3 For instance, I never one day envied my friends, Relatives, or peers for their accomplishments; For when they were lucky in life, I was right there to celebrate with them, To knock glasses and to rejoice Because of their good fortune And when misfortune came their way I spent sleepless nights by their side Providing counsel and comfort To help them go through their grief When my friends I have known for more than fifty years Started paying their mortgage and had house-warming parties My wife and I would be the first to arrive at the party With our humble gifts to cheer our friends up Sometimes my wife as humble as she is She would go in the kitchen to help out And clean the dirty dishes Or to add some spice and taste to the food And to let our so-called friends know We cared and wished them the best

4 Some friends even built mansions in Liberia over night With fences as high as the Treasury Department That is located on Broad and Mechlin Streets And fear the thick gold chains they wear in their necks And the fleet of cars in their fortresses For this reason, It does not take a rocket scientist to tell That these dudes who yesterday did not have The first penny to buy a loaf of bread They now own a U.S. 2.5 million dollar home In the middle of a zinc shack community in Battery Factory! Of course this is in sharp contrast To appropriate city zoning ordinances Because all you see is this giant structure In the middle of nowhere Where their neighbors children Have swollen bellies from malnutrition Because my friends pocketed the funds Intended to provide nutrition and health care for the needy

5 So, even a child just born yesterday can tell My friends had stolen huge government monies And converted the monies to their personal use Without any remorse of conscience Ay Liberian thief man! When you will feel sorry for your own people! I say this because my friends were aware The monies were intended for some worthwhile projects Intended to benefit the suffering Liberian people Like a hospital in the hinterland of Liberia Where the people have no health centers Or a school building in a remote village in Grand Kru; Or a farm-to-market road to help farmers In faraway villages and towns To help farmers bring their agricultural products to the market All these pressing needs of the Liberian people My friends ignored for selfish reasons Closing their ears and eyes to the truth But of course you know the Liberian adage: Ninety-nine days for rogue;

6 And one day for master! As a consequence, Thieves in Liberia today are gripped with fear, Fear of being exposed for the economic crimes they committed; Fear that armed robbers might come to steal back Some of the monies they stole from the Liberian people Due to hardened hearts and lack of remorse My friends even pay bodyguards To watch over them Because they never have peaceful rest during the night Instead, they have dreams in which The masses chase them with huge cutlasses in hand To do their business And take back what belongs to the Liberian people And so even though my so-called rich friends Live in their high fortresses and mansions Where they cannot get fresh air Because they are walled and fenced in My friends blood pressures are always very abnormal; And they seem to be unhappy living in their stolen paradise

7 They acquired over night; Their marriages are torn apart And their children end up Being gangsters and rogues like their parents Because an orange does not fall far from the orange tree Rabbi Gbaba (to be continued) September 19, 2012