Recent Rise in “Mysterious  Deaths” in Liberia: Is the “Rescue Government” Checkmating These “Chemically Deadly” Imported Foods?

Former Lawmaker Richmond Anderson adds his voice

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10 Mins Read

ADNews- Monrovia: Dozens of Liberians—in each of Liberia’s 15 Counties—have “mysteriously” died in recent times. This started from the dawn of George Manneh Weah’s Presidency (October 2023), to the beginning of Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s Presidency (January 2024) up to the current time (August 2024) when I was producing this informative write-up.

By: Samuel G. Dweh—Freelance Journalist (Education & Human Rights)

+23188661896/776583266; samuelosophy@yahoo.com/samuelosophy1@gmail.com

 

Reports from many relatives or friends of the dead persons say before giving up the ghosts, their relatives or friends had complained about “weakness”, “chest pain”, or “persistent dysentery” (loss of excess water in the body) hours after eating “frozen fish”, “frozen meant”, frozen spare ribs”(parts chickens) or another “imported” seafood (from a foreign Country) bought at a Liberian market.

All the imported foods in Liberia had been preserved with chemicals (technically called “preservatives”) to prevent their spoilage in the cold storage facilities they had been kept in the foreign Lands they were shipped from. En route to Liberia, these foods were also preserved with these chemicals to prevent their spoilage in the three, five, or seven months the conveying Ship will spend over the Atlantic Ocean.

Some of these chemicals remain in this chemically preserved part of meat, chicken, or fish when it is being cooked. When the chemical enters the meat, chicken, or fish into the human system, it scrapes inside the stomach of the person who ate the rice and soup with the “proteinous part” (meat, chicken, or fish) of the food. This “scrapping” is the cause of death in many Liberians who are “addicted to” eating these chemically preserved foods.

The Liberian community of Journalists, people who sometimes investigate foods coming into their County, are also “hooked to” eating these chemically preserved foods.

I was informed that the death of veteran Liberian Journalist—former Correspondent of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Joel Cholo Brooks—was partially caused by complications from “imported foods” he had eaten over a long time.

 

THIS WRITER’S PERSONAL “FAILING HEALTH STORY”

Since January, 2024, I have been experiencing mysterious “fatigue” (tiredness), “jerky breath” (when I am walking up a slightly steep hill), and “persistent heartbeat” when I am walking.

Five months ago (in 2024), I was medically  treated at the Liberian Government-owned John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center, followed by consumption of over 500 pharmaceutical drugs (tablets)—purchased at the Indian-owned Lucky Pharmacy (located on 21st Street, Sinkor)  for 14 days. But my life-threatening health conditions—Ulcer and Cholesterol—have refused to go away.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRE-WAR LIBERIA & POST-WAR LIBERIA ON AGRICULTURE

Prior to the Country’s civil war, each Liberia’s President or Government “practically” (action-based) pumped money into agricultural activities by citizens, including production of various types of cooking oil and rearing of edible animals. Some Government officials owned farms in their Counties. During this time, Lofa County, the ancestral home of Liberia’s current Head of State, Joseph Nyumah Boakai, was known as the Country’s “Bread Basket” due to Lofa’s regular supplies of locally cultivated rice, palm oil, garden eggs (called “bitter balls” my majority of Liberians), and other agricultural products to all parts of Liberia—  including the Nation’s Capital (Monrovia)

But each successive Liberian President or Government has a “dependency syndrome”—shown by depending on other Countries for Liberians’ staple food (rice), vegetable oil, fish, and other foods. Resilient Liberian farmers are seldom supported by the President or the Executive Branch of Government, especially due to “political reason”: ‘Because I got the lowest number of votes in your County of origin’ during presidential election’ or ‘somebody saw you, farmer, campaigning for my political opponent’. Such is the “feeling” of a sitting Liberia’s President in post-war time for which he/she does not invest in the agricultural works of farmers from a County not the President’s ancestral home. Even some of the farmers from the home of the Head of State are left out in his “agricultural support budget” or his/her Government’s because each of the farmers had “criticized” the President’s “divisive actions” or openly

“politically disagreed” with the Head of State. One of these had been relayed by a “political sycophant” of the President living in the County the farmer is based.

Members of the Legislature of post-war Liberia are Constitutionally given  a one-month “Agriculture Break”, with some budgetary allotment (in thousands of United States Dollars) to get involved into agricultural activities in their Counties, but majority of them (over 90 percent) do not have even a “back-yard garden”

THE “EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGE” OF THE LIBERIAN GOERNMENT’S MONITORING/INSPECTION ARMS TO SAVE LIBERIANS FROM THESE IMPORTED “DEADLY FOODS”

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry is the Liberian Government’s arm for “inspection” of all foods entering Liberia. The Ministry is also charged with the responsibility to “prevent” the entry of any food discovered “chemically contaminated”.

But members of the Ministry’s “Inspection hierarchy” are not “educationally equipped” to detect “expired” or “chemically deadly” foods entering Liberia. Or, they are in “business partnership” with foreign companies exporting “deadly foods” to Liberia.

The Ministry of Health is the Liberian Government’s arm for “educating”  the citizenry  about the “imported foods” to eat, and the foods to avoid because of spoilage.

But, the leadership of the MOH is focusing more on “pharmaceutical drugs” (tablets or syrup) now, than on “foods”

FORMER TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL “LAMENTS” ON THESE “DEADLY” IMPORTED FROZEN FOODS

Mr. Richmond Anderson,  former Representative of Electoral District#12 of Montserrado County took to the Airwave of Truth FM (96.1) on Sunday, August 4, 2024, and lamented on the chemicals-related contamination of fish, whole chickens or their parts in the Liberian foods market. Many Liberians call foods-preservation drugs “pharmacahi”.

With a background in Journalism, the former Legislator was a Lecturer in Mass Communication at the State-owned University of Liberia when he was in the National Legislature. The Theme of his national issues discourse was “At 177 (referring to Liberia’s 177th Independence Day celebration on July 26, 2024): Why Liberia?” Some of the national issues he harped on are: deplorable public facilities; the majority of Liberians, in all 15 Counties live on Typhoid-infested water from dug-hole wells because of the absence of pipe-borne (in spite of millions of U.S. Dollars from the U.S. Government and millions to the Ellen Sirleaf’s Government to provide pipe-borne water, and millions of Euros from the European Union to the George Weah’s Government for the same purpose); successive post-war Liberian Government’s deep reliance on other Countries for major needs of Liberia, bribery-crippled education sector; chronic sanitation problems (including liquid feces that litter in various parts of the Nation’s capital) in all parts of Liberia; and the flood of narcotic substances (drugs) in all parts of the Country, with over forty percent of the County’s youths (including High School students) living on drugs.

Going on Radio was his way of “sensitizing” his compatriots, as well as less-informed citizens of other Countries’ citizens living in Liberia.

The former Lawmaker is now the Head (Director) of the Political Science Department of the University of Liberia.

Mr. Richmond Anderson is aware of these “deadly foods” through extensive research and reading.

Other former and current Government officials should emulate the  “patriotism-related stance” of Mr. Anderson on emancipating less-educated Liberians from the grips of death through these “deadly foods” flooding Liberia’s market.

Another health hazards to Liberians is the brands of rice imported into Africa’s oldest, but extremely dependent Nation. Many of these brands of rice, especially from Asian Countries, contain excess starch—source of cholesterol, another deadly sickness. This is shown by the “foam” that bubbles when the rice is boiling, pushes off light cover of the rice pot, and spills out when boiling.

During my personal cooking time, the brand of rice that creates many “bubbles” is named “Uncle Mario”, produced in India.

 

FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS’ “DIABOLICAL INTENT TO WEAKEN THE “MANPOWER” OF RICHER NATIONS WITH “MENTALLY WEAKER HEADS”

Some Governments of industrialized Countries use “contaminated foods” and pharmaceutical drugs—sometimes as “gifts”—to weaken the citizenry of African Countries (with “mentally weaker” Governments)  with abundant natural resources, to siphon (criminally suck) much of the resources. A Country’s resources are its “blood”. This is the situation of Liberia—Africa’s oldest Republic and “minerally richest Country”.

Can Liberia’s “RESCUE #1”—President Joseph Nyumah Boakai—show “red card”—through the leadership of the Commerce and Health Ministries—to these “deadly” fish, meat, and chicken parts (in foreign Ships) near Liberia’s seaports or land border points? Or it will be “business as usual” (criminal connivance with evil foreign business companies)—like it was during his predecessor’s Government?

Liberians are keenly watching the Joseph Nyumah Boakai-led Liberian Government to see how it will RESCUE—2023’s Presidential candidate Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s political mantra—of how it will  REDEEM POOR LIBERIANS FROM THESE “CHEMICALLY DEADLY FOODS” FLOODING LIBERIA’S FOOD MARKETS

I paused here.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samuel G. Dweh (a member of the Wedabo ethnic group of Grand Kru County) is professional writer (fiction and non-fiction)He is a member of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), and member and former president (22017-2022) of the Liberia Association of Writers (LAW)He had worked as Proofreader, News Editor, Editor-in-Chief, and Senior Editor-Reporter with eight different Liberian Print Media Institutions (beginning as Proofreader at Daily Observer in 2011) and Reporter-Assistant Editor with one Magazine (IMAGES Magazine owned by veteran Liberian Photo Journalist Mr. Sando Moore) in 2013.

 

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