This black and white image is a scan of a photo I took in Liberia in
1984. I have loads more from Liberia up in the loft... somewhere
amongst all the boxes!
The photo is of a bus station on the outskirts of Monrovia. I had
just returned from a trip to Buchanan where we had loaded a car (VW
Beetle) onto a LAMCO
freight train bound for Yekepa.
The journey was taken just before I was due to return to Switzerland.
I had returned to Monrovia from the isolated station near River Cess
to prepare for my journey back to Switzerland.
I was happy to make it to Monrovia unscathed. There had been an
attempted coup in Liberia during my stay and lawlessness had ensued.
There were gruesome stories of kidnapping, imprisonment and torture.
So I was not happy (to say the least) when June Jackson asked me if I
could accompany her husband Tom to Buchanan in his VW. Tom had a
heart condition and June was worried for him. She was unable to go
as she was clearly very ill herself.
I must have have looked doubtful when she asked me because she pleaded
with me. I agreed, but I think I must have hesitated.
Anyway, Tom was a nice chap. On the journey to Buchanan he treated me
to a meal in a restaurant... it was very nice. Up at River Cess I had
gone to bed very hungry most nights and had lost en enormous amount of
weight.
We put the car onto the train (which is actually a story itself) and
took the bus back to Monrovia.
Tom and June were killed a few years later whilst driving this car up
in Nimba
County. (see
here also here).
Many of the people I new from Liberia are now dead... killed in that
country's civil war.
I'll have to search through my loft for the other photos.