Let’s talk about “awareness.”
Oxford Dictionary Definition: Knowledge or perception of a situation; To Know; To be concerned about or well informed.
What does “awareness” mean to you?
Wuttin’ it mean for somebody to say I know something?
What does it mean when young people say “Woke”?
Awareness is how we know about things happening in our society
So, what makes Liberians aware in a society where everybody complains about issues every single day?
How do we get from knowing to doing?
Yor hear me out….
Observed over the last few years:
When we talk about certain issues, the conversation often ends with “la how it eh ooo”
Meaning, we have come to accept certain things as just the way they are.
Of course, this is not unique to Liberia. Across Africa, you often hear people say “TIA” or “This is Africa,” which means we expect certain things to just not work or be extremely difficult to change
Why is that?
Why the constant pushback?
We are living in the information age – right?
We have platforms like this (Sleepless In Monrovia– SiM) that provide us the opportunity to stay informed, but we care seh?
When we highlight the gross negligence of our leaders, people say “yor leave la politics.”
Last year when women were protesting about the war on their bodies and the rape culture we often overlook, so many people made excuses like, “dis rape bisness yor forcing it.”
When you dare speak up about corruption that is so rampant among our civil servants, they say “la Liberia here.”
The conversations about women being equal is filed under “don’t bring la American/feminism talk here.”
When are we ever going to be open to truly understanding and knowing what is happening around us?
Are Liberians not aware of these issues or do we not care?
To say we have problems in Liberia is an understatement. We spend so much time talking about the problems in the comfort of our homes and little social circles. By doing this, it seems like we care, but how much?
Can you imagine the power of collective action? Do you know what would happen if we truly became aware of all the small issues we talk about in the corners?
Less than ten years ago, we could never have imagined a movement like #WeAreUnprotected where Liberian women activists consistently call their government to action.
We are living in the times where we can share information and updates instantaneously with just our phones.
We spend so much time online watching people make plawa (Facebook Live – yea na, yea na), but when we want to educate and spread awareness on issues affecting us all, the solutions suddenly become “la how it eh oooo”.
When will we move from just talking to networking and acting?
We can’t say nobody knows about the corruption or the uncle dem dah raping our little girls.
Everybody knows that people continue to steal the country resources and incompetent people are occupying offices based on party affiliations and “who-know-you.”
These are not issues we are not aware of.
These are not happening in isolation.
Our society is plagued with these kinds of issues, but “la how it eh oooo” remains the solution.
While sharing information is not a concrete solution, this is where we need to start.
We must come together in our discussion of these issues.
We must use awareness as a weapon for change.
Awareness means SPEAKING UP when you know things are not the way it should be.
When we say “LA HOW IT EH OOO” we are essentially building a culture for things to stay the same.
Awareness means SHARING INFORMATION when you are online and have the platform.
You can’t just be slaying and bluffing the whole day. DO YOUR PART. The issues are not one person’s problem. Liberians must be concerned about what affects even one Liberian. Nobody la island, my people!
Awareness means gathering small group of like-minded people to stop talking in the corner and start shouting on the streets (protest) and online (#WeAreFedUp).
Liberians can no longer remain quiet about issues in our society. We must use knowledge to get past the “la how it eh ooo” attitude. Liberia, la time for Awareness oooh!
Authored by: Randell Zuleka Dauda
Featured Image by: Alex Motoc on Unsplash
