Scars and Stripes: Liberian Youth After the War
An estimated 250,000 children are exploited every day as child soldiers around the world.
Barack Hussein Obama Jr. and Charles Taylor Jr. were born to African father and American mother. But the lives of Taylor, son of the infamous Liberian president, and Obama took very different turns.
Liberian refugees in Ghana protested, hoping the U.N. would resettle them in Western countries. Now they're in a makeshift camp, fearing mass deportation to a homeland with 85 percent jobless rate.
Eric Gibson is one of many Liberian refugees living at Park Hill Apartments in Staten Island, New York. And like numerous others in the community, he's struggling to find jobs and make a living.
Liberia has received humanitarian, development, and security assistance, but until it has economic security—sustainable jobs and distribution of humanitarian aid—peace is fragile and only temporary.
Bridgestone uses the Super Bowl's halftime show as a public relations tool to clean up its image as it faces a class-action lawsuit for alleged human rights abuses and use of child labor in Liberia.
Members of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan grew up in Park Hill; they call it "Killer Hill" or "Crack Hill" because of the violence and crack cocaine found on the streets.
Post-war Liberia is not an easy place to make a living. But for many Liberians who have fled the 14-year civil war to the U.S., this country is just another battlefield.
Jion's one leg is carrying him as fast as it can go. As he races down the field on his crutches the stadium is silent, waiting to see if the goalie can block his shot. Jion kicks.
The amputee soccer players—formerly child soldiers of opposing rebel groups—are held up as the new hope of Liberia. Although these players win medals, they still struggle to meet their basic needs.
Reporter Ruthie Ackerman and photographer Andre Lamberston travel from Staten Island to Liberia, exploring the challenges faced by youth in post-war Liberia and those who've arrived on American soil.
Pulitzer Center grantee Ruthie Ackerman talked to Cholo Brooks, a Liberian journalist who worked for the BBC African Service during the war, about the challenges facing Liberian youth after the war.
Everyone knows poverty exists, and seeing people beg for money isn't all that surprising. But in Liberia, some of these young men who beg are the ones praised and handed medals on the soccer field.
After more than a decade of civil war, many Liberian youth end up at the margins of the society, struggling to better themselves and reintegrate into the society.
Charles and Mabel were former fighters who went through the demobilization process thinking it would help them escape poverty. And like many ex-combatants, they were disappointed and let down.
The executive director of Liberia's demobilization program says the soccer players should be given a job—any job—to keep them off the streets. But with limited resources, that's easier said than done...
It's the first awards ceremony for the Amputee Football Federation's league and everyone's on the edge of their seats.
Jion is a soccer player for Amputee All Stars, a team made up of disabled Liberian youth. Despite the fame and recognition he has received, he still has to beg for money and food to get by.
Junior, an English teacher at a local high school in Liberia, has dreamed of going to the U.S. his whole life, mainly for better education. But he doesn't realize how tough life in the U.S. could be.
Comfort is training at THINK, a safe home that provides education and training to young girls, to be a pastry chef. She's one of many Liberians who're struggling to better themselves after the war.
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Grantee
Andre Lambertson is a New York-based photojournalist, teacher, and filmmaker committed to documenting stories of hope, healing, and transformation. He creates award-winning photo essays on social...
Grantee
Naje Lataillade is a Brooklyn based filmmaker whose work has found him traveling to a wide range of countries on projects as diverse as a fiction feature in Monterrey, Mexico, an experimental film...
Grantee
Ruthie Ackerman is a reporter based in Brooklyn, NY. Over the last several years, she has lived and worked around the world, including Africa, Argentina and Russia. Her most recent work was in...