Mary Broh: Harper City "Vestiges of Life Once Lived."

I was involved in a regular conversation with Mary Broh just the other day when she made a statement; that statement that she made, captured my undivided attention thus prompting this write-up. 

Before going into her statement, first, let me establish few things why Mary Broh’s observation really touched the abyss of my soul and why I take it seriously. After I’m done with this part, I will then move on to the matter under discussion. 

See, I call her Mary Broh without adding the title “Hon.” 

Why? 

There are three reasons for that:

1st, because she is a personal friend. So I do no disrespect to her title as Director General of The General Services Agency of the Republic of Liberia and an Honorable woman, particularly, a very important one in Liberia when I call her Mary.

2nd, Mary is a down-to-earth-kind-of-person. She’s not intoxicated with titles and power. Like me, she agrees, power and titles are elusive and they corrode. So no one should worship them. To do so, one runs the risk of being elusive. Mary is not like that. Everyone I know calls her Mary. In her presence, I see even kids calling her Mary Broh. Other women I know will shut the kids down if they don’t add the word “aunty” or “Hon” to their names. As grown as I am, I greeted a lady whom everyone knows in Monrovia; but because I didn’t add “aunty” to her name, she refused to answer to me. Mary is not that type. Everyone calls her Mary and she always answers with no insults taken. This sort of attitude is unheard of in current day Liberia. 

3rd, Mary is that kind of person who speaks truth on issues. Not only that, she goes the extra mile in her official and private capacity to help improve every condition within her reach. The “Next Generation” of General Services Agency is a typical example of her work. She turned it into a fairytale.

So, if I took her observation very seriously, the reasons above readily justify that, thus the write-up.

Now, let’s get back to the issue under discussion. 

Mary and I meet every-now-and-then and engage in discussion about our country. In most cases, our discussions turned into a powerhouse. 

In this particular conversation, she told me about her first visit to Maryland. She said that she noticed that Harper is a city full of “Vestiges of life once lived.” The statement threw me off track. So I began to wonder what she meant by that. And so, I began to delve into the scheme of things using my own lenses.  

See, I was born and reared in Harper City. Evidently, I have tremendous and vast knowledge of the City. 

Harper City sits majestically deep in the keyhole and belly of the Southeastern Region of Liberia. There I spent my formative days. But I left in 1980 when I graduated high school. Customarily, during my day, graduates were expected to depart the county to embark on an academic sojourn. So I did. But two years later, I returned on a brief visit. That’s when I noticed that nothing had really changed. The infrastructures remained unimproved. In fact, they had begun to crumble. That’s when I began to see and hear Mary Broh thirty-two years in the future. 

In Harper I was opportune to live through some of the “golden” years (life once lived). So I know what was and what is now. I have a reference point! At that time, life was good. So when I reflect by looking back, it becomes quite easy for me to comprehend Mary’s observation without ill-feelings.

Now, I want you to join Mary and me to do the calculations and comparison from the facts below.

Maryland is one of the most beautiful counties in Liberia. The evidence is apparent and resolute when you get there. Its capital city is Harper. And Harper is still incomparable after a 14-year generalized anarchy of violence that destroyed infrastructures and human resource. It has a 21st Century state-of-the-art infrastructural design. It has 99.9% of its streets paved with concrete that have been in good shape for the past fifty or more years. By all measurements, it has one of the best (if not the best) city halls in the country with a 21st Century state-of-the-art architectural design. Harper is well laid out by all standards. An aerial view makes the case. By International standards, its ballpark is one of the best in the country! And so is its water system. 

Notice, most great cities around the world are built along the banks of rivers, lakes and Oceans. New York, Paris and other cities are typical examples. Harper City is one of those. It runs into a cape. Slides down in Hoffman River, hugs the Atlantic Ocean and drives into Lake Shepherd. Harper City is a takeoff-your-shirts-come-let’s-go-swimming-mind-blowing type of resort.

At first glance, the beaches beat every stretch of any visitor’s imagination. Extensive and very fascinating, they keep visitors on the edge with spellbound effects. 

The beaches are wide and long stretching from the border of The Ivory Coast to Fishtown (Harper). Undisturbed, they quietly wrap around Fishtown and slip right into Grand Kru County and then beyond. 

Harper is a city that has some of the most outstanding private homes that were built and designed by European architects and engineers. The styles into these structures are an addition to the City’s beauty. They record the age of the City living from the 1800s to present.

The way the architectural designs of private homes are shaped in Harper, reminds one of fairytales in books that we read. The structures are amazingly profound and totally out of this world! Evidently, the builders did not just build the structures, they did so with all that man, money and Science could afford for human development. 

Some European visitors describe Harper as the “only city” they know, in most African countries, that “wasn’t built by colonial masters,” but by its own sons and daughters. Descriptively, its architectural designs have a resting place in the history of mankind. 

The structures are remarkably marvelous.  They hold within their structural designs and context the hallmark and display of the civilization of the people running parallel, if not exceeding, succeeding generations of architectural designs.

Two families hold these robust architectural designs in their bosoms as owners. They are the Andersons and Tubmans.

The Anderson & Tubmanic buildings are humongous and historic.  

James Anderson, commonly referred to as “old man Anderson” was former senior Senator of Maryland. He was also national chairman of The “Grand” old True Whig Party (political Party that led Liberia for a little over one hundred years). And that’s a lot of power for one man. He built his structures in a twin-size fashion. Almost everywhere he built his structures; they were two-into-one. And unmistakably gigantic.

In the case of William Tubman, commonly referred to as “Bob Willie,” built only one huge, gigantic, titanic, colossal, and massive private residence. At first sight, by any human person in his normal mind, the structure commands an “awe” and “wow.” It sits in the heartland and doorway of Downtown Harper. 

Anderson built his big twin-size and beautiful buildings in Downtown Harper also. As a trademark, all of his buildings carry one super color of paint – green. As for Bob Willie, his color remained as yellow.

Upon entering Downtown Harper, one sees the echelons and the tips of the Anderson and Tubman buildings towering over all else in the City like the Empire State Building with their green and white colors flashing in the distance. 

Today, upon entering the City and seeing these structures decaying, one can truly agree with Mary that these structures portray the “Vestiges of life once lived.” And that those who once lived in them, without a doubt, lived exceptional and incomparable lives.

There are other structures that add to Harper’s beauty besides the private homes. They are the Churches. Most of them are also humongous. And most of them sit in the  sacred heart of Downtown or at the entrance of the lovely City. 

One of those is the St’ Mark’s Episcopal Church. It is huge. It has an estimated seating capacity of 1000. It sits in the heart of Downtown Harper facing The Hoffman River. It’s bounded on the West by Mechlin Street; on the East by McGill Street; in the South by Printing Street and the North by Gregory Street. The Church’s back is turned to the Atlantic Ocean. Unmistakably, all of the streets that bound the Church are paved with concrete. And that’s amazing!

The other is The Mount Scott Methodist Church. It is also a humongous structure built by some British. It is also huge with an estimated seating capacity of 500 to 900. It has an “Uncle Ben” clock sitting on its forehead. The Church sits on top of a hill looking over Downtown Harper like a watchdog. The back is turned to the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t know why. The front faces both Downtown and The Hoffman River. It is bounded by concrete-paved streets on all sides. Maryland Avenue is in its North; McGill Street in its East; Russwurm Street sits in its south and Gregory Street is in its South. 

The St. Theresa’s Catholic Cathedral is at the entrance of the City. It is also a huge structure with an estimated seating capacity of 1000. Unlike St. Mark’s and Mount Scott, it faces the Atlantic Ocean with back turned to Town. It is bounded by some paved and unpaved streets. In its due North is Maryland Avenue; Its West is J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital and its East is Thompson Street and its South is the unpaved part of Green Street. 

There are other little churches not as huge as the ones named above. But they are as old as the City. The history behind them are as huge as the structures that tower over them. Their relevance lies in their ages and historicity explaining what Harper City used to be and what it is now.

There are other landmarks in the City adding flavor to it. And that includes The J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital. 

Many years ago, as far back as the 60s, The J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital, named after one of Liberia’s chief justices and vice presidents, H. E. J. J. Dossen, used to treat patients as far as from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and other parts of West Africa. It was the “doyen” of medical facilities in West Africa. It had a great and incomparable medical team. Most members of the Team were well-trained Europeans. Some were Liberians who were trained in Europe and America. So it won the hearts and souls of most West Africans. Upon entering Harper, it sits on top of a hill facing the Atlantic Ocean with its back against Town.

But something strange happened: today the story is different and so is the reality on the ground. And there’s where Mary Broh comes in – they have become “Vestiges of life once lived.”

Some of the structures are evaded by grass and trees. The quality of the paint used that gave added ambiance has tumbled down like The Berlin Wall. The interior and exterior decorations have ruptured. This reality and condition strengthens Mary Broh’s claim as a city with “Vestiges of life once lived.” 

All of the 21st Century State-Of-The-Art of architectural designs, have become monuments of decay.

Notwithstanding, life is still alive in Harper City. But one thing is true about this: today’s life is unlike the past. Decayed infrastructures have abused the goodness and beauty of the City.

Here is the million dollar question:

Why has the offspring of the builders of these gigantic and 21st Century state-of-the-art architectural designs in Harper City failed to enhance the legacies of the builders of the future of Harper?! 

I have my answer. Mary made hers known! So what’s yours?

I am T. Gbuo-Mle Bedell; a social justice advocate, speaking and working on the ground in Liberia and a victim of police brutality.