sirleaf, china, and football

last night clarence, a friend and assistant to rufus in reap, took me to the national stadium. it was originally built under the rule of samuel k. doe. [doe was the guy who lead the coup of the elected administration of tolbert. doe executed the president and most of his administration. it was the attempt to overthrow doe by charles taylor in 1990 that brought more than a decade of civil war.]
during the war, the stadium was ransacked and ravaged (like the rest of the country). since the relative peace that has reigned in liberia in the past handful of years with the heavy presence of united nations forces, one nation in particular has chosen to invest in this war torn, but resource rich country.
no, not the united states; not the country that liberia so desperately wants to emulate.
instead much of the work done here from roads to recreation is coming from the chinese. i do not want to get into the potential ramifications of this here, but as an american, i find this discouraging.
well, the chinese decided to renivate liberia's largest stadium. surrounded by deserted and half-built buildings, lightless street lights, and men hawking goods out of wheel barrows, the bright lights of the stadium make it shine like a jewel. people flocked to the official handing over of the keys to the stadium from the chinese to the liberian government.
the u.n. and national police had a heavy presence. the president, ellen johnson sirleaf, was present and spoke. the sound was so poor i could not hear what she was saying. the big screen on the far end of the field used bright colors and bulbs to display its various messages of unity between the two countries. then it did not work. it was rebooted. then it did not work again. they rebooted. it flickered. chinese technology?
the stadium will be used primarily for football. or if you are american, soccer. it was a beautiful field. i have become so accustomed to makeshift fields and goals that the other day i stood mouth agape at metal goalposts. most fields are full of puddles, holes, weeds, and have makeshift wooden goals with no nets. [when i play with the kids in my neighborhood, we use cinderblocks for goals.]
all things considered, it is exciting to see improvement here. i pray all work done by the chinese really helps the people of liberia. in the same light, i pray that president sirleaf does all within her power to serve her people and fight the rampant corruption found in this country.