Reverend Torli Krua, a human rights activist and native Liberian who now lives in Boston, Massachusetts, is set on making a change. With the recent revelation that the United States Government was sending racist encrypted messages in the early 1990’s, ordering a visa denial to all Liberians. He hopes that through this lawsuit, he will be able to refund millions of dollars to Liberians who have applied for visas since the 1990’s and were denied. The visa denial has affected Liberian citizens more than directly- it also influenced their political climate heavily, helping to make Liberia an unstable climate. Liberian politicians granted access to a green card or a visa were free from the United States Government, and therefore free to do whatever they like. Politicians quickly became corrupt… and millionaires. It affects Liberians already in the US as well, and as Krua claimed, Liberian US citizens had no access to humanitarian aid and no permits to work.
In light of recent US events, this does not look especially good. As centuries worth of racism are uncovered, Krua’s lawsuit has the ability to spark a series of lawsuits demanding reparations for other abused and neglected minorities. But the lawsuit seems deserved- Krua has made it clear that Liberia was never important to the US, as they were made aware of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation over two years after it happened, much like Texas. They had no escape from their country to the states, and if they did make it out and manage a Visa, the United States still treated them poorly even in citizenship. This could mean unrest in Liberia as well- though it’s no secret that politicians are corrupt, the encrypted message sent by the US Government reveals a lot about just how bad the corruption in Liberia became. All in all, Krua just wants repercussions for the mistreatment of Liberians everywhere under the US Government.
As of currently, Liberia is a state, with it’s own government, politicians, and sovereignty. But it hasn’t always been this way- Liberia started out as a colony of the United States intended to be a land for freed slaves. Liberia, however, stood strong and was the first African republic to gain independence, and was also the only state to maintain sovereignty in the scramble for Africa. All this just proves what we already knew- Liberia is not a state to be underestimated.