The Ferocity of Falsehoods

Perhaps the most disheartening phenomenon of my time in Liberia thus far has been the prevalence of dishonesty. I have come to expect that most of the stories I hear on a daily basis contain some element of half-truth. While this proves a bit annoying for me as I try to get the true story, it seems that many Liberians inhibit their own potential and the potential of their fellow citizens to be fully reached largely as a result of this seeming omnipresent societal acceptance of lies.

While this may seem an inappropriate topic to address while I attempt to advocate for Liberians, in reality this culture of half-truths has limited Liberia’s potential. I believe this culture, therefore, limits potential investments, partnerships and development as Liberians and foreigners alike become disenfranchised with the inability to trust one another. Having once been taken aback by the natural beauty and hospitality shown to me by my Liberian friends, I have now begun to question the future of development here. I assume I am not the only one.

Just the other day, my Liberian friends and I were discussing how we had to leave an event separately after we could not locate one of my Liberian friends who we came to the event with. As we reflected upon the incident, the two main actors in the story were telling two completely different versions of the night. One of them was obviously lying, but neither would admit it was him/her. While this lie did not directly harm anyone, it exemplified the stubbornness that the lying creates.

When I first arrived in Monrovia, I was told that the guesthouse where I was staying would have electricity installed the following day. Being that I arrived on a Saturday, I was skeptical of the thought that an electrician would work on a Sunday. In fact, electricity did not get installed for about another month. Again, I did not expect that the electricity would come when promised, but the fact that I was greeted by a great falsehood certainly clouded my normally optimistic attitude.

A Liberian friend claims that a lot of the lying that is done between her denizens and foreigners takes place because the Liberians are often trying to make up for what they see as shortcomings between more affluent foreigners and themselves. Having been told many lies throughout my few weeks here, it is now easier to identify when I think I am being lied to. It seems as though Liberians believe they are good at covering up the truth, but from what I have learned from other foreigners, we are all pretty keen on the lies and have come quite disheartened by their prevalence.

Of course there are exceptions and I do not intend to stereotype all Liberians as liars but the extent to which I have been lied to and have seen friends caught in a web of lies, it seems the majority of Liberians get easily caught up in the mishmash.

My hope is that this seeming normalcy of lying, between family members, among friends and in the workplace, can begin to change. Indeed, I believe that it must if Liberia is to build its capacity to develop. Hopefully at least a few Liberians can begin to think about a means of shifting the norm away from falsehoods and towards the truth, even though, at times, it may hurt a little bit.