A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Liberians report that they save money to remit by lodging with other family members (saving rent
money), by collecting cans for recycling refunds, or by limiting their own educational opportunities
(choosing to pay for education of family in Liberia rather than their own). 574 The plight of relatives
living in refugee camps is well understood by members of the diaspora, many of whom lived in the
same camps prior to emigrating to the United States. 575 The perception of many family members who
receive remittances that relatives living in the United States are well-off and can thus afford to make
the payments is at painful odds with the reality for many Liberians in the diaspora. 576
The ability to remit also impacts one’s standing in the community, both in the diaspora and in Liberia.
This is how they judge you in the family. If you are here and you don’t send
money back then they will classify you as unimportant, and they will not
respect you if you go back. Because if you can’t send money it is a kind of
disgrace to your family, people will laugh at them and say “you have family
in America but you are still poor! 577
As described above, remittances play a critical role in maintaining links between the diaspora and the
population in Liberia. Remittances also play an important role in meeting the needs of Liberians who
may be overlooked or outside the mandate of large international non-governmental organizations
and other donors. 578 One Liberian interviewed for an academic study noted that he remits to keep his
brothers, who were former fighters, from returning to that lifestyle. 579 Lubkemann has posited that
remittances may even “mitigate some of the forms of social antagonism and conflict that repatriation
and other forms of targeted humanitarian assistance have…been documented to generate.” 580 In this
way, remittances may play a key role in Liberia’s transition out of conflict.
Diaspora Philanthropy and Entrepreneurship
Apart from involvement at the individual level through remittances and other support, resettled
Liberians also are very involved in communities to which they have ties in Liberia. Whether through
helping with projects in their home villages, working through a high school alumni organization, or
by starting their own non-profit organizations, a number of statement givers reported specific plans
to assist in the rebuilding of Liberia, both in the present and the future. These statement givers reflect
the view that the diaspora community must assist if conditions in Liberia are to improve 581 and that
Liberia can benefit from what those in the Diaspora have learned. 582 “[W]e all think we have a solemn
responsibility to be a part of the economic revival of Liberia, because ultimately…the issue of reviving
Liberia’s economy is very, very critical to this whole issue of reconciliation.” 583 Projected contributions
include sharing knowledge about starting and operating businesses, 584 operating children’s clinics, 585
and teaching. 586
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Chapter Thirteen