Just after the Guinean soccer team defeated Morocco in an early round of the Africa Cup of Nations (the equivalent of the soccer World Cup for Africa) dozens of young men ran, shouting and singing, through the capital’s central streets wearing faded and torn bandanas of tri-color green, yellow and red – the flag of victorious Guinea. No, this isn’t Conakry and these aren’t celebrating Guineans; these are Liberians in Monrovia. The next day, while walking through the South Beach slum I began talking to the residents about the day’s Africa Cup matches, always an easy way to strike up conversation in a potentially hostile situation. Almost without exception they were supporting Cote d’Ivoire. Hours later, after Cote d’Ivoire soundly beat Benin, excited Liberians in knockoff Ivorian-orange jerseys were celebrating, giving the Guinean supporters of the previous day a run for their money as the loudest fans in Monrovia.What struck me was not that Liberians would be highly energized about soccer, because they are indeed true soccer fans, but that the vast majority supported their neighbors Guinea and Ivory Coast (Sierra Leone, like Liberia, did not qualify for the tournament) over all other African teams, despite the recent bloody history among the countries of the sub-region.At the same time, Nigeria, often seen as Liberia and West Africa’s big brother, couldn’t muster any support aside from the battalions of Nigerian peacekeepers. In fact, when walking behind the raucous Guinean fans I saw them divert from their victory lap just to taunt the driver of a taxicab who was unfortunate to have been caught in traffic while having a Nigerian flag draped on the hood of his taxi. The teasing was friendly and the atmosphere happy, a sharp contrast to 2003 when groups of young men running down the street would have been a terrifying and potentially deadly sight. That year was the climax of Liberia’s 14-year civil war, which was decidedly regional in character. The most publicized example of the regionalized nature of the conflict is former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s ongoing trial in front of the Special Court of Sierra Leone. He is charged with 11 counts of violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity for, among other things, supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) militia in Sierra Leone, made infamous by brutally hacking off limbs of their victims. Taylor was not alone in supporting cross-border fighters. Just as he was funding and arming groups that crossed into all three of his neighbors’ territory, Sierra Leone and Guinea organized the militia United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO). Guinea also backed the new group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD). Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo supported anyone and everyone willing to fight against Taylor, in particular the LURD faction Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). It is an alphabet soup of factions, all composed of drug-addled fighters recruited mainly from displaced youth from across the sub-region.Nigeria on the other hand has played a more constructive role in the sub-region. Nigerian peacekeeping troops have featured prominently in Liberian life since the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) deployed the Monitoring Observer Group peacekeeping mission (ECOMOG) in 1990. Now, Nigerian soldiers comprise a key portion of the 13,000-strong United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeeping force that has helped keep the peace in Liberia since 2003. Perhaps more pervasive although subtler, is Nigeria’s cultural dominance in Liberia through music, television and clothing, which is rivaled only by American cultural influence.Back in South Beach, I asked why they are all rooting for Cote d’Ivoire today and for Guinea the day before. “We are all brothers,†say the young men. “We must support our brothers.†If this spirit of togetherness can spread beyond the soccer field and gel into true sub-regional unity, it will be a good sign in what has been for all too long an example of a very dangerous neighborhood.
