A Liberian journalist, formerly of the Daily Observernewspaper, Omari Jackson has written a book on the Liberian 14 years of civil wars, with the titled “Before Sun Down’. The book focused on him as a journalist fearing of his dear life during the bitter civil conflict and a Sergeant of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Sam Toe, of the Krahn tribe who’s married a Giowoman.
Journalist Jackson narrated in his book, “Echoes of voices filled Sergeant Sam Toe’s mind as he stared at the distance. It was a tormented period in Liberia, and he knew it very well. As a soldier his duty was to defend the people and protect their properties. He did not need anyone to instruct him. But these days were wicked and the evidence was all over the place”.
Jackson, currently a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America explains the bitterness of hates that generated between the Krahn of slain President Samuel Doe and the Gioand Mano of former Commanding General of the AFL, Gen. Thomas Quiwonkpa took a dramatic turn ofnsoldiers and family who were serving in the army.
The veteran Sports writer who spent all his days in Liberia during the wars narrated through his book, during of the dreadful nights at the Barclay Training Center, the official of the AFL during the Doe’s era, instruction was given for Sergeant Sam Toe’s family especially to be executed for the sole reason of she was Gio, something Sam Toe could not accept. Though as a soldier, he’s to execute orders from the top brass, but was difficult and unacceptable one.
“He could still hear her breathing, softly at first, and to imagine that he had to agree to kill her made his eyes misted with tears. He could not find the reason to accept the verdict. Was it worth dying for disobeying an order that he considered repugnant? Perhaps, yes. His wife of ten years, the woman he had loved for those years, hailed from Nimba County, and she had been good to him. He could not believe that there was any woman on God’s planet earth that could have provided him with the three beautiful children, Tom, Janet and Robert—and it was true that she was a Gio, since her father was of that tribe, and mother a Mano, there was no reason to believe that tribal affiliation was enough to justify anyone’s murder.” Jackson said in his book, Before Sun Down.