LIBERIA: Monrovia

9 years after Charles Taylor, the LURD, and the second Liberian civil war.

Walking through the Ducor Palace Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia – one of the most historic hotels I’ve visited with a fascinating story. Sitting on top of DucorHill, it is the highest point in Monrovia. It was first operated by the Intercontinental Hotels chain in 1960 as one of the few 5-star hotels in all of Africa, and it was a shining icon of international luxury, hosting important meetings and important people. Golda Meir attended the inauguration. Idi Amin swam in its pool while carrying his gun. In 1989 the hotel closed amid political turmoil just before the Liberian Civil War kicked off when Charles Taylor ousted President #SamuelDoe in a coup. From then it fell into a state of disrepair and dilapidation popular with squatters from nearby slums, until the government of  Libya stepped in to fund renovations and repairs. Funding dried up in 2011 though when the Gaddafi regime hit a  civil war of its own in  Libya… And so the hotel stands now. Here I walk through the building with my guide Jimmy on a sunny January day. There is a “security guard” in place to protect against vandalism and he says it’s forbidden to climb the stairs or to take pictures – but like much of Africa, nothing a couple bills can’t take care of.

Photographing Monrovia

Robertsport

Waves

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Views of the infamous West Point district jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. From this vantage point you can see that Monrovia is actually gifted with a surprisingly beautiful geographic location. However looking closer, West Point is one of Monrovia’s most densely populated #township slums, home to ~75k people. It has some desperately squalid living conditions and a serious sanitation problem in that the whole area only has an estimated 4 public toilets while residents cannot afford any alternatives, thus public defecation is common. You may know it from the @vice documentary. For better or for worse, I have no pictures from inside West Point itself as I was reluctant / afraid to take out my camera there. During the #Ebola outbreak, all of West Point was sealed off and put under quarantine. More details here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11295271/Ebola-inside-Liberias-West-Point-slum.html

Monrovia coast from Ducor