Hamline professors remember
Ahmed Sirleaf as a quiet, thoughtful undergraduate student who had a lot of
promise.“Ahmed was a very mature, reflective, and purposeful student,” said
Professor Ken Fox, Sirleaf’s advisor for a conflict studies minor. “It was
clear early on that as he was studying conflict that he already had an
application in mind—a purpose—for this knowledge.”
He did. Sirleaf had come to the
United States from Liberia as a young man, escaping the violence of his
war-torn home. “I was in grade school in Monrovia when things exploded in 1979.
Young progressives of African descent were advocating for an inclusive
government,” Sirleaf said. “From there, there were coups and unrest, but in
1989 things got much worse. That was the real beginning of civil war in
Liberia.”
More than 250,000 people were
killed in Liberia during the war, which lasted until 2003. Sirleaf lost many
family members and friends to lawless attacks by rebels and government
soldiers. As he fled Liberia, his hope was that he could find a way to use his
life to help rebuild his country and to help people heal. He knew education was
his first step.
He came to Hamline first,
graduating from the College of Liberal Arts in 2005 with a degree in legal
studies and a minor in conflict studies. He went on to attend the University
for Peace in Costa Rica, the only university with curriculum developed in
cooperation with the United Nations. There he earned a master’s in
international law and the settlement of disputes.
His master’s thesis was on
transitional justice, an examination of mainstream transitional justice
mechanisms. In it he explored truth and reconciliation hearings, such as those
that took place in South Africa after Apartheid, and compared them to alternate
dispute models often used in the Western world. His thesis was published, and
it caught the attention of the leaders of Liberia.
The new Liberian government was
already in the process of establishing a truth and reconciliation commission, a
body that would investigate the root causes of the conflict, establish an
accurate historical record of what happened, and make recommendations for
change, justice, and accountability by interviewing hundreds of thousands of
people who witnessed or suffered human rights violations in the past three
decades of violence in Liberia. The commission had not, however, considered
interviewing the more than 80,000 Liberians who had fled to the United States,
the United Kingdom, and Ghana. Sirleaf and other Liberians living in the United
States convinced them they should.
“I told them ‘You can’t succeed
if you don’t include those in America,’” Sirleaf said. “That’s because
Liberians living in America are still very connected. They are very influential
and educated. They send money home. They tell their family which way to vote in
political elections. They have much interest in making sure Liberia has a good
future.”
Sirleaf was persuasive. In June
2006, the truth and reconciliation commission began working with The Advocates
for Human Rights, a Twin Cities-based nonprofit organization, to make sure the
diaspora population was represented in the process. Sirleaf joined The
Advocates, first as a volunteer consultant, and eventually as an employee.
Hundreds of volunteers and organizations gave their time and resources to
interview thousands of people. Thirty-five interviewees were selected to give
their testimony to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission when the
commission came to the United States. The only question left to answer was
where to hold the U.S. hearings.
Sirleaf had the answer for that,
too: Hamline. He called his former professor, Ken Fox, who agreed Hamline was
the perfect fit. “Truth and reconciliation commissions represent the
possibility to confront terrible atrocities with the kind of humanity and
compassion we all wish for. The process requires a degree of human courage that
sets an example for society. Those values are core values of Hamline
University—confronting real issues with a strong set of values and compassion
for a better future,” Fox said. “And we live those values. We don’t just teach
about them. We are willing to engage in the real work that is essential to make
those values come to life.”
That echoed Sirleaf’s
sentiments.
“I told The Advocates that the
event’s venue should have purpose and symbolism with what the commission’s
mandate was all about. Peace through understanding. Reconciliation. Search for
truth, justice, accountability, and healing. Bringing people together. Hamline
was the right place to make that happen,” Sirleaf said. “Hamline University is
now a household name in Liberia.” Sirleaf downplays his own role in the local
hearings. He insists that there are hundreds of volunteers and organizations
that played a strong role in making the event a reality. Fox agrees that it
took many people to make everything come together, but he is pleased that
Sirleaf is being recognized for his efforts.
“What Ahmed has been doing is
extraordinary,” Fox said. “And we have many more Hamline graduates who are out
there accomplishing things just as extraordinary. The work they do in the world
is sometimes kind of invisible; they are not out there tooting their own horns.
But alumni like Ahmed bring real, constructive, social transformation to our
communities. That’s what it’s all about. That’s Hamline.”
By: JacQui Getty