“FROM WHERE I SIT”
By Philipbert Semogai Jabba-Wleh Browne.
THE FALLACY OF IDENTITIES: DRUGS, YOUTH, AND THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF LIBERIA:
_By: Austin S. Fallah — A True Son of the Planet Earth Soil: fallahas@yahoo.com_
Liberia’s identity must not be defined by drug trafficking or cartels, but by the resilience, patriotism, and determination of its people, especially the youth. As President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has stated, “The drug epidemic is a national emergency that we have to deal with,” and “Nobody will be spared” in investigations of major cases. “Liberia is not open for the business of drug trafficking.” Like former Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Touré’s words, “A starving child does not ask from which country comes his bread,” Liberia’s outstretched arms welcome any nation willing to help dismantle this drug cancer eating away at our young people. We must choose, as Touré also urged, “poverty in liberty to riches in slavery.”
The crisis is more than a personal choice; it is an assault on our national fabric and future. The label “Zogos” has come to symbolize despair, hopelessness, and societal failure for many of our most vulnerable young people. Unemployment, lack of education, weak mental health services, and disenfranchisement leave youth exposed to drugs. For some, involvement in manufacturing or distribution becomes a misguided path to survival. The result is a vicious cycle that entraps individuals and weakens families, communities, and trust — threatening to replace Liberia’s legacy as a haven for freedom and justice with an identity tied to addiction and violence.
World leaders echo the urgency. US President Donald J. Trump declared, “We will not rest until the cartels are dismantled, illicit fentanyl is eradicated from America’s streets, and every family is safe from this chemical weapon” — White House Fact Sheet, December 15, 2025. He also warned, “The flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl into the United States… has created a national emergency.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres notes that “Drug trafficking fuels conflict, corruption and organized crime.” Former President Joe Biden pledged to “disrupt the global drug trafficking networks that threaten our communities.” Leaders like Nayib Bukele and Narendra Modi add that “There can be no peace while criminal organizations control our communities” and “Drugs are not just a personal problem; they destroy families and nations.”
Leadership must move from words to action. Elected officials, educators, and community heads cannot be passive observers or, worse, enablers through neglect. We need funded policies that expand mental health services, create employment for youth, and support prevention through schools and outreach.
Accountability is essential. As investigations into major trafficking cases at Roberts International Airport show, complicity at any level only strengthens the trade. Government must protect borders, enforce the law, and ensure transparency so the public retains confidence that justice applies equally.
The solution also rests with communities. Churches, grassroots groups, and civic organizations have direct access to families in crisis and can reframe drug use as a public health emergency, not a norm. Reclaiming public spaces through neighborhood watches, clean-ups, arts, music, and sports gives young people alternatives and restores pride. Public safety must be a collective priority, not only a government agenda. When communities engage, they cut off the recruitment ground that cartels depend on.
Liberia still has the chance to redefine its narrative. Drugs do not define us — our spirit does. By embracing unity, education, rehabilitation, and work, we can lift those caught in addiction and protect the next generation. The fight is for our identity and our future.
Let us remember that our youth are the backbone of the nation. The time for action is now, so that Liberia remains a home of safety and dignity, and so that drug cartels find no foothold on our soil.
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