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Article: War-weary Liberians put faith in former banker.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- November 18, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Laurie Goering
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ After a decade of civil war under brutal warlord Charles Taylor, Liberia is a ruined nation.
The capital has no running water, no sewage system and no public electricity. Unemployment is 85 percent. The national debt is $3.5 billion, 43 times the annual budget. For the past two years, the country has essentially been run by 15,000 United Nations troops sent there to stop the bloodshed.
So when Liberians _ most of them under the age of 24 _ went to the polls recently to elect a new president, they did a remarkable thing: They turned down flashy Liberian-born soccer star George Weah as their ...