An Open Letter to Pres. Obama: To Extend
Liberians DED
Mr. Abdulah K. Dunbar
Former Deputy Chief of Mission
Embassy of the Republic of Liberia
Washington D.C, U.A.S
March 18, 2009
Chugbor Old Road
Sinkor, Monrovia- Liberia
March 17, 2009
His Excellency Barack Hussein Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, D.C. U. S. A.
C/O Embassy of the United States of America
Mamba Point,
Monrovia- Liberia
West Africa
Mr. President:
I have the honor most respectfully to congratulate you for your
ascendancy to the world’s most powerful position, the presidency of
the United States of America.
Mr. President, you have brought genuine hope and pride to humanity
globally, especially to Liberians who are emerging from fourteen
(14) years of bitter conflict that destroyed lives, broke valuable
relationships and devastated our economy.
This unfortunate state of affairs forced our people to seek refuge
in many countries around the world especially the United States of
America, which currently hosts the largest group of Liberians on the
North American Continent.
Mr. President, we the Liberians are highly grateful, and much
obliged for the genuine love demonstrated by your nation and people
in providing food, shelter, educational opportunities and jobs for
thousands of our people who considered the United States as the City
of Refuge when our tempest of wrath destroyed the very fabrics of
our society.
It is a well established and indisputable fact that the United
States is the life line that kept our nation and people surviving
throughout our civil war. Money transferred from hundreds of
thousand of Liberians in your country kept our economy here afloat
throughout the turbulent fourteen (14) years of civil war.
With the above mentioned, Mr. President, I wish to present my
compliments and respectfully appeal to Your Excellency for
humanitarian consideration regarding the situation of thousands of
Liberians in the United States of America by using your presidential
power by granting General Amnesty to all the Deferred Enforcement
Departure (DED) to obtain the Permanent Residence Status.
Mr. President, I would like to add my voice to the thousands of
appeals from Liberians in and out of the United States to kindly use
your good offices to grant General Amnesty which would be a laudable
gesture to the people of Liberia
Your Excellency, your timely intervention in granting General
Amnesty would put a final end to the continuous renewal of the
Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforcement Departure
(DED) to the thousands of Liberians currently residing in the United
States.
Your Excellency, as Liberians move forward on the path of total
recovery, the mass removal of thousands of Liberians from the United
States after the eighteen (18) months under the Deferred Enforcement
Departure (DED) expires, would create a humanitarian crisis,
especially when all of our basic housing infrastructures, schools
and health facilities were damaged during fourteen (14) years of
civil war.
Mr. President, any exodus of Liberians now from the United States
has the propensity to exacerbate our desperate unemployment which
would lead to unfavorable social and political problems.
Your Excellency, the relationship between our nations and peoples is
unique. It has stood the test of time and circumstances. In this our
time of special need, we crave your humanitarian consideration and
assistance.
In conclusion, it is my ardent hope Mr. President that you will
grant my request and those of thousands of other Liberians who have
no alternative than to appeal to America, our special friend.
With Sentiments of My Highest
Esteem and Best Wishes
Respectfully Yours,
Abdulah K. Dunbar
Former Deputy Chief of Mission
Embassy of the Republic of Liberia
Washington D.C, U.A.S
Tel 231 04-735-200
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