1 Transcript of Exclusive Interview with H.E. President Ellen Johnson

Transcript of Exclusive Interview with H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Conducted by Mr. Charles A. Snetter, CEO of Radio Monrovia/FM 92.1 at the President’s Fish Market Residence on Thursday, October 17, 2013 Mr. Snetter: Hello and welcome. Welcome to this special interview with Her Excellency Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia. My name is Charles Snetter. Madam President, we want to say thank you for having us talk with you today, and welcome to this interview. President Johnson Sirleaf: Thank you, Mr. Snetter; it’s always a pleasure to talk to you. Mr. Snetter: Madam President, since your return from your trip abroad, there’s been much talk about your health. How is your health? President Sirleaf: My health is very good, I’m pleased to report. As many know, I had the occasion very recently to check all of my vitals and they are all well in place, functioning well. However, I have been having a problem with arthritis, something that happens to many people, particularly as you begin to age. And that means in my wrist there had been a wearing out for using this hand for so long over many years of work, and so the cartilage in the wrist was beginning to wear out, and the doctor said it was necessary to reconstitute it, and so I had to go through surgery to get that done. It has been done; the recovery is well under way. Yes, it will take me a few weeks for the build-up to be firmly in place, but I expect when that period is over, my right hand will be back to full function. Everything else is functioning well. So, generally, at my age, I can say my health is very good. Mr. Snetter: I’m sure the doctors were not pleased for you to leave soon. President Sirleaf: No, that was the issue. I took surgery on a Friday, slept overnight at the hospital. In fact, it was my first time having surgery, my first time taking anesthesia in my whole life. I came out of it so well that I slept one night and I felt I wanted to go home. Yes, there was some lingering pain and all of that, but the next day I left; my schedule called for me to leave the country on Tuesday, return home on Wednesday. The doctor wanted to keep me for at least a week or so, to make sure everything was in place, but I told him, look, I’m on schedule; I have to go home; everything’s well; the operation was successful; I will go home and I will recover there. He was reluctant, but he knew I was determined, and so he gave me some antibiotics and some pain killers and things to take and then told me, well, go home and make sure you follow doctor’s orders. And let me say thank you to Dr. [Robert] Kpoto here, because when I came – he’s also an orthopedic surgeon – I came and I talked to him, and he talked to my doctor, the doctor told him what had been done, and Dr. Kpoto has also been checking on me to make sure everything is going well. Finally, let’s thank God that, at my age, everything was successful. Mr. Snetter: You returned with a rousing welcome. What do you think about that? President Sirleaf: Obviously, I was extremely pleased, even though I said on that day that I am usually not accustomed to large gatherings when I return, I like to be quiet and just go back to work. But many of my friends and supporters felt this was an appropriate occasion for them to come together and let me know that they were pleased with the work that we were doing in the country, that I was welcomed back after what was a successful trip: my participation in the UN General Assembly; the award I got in Costa Rica – and I owe that to the young people of Liberia. I am going to get that group together pretty soon to be able to thank them, because it was their initiative, they worked for it, they mobilized the 1 resources for it. And so after all of that, the group here decided that it was time for us to turn this tide and for us to just say thank you to me. And I want to say thank you to them. Mr. Snetter: Let’s continue with your trip out of here. You first went over to Canada. How was it there? President Sirleaf: Yes, I forgot to mention that. This is a group that every year brings young people together and gives them the opportunity to interact with key eminent figures of the world. They’ve been after me for a couple of years to do this, and I did. It’s a short occasion, but there were thousands and thousands of young people from all over Canada. They gathered for this one day – it’s called “We Day,” and they bring in these figures and we just make a statement and then afterwards you go through some interviews with a few of them. I was able, on that occasion, to meet some very young people. I met a young lady – a young girl – who met with me and said, “I want to be the Prime Minister of Canada.” And so I told her, “That’s the spirit, so go to it!” For me it was a light occasion, but it was a wonderful occasion, and the crowds just totally overwhelmed me. I am glad it was something I was able to do for the young people. Mr. Snetter: Your appearance at the United Nations on Day One. How do you feel about that? President Sirleaf: I was very pleased that I was way up there on the list because as the numbers of persons begin to speak, the audience begins to decline as people move off to their own commitments. So I was glad I was properly placed. Again, I thank our Ambassador, Marjon Kamara, for being able to do the work that gave us that choice spot when the room was filled and we were able to convey our views. That I was very pleased with also. Mr. Snetter: While you were in New York, another big occasion took place with the superstar Bono. How do you feel about that? President Sirleaf: That was another fun occasion. Well, you know, Bono has been a supporter of Liberia. Way back there, when we were trying to get relief for our debt, and he pitched in there with the different countries – the large countries to whom we owed money – and he advocated for Liberia. And when that debt relief came, we thanked him, we extended an invitation to him. He has been here and he has seen the progress we have made. On this occasion, he wanted just to bring his crowd together – the people who have supported him. It followed a meeting that we had with the Forbes Group; and if you look at the Forbes Magazine for October, you will see that yes, we are featured in that, and in this large meeting you will see me and others in which they brought these billionaires together who were trying to see what they can do to support social enterprises. Liberia is featured in that. And so Bono brought some of those. And that also followed the meeting here, when Bono came with Senators who met with us, and we exchanged with them views on the progress and the challenges of the country. The Senators – and there were those who have supported us, and one or two of them had never been here, did not know too much about Liberia. That provided an opportunity for us to expand our support base, which we have in both Houses of Congress. That whole trip, I think you might say, was just a wonderful one with lots of results for Liberia. Mr. Snetter: We’ve already touched on your visit to Costa Rica, where your bust was unveiled there. How did you feel when you were just looking at yourself in that manner? 2 President Sirleaf: I just turned to the sculptor from Costa Rica and said, “My goodness, how could you replicate this so well?” I felt particularly honored being in the presence of such truly eminent historical icons, starting with Mahatma Gandhi, and all of those people. You just feel so appreciated. When I left home, with all of the clamor that was going on, and then to go and get this acclaim among top world historical leaders, and inspired by Liberian young people, to me that was more important than anything else. I think it was just something that made me feel that all the hard time I get here, this one here just covered it. It just turned it upside down! Mr. Snetter: That’s good. You’re back home; I shouldn’t say convalescing, but just resting and making sure that your operation goes well. But all of a sudden, there is a big trip coming up for you this weekend, to Zwedru. What’s about to happen there? President Sirleaf: We are trying to make sure that we continue the efforts that are promoting peace throughout the Mano River Union countries. This particular meeting is trying to bring back the good relationship, the exchanges, the working together of people across the Liberian and the Ivory Coast border.

Load more