I
my name is Michael Davey I’m a
documentary filmmaker and in 2003 I was
sent to liberia in West Africa for
National Geographic Explorer and I had
one of the most powerful experiences of
my life Liberia is a country that was
created by freed American slaves in the
mid-1800s so the people of Liberia have
always felt very close affinity to the
United States civilians were dying by
the thousands in this conflict and
Liberian people felt like America wasn’t
responding we’ve just got the car the
hotel and we’re making our way up to the
American Embassy just up here we’ve
heard that there are 17 dead bodies
outside the American Embassy that like
hearing people who put them there on
display as a kind of appeal to America
come and help us we rounded a corner we
saw this huge knot of people maybe 200
people gathered outside the American
Embassy they were screaming they were
shouting they were hurling rocks at the
gates of the embassy and people were
running down the street past us covered
in blood screening and hysterical hands
were tearing at my shirt and hands going
is like pockets and and people shoving
and shouting and screaming in my face
they forced us up the road pushed us
into the pile of bodies I’m actually
quite thin skinned and I don’t like
death I managed to some hold myself
together till I saw one woman in
particular I just must still he’s just
leaving and everybody’s feeling
when National Geographic saw the footage
on television that night they ordered us
to evacuate immediately we said no when
we’re not going to leave eventually the
situation became so volatile that we
were evacuated we were told to evacuate
and it was just one of the most
heartbreaking moments my career we were
abandoning we were leaving and we were
able to escape and they were not and it
felt like a great betrayal actually we
waited in the neighboring country of
Sierra Leone for 12 days waded into a
situation in Liberia calmed down and
then we flew back in most the moment we
arrived the conflict escalated again the
rebels continued to lay siege to the
capital Monrovia and people trapped
inside Monrovia we’re in a very dire
state hunger they hadn’t been able to
get access to food four weeks at the
climax of this conflict you had two
groups of people civilians in Monrovia
and he had civilians trapped in the
rebel-held territory on the other side
of measurable River who’d been separated
from their friends relatives who were
trapped inside the Capitol
eventually when President Charles tail
agreed to step down a second agreement
was made that the bridge connecting the
Capitol to the rest of Liberia would be
opened and people would be allowed to
cross from one side to the other I
managed to get myself along with the
other members of my team onto the middle
of the bridge as the bridge was supposed
to open and it was the most
extraordinary day
when the bridge was finally open I think
something in me let go something in me
broke open and all of that adrenaline
and anger was released and I just I kind
of just collapsed to be honest I felt so
exhausted and and and relieved that for
once there was a happy ending to one of
these very brutal stories
my name is Michael Davey I’m a
documentary filmmaker and in 2003 I was
sent to liberia in West Africa for
National Geographic Explorer and I had
one of the most powerful experiences of
my life Liberia is a country that was
created by freed American slaves in the
mid-1800s so the people of Liberia have
always felt very close affinity to the
United States civilians were dying by
the thousands in this conflict and
Liberian people felt like America wasn’t
responding we’ve just got the car the
hotel and we’re making our way up to the
American Embassy just up here we’ve
heard that there are 17 dead bodies
outside the American Embassy that like
hearing people who put them there on
display as a kind of appeal to America
come and help us we rounded a corner we
saw this huge knot of people maybe 200
people gathered outside the American
Embassy they were screaming they were
shouting they were hurling rocks at the
gates of the embassy and people were
running down the street past us covered
in blood screening and hysterical hands
were tearing at my shirt and hands going
is like pockets and and people shoving
and shouting and screaming in my face
they forced us up the road pushed us
into the pile of bodies I’m actually
quite thin skinned and I don’t like
death I managed to some hold myself
together till I saw one woman in
particular I just must still he’s just
leaving and everybody’s feeling
when National Geographic saw the footage
on television that night they ordered us
to evacuate immediately we said no when
we’re not going to leave eventually the
situation became so volatile that we
were evacuated we were told to evacuate
and it was just one of the most
heartbreaking moments my career we were
abandoning we were leaving and we were
able to escape and they were not and it
felt like a great betrayal actually we
waited in the neighboring country of
Sierra Leone for 12 days waded into a
situation in Liberia calmed down and
then we flew back in most the moment we
arrived the conflict escalated again the
rebels continued to lay siege to the
capital Monrovia and people trapped
inside Monrovia we’re in a very dire
state hunger they hadn’t been able to
get access to food four weeks at the
climax of this conflict you had two
groups of people civilians in Monrovia
and he had civilians trapped in the
rebel-held territory on the other side
of measurable River who’d been separated
from their friends relatives who were
trapped inside the Capitol
eventually when President Charles tail
agreed to step down a second agreement
was made that the bridge connecting the
Capitol to the rest of Liberia would be
opened and people would be allowed to
cross from one side to the other I
managed to get myself along with the
other members of my team onto the middle
of the bridge as the bridge was supposed
to open and it was the most
extraordinary day
when the bridge was finally open I think
something in me let go something in me
broke open and all of that adrenaline
and anger was released and I just I kind
of just collapsed to be honest I felt so
exhausted and and and relieved that for
once there was a happy ending to one of
these very brutal stories
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