Six things Donald Trump should know after he praised Joseph Boakai’s ‘good English’

US President Donald Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Bouquay to speak “in good English” and asked him about the place where he went to school.

What Trump has missed is that Liberia shares a unique and long -term relationship with the United States.

The English language is the official language of the country and many Liberians speak an American accent because of these historical relations with the United States.

Perhaps this was the accent of Trump.

Here are six things that must be known about the country of West Africa:

Liberia was founded by African American slaves in 1822 before the declaration of independence in 1847.

Thousands of black Americans and the liberated Africans – rescued from slave ships across the Atlantic – settled in Liberia during the colonial era.

Former US President Abraham Lincoln announced the independence of Liberia in 1862, but the country retained a lot of heritage and remaining in the American “field of influence” during the colonial period.

Because of this integration, the Liberian culture, landmarks and institutions have a strong American influence of African origin.

Ten of the 26 heads of Liberia was born in the United States.

The descendants of these liberated slaves, known as America Liberin, have taken over the country for more than 100 years.

This was upset by some of the indigenous Liberians and the last president of this society, William Tolbert, was The overthrow of anxiety and murder in a coup in 1980.

They represent about a quarter of the population, According to the Bretanika websiteWho says more than twenty languages ​​are speaking in the country.

President Poakai of the ethnic Casey group, and therefore he was speaking as his mother tongue, before he learned the English language at school.

The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was named in honor of the Fifth President of America, James Monroe, who was a strong supporter of the American Colonial Society (ACS).

ACS was the organization responsible for resettling African Americans liberated in West Africa – which eventually led to the founding of Liberia.

It is not surprising that the early architecture of the city was greatly affected by the American -style buildings.

Several streets in Monrovia are named after American colonial figures, which reflects the city’s institutional and historical relations with the United States.

The city’s main hospital is called the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFKMC), which was called the name of the former US President.

Liberia’s flag is closely like the American flag. It features 11 red and white lines and a blue square with one white star.

The white star symbolizes Liberia as the first independent republic in Africa.

In comparison, the American flag contains 13 lines that represent the 13 colonies and 50 stars, one for each state.

The Liberian flag was designed by seven black women – all of whom were born in America.

Timothy Weh, former president of Liberia, George Weh, is an American professional football player who plays with Juventus, the Italian club, as well as the American team.

The 25 -year -old striker was born in the United States, but he started his career with Paris Saint -Jin in France, where he won the title of the first division before moving to the Scottish team, Celtic.

His father, George, is a Libyan football legend who won the Balloon DO in 1995 while playing with Juventus’ competitors. He is the only African winner in this award – and continued to elect a president in 2018.

Liberia produced the first elected president in Africa, Ellen Johnson Cerelev.

It was elected in 2005, two years after the bloody civil war in the country ended, and he held the position of president until 2018.

Johnson Sirleaf has a strong American background while studying at Madison Business College and then she later went to Harvard University, where she graduated as an economist.

She has received recognition and extensions all over the world to maintain peace during its management.

Her story is reserved with great challenges and courage.

In 2011, along with Leymah GBOWEE and Tawakkul Karmān, she won the Nobel Prize for Peace for her efforts to increase women’s rights.

In 2016, Forbes included it among the most powerful women in the world.

The farm, which has an area of ​​185 square miles, (479 square kilometers), is owned by Firestone Liberia, a subsidiary of the American tire manufacturer.

It was founded in 1926 to give the United States access to rubber at a time when the UK -controlled product was.

Firestone remains the largest employer in Liberia, with more than 4000 workers.

The company has been accused of human rights violations that date back to the basis of the rubber industry in Liberia. In 2006, a United Nations report on the rubber industry in Liberia said: “Farmer workers are exposed to dangerous working conditions without sufficient training or safety equipment.

“Many workers … do not receive fair wages or equal reward, and they have no right to strike. Child labor is used frequently on farms,” ​​she said.

Firestone has always denied such allegations, and in 2011 it was cleared of the use of child labor by an American court.

Rubber is still one of the largest exports of Liberia and the United States its largest market.

Foreign Minister Sarah Pizolo Niante denied that it was an embarrassing moment, saying that there was a “lack of understanding” around the world about the languages ​​that people in Africa speak, which she described as a “multi -language continent.”

“It coincides with the American and English intonation, and I think President Trump heard something familiar in the way President Bouquay spoke, which is different from the way others speak on the continent.”

“We are not insulting at all,” she said, adding that he was far from television cameras, there was a discussion of the common history between the two countries.

But there was a mixed reaction between the other Liberians.

Accountant Joe Manley, 40, told the BBC that Trump should have been properly informed before the Leberia leader interviewed.

“Liberia has always been an English -speaking country. Our president represents a country with a rich educational tradition.”

As for the professionalism of human resources, professionals in human resources, Majubullah, reflect the surprise of the American President in Bawakai’s eloquence a broader problem about global ignorance of African countries and their peoples.

“From travel experiences and notes, most citizens of other countries outside Africa do not know much about African countries,” she said. “The few know a little, their minds are ambiguous due to war novels, poverty and lack of education.”

However, the lawyer and politician Kanio Gala agreed with the Foreign Minister that there is no insult.

“I think President Trump’s observation was a real courtesy of President Boakai’s leadership of English,” he told the BBC. “There is no evidence of irony. Reading as unauthorized may reflect the schedules of political business.”