native sons of kolahun join |
Vamba SherifVamba Sherif was born in Kolahun, Lofa county, Liberia. In his early teens, he moved to Kuwait, where he attended high school and wrote his first story. During the First Gulf War, he fled Kuwait through Basra and Bagdad to the border with Jordan. There he was forced to stay at a refugee camp where thousands of refugees lived. There were hardly any facilities. For months, he suffered deprivation, and the heat and dust of the desert. The experience marked him forever. On leaving the camp, he arrived in Amman, where he stayed for a while before settling in Damascus. He could not return to Kuwait or go home to Liberia, and so he sought asylum in The Netherlands. |
While living in a refugee camp in The Netherlands, at the height of the war in Liberia, Vamba decided to attempt to explain the complexity of his country’s history to himself by trying to write about it. He wrote Land of my fathers, a novel about the founding of Liberia with the return of the freed men and women from America to Africa in the 19th century.
Besides his love of writing and his collection of rare books on Africa, Sherif has developed a passion for films, which he reviews. He’s ambassador for the Dutch Refugee Council. He has written for The New York Times, Long Cours in France and Kulturaustauch in Germany, and many other newspapers and magazines. He divides his time between The Netherlands and Liberia.
how i met dr. cole - by vamba sherif
My daily life in Kolahun consisted of waking at dawn in Sherif Quarter to sweep the compound, fetch water from the well nearby, and then head to the school up the hill, in the direction of Halaypo.
My brother, Vamuyan Sherif, and the people of Kolahun had built the school after his return from his studies in Egypt. The role my brother would play in my life would help bring me closer to Dr. Cole. Through his efforts, I won a scholarship to attend high school in Kuwait. From there, I began to correspond with Dr. Cole, who was generous enough to respond to my letters. I remember presenting him with a special pen which I had won in a school essay competition in Kuwait.
It was clear that one day I would become a doctor and follow in the footsteps of my hero. But then war broke out in Liberia and in Kuwait, almost at the same time, depriving me of the possibility to pursue my dream. The war left me only with memories of a place and a land that had been altered forever. My attempt to hold onto those memories and onto faces like those of Dr. Cole and many others, including my family, made me a writer. Writing for me is primarily an effort to keep those memories alive.
Dr. Cole succeeded in transforming a small hospital into one of the best in the country. People came from far and near to be admitted to the hospital. He was and still is one of our greatest prides.
Very touching and inspirational.
Really inspirationale not only for you Vamba, for all of us who live in Kolahun in the 80s, what a patriotic man he is!
This is an inspiring article. I love Mr. Sherif’s works and Dr. Cole seems like a great man. Both have worked hard to accomplish all that they have.
Think you for this great and inspiring article. There are so challenges on the way of becoming a productive individual in the society and you guys have managed to defeat these obstacles, and you are now eagerly willing with the hart full of love and passion to give back to the society. May the almighty God bless you all and increase you in knowledge and love for our county.
Very proud to read this article. It was this very hospital
that safed my life when I was bitten by a snake in our village. The Nurses in their neatly white dresses and white caps inspired me to become a Nurse.
Leave a Reply.
Archives
July 2022
February 2022
November 2020
April 2020
December 2019
October 2019
June 2019
May 2019
December 2018
November 2018
August 2018