Emira Woods :: Valentines Against Liberian Debt

See Christopher Herwig’s photo essay:

Life in Liberia

On Valentine’s Day 2007, 10,000 cards flooded the U.S. Treasury Department offices, each bearing the phrase, “Have a heart—drop Liberia’s debt.” The cards were part of a months-long campaign to free the struggling African nation of debt repayment obligations to the World Bank. “As Liberia repays its debt to the international financial institutions, there are no functioning hospitals,” said Liberian-born scholar and author Emira Woods (pictured above), testifying before the House Financial Services Committee later that year. In November 2007, citing pressure from activists, the IMF canceled Liberia’s debt.