As part of our longform story on Liberia, this project seeks to create biographies of Liberians who survived the country's civil wars and the Ebola epidemics, and are creating the country's future. We will include refugee Liberians in the diaspora who live in and around Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, and will also document Liberians who remained in their country through the conflicts.

Interviews will be outlined and conducted by Yumetta Beysolow, who holds a Masters in Social Work, and licensed psychologist Ramesh Bakhtiari. James Conley will be the primary photographer.

Through autobiographical narrative interviews and environmental portraits, we will document individual experiences and stories to create both an historical record and to raise awareness of the hidden costs of Liberia's modern conflicts. We will also show how Liberians have overcome their challenges and actively work toward a bright future.

Our project goal is to present the stories in printed form. This will include both a book and subset collections grouped by theme.

PROJECT TIMELINE

While the identification of willing diaspora participants is ongoing, principal interviews and photography started in February 2017.

In early 2019, we anticipate conducting interviews in Libera, as well as beginning principal documentary photography in both Liberia and other parts of West Africa.

For more information, or to participate or volunteer: 

CONTACT picturedesk[at]apogeophotos.com