MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR HIV/AIDS DEAD   On November 15, 2007, over 500 persons including students, local authorities, the clergy and ordinary residents of Maryland County assembled at the St. Theresa’s Cathedral in Harper, Maryland County to celebrate a special memory service for dead victims of HIV/AIDS in Maryland.   The Memorial Mass, the first of its kind in Liberia was one of many activities held to highlight the issue of HIV/AIDS in the County. According to the Chief Organizer of the program, Head Matron of J. J. Dossen Hospital and Counselor of the Voluntary Testing and Counseling Center in Harper, Ms. Coral Doryen, 951 persons were tested for HIV/AIDs in Harper and Pleebo. She disclosed that of that number, 135 were tested positive, 107 in Harper and 21 in Pleebo.  Thirteen  persons have already died of the virus.   Partial view of congregation during HIV/AIDS Memorial Service, 11/15/07  Ms. Doryen attributed the high increase in the rate of infection to a combination of factors including ignorance, denial and lack of education. She stressed that stigma and discrimination of the disease and its victims and survivors are key challenges that are making it difficult in disseminating messages of awareness and sensitization. According to Ms. Doryen, public misconception which associates the disease and its victims with promiscuity and death are untrue. She said HIV/AIS patients can live positively. She called on Marylanders to take advantage of the Voluntary Testing and Counseling Facilities in Harper and Pleebo to know their HIV/AIDS status.        Female students attentively listening during memorial service    In a related development, “A Beauty Pageant was held in Harper to raise awareness and erase the negative perception that young girls are the carrier of the virus. The Pageant which was held under the theme “ Stop HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination” brought together over 2,000 persons at the Harper City Hall. Three Queens represented the 3 districts of Maryland contested. The contest was won by Ms. Vesta Satia of Pleebo/Sodoken District.   Story compiled by:   Sebastian Toe and Arthur Douglas Harper, Maryland County      Maryland County Reunion Maryland County Reunion Activity Committee 2 Maryland Avenue Harper City, Maryland County   Maryland County Reunion Event November 29, 2007 Harper City, Maryland County Statement of Purpose   Marylanders of all walk of Liberian life will gather in Maryland County , Republic of Liberia , on November 29, 2007. The purpose of the occasion is three-fold: 1st, to celebrate the birth anniversary of a late son of Maryland and President of the Republic of Liberia, William V. S. Tubman, who left an indelible mark on the nation’s history, 2nd, to regenerate and rekindle a spirit of unity and solidarity amongst Marylanders by strengthening working relations between leaders and citizens and 3rd, enhance peacebuilding and then help to identify ways and means for County development. We all know 1989 marked the beginning of a generalized anarchy of violence in Liberia . The aftermath of such violence has continued to have a negative impact on Maryland in the form of misunderstanding among citizens and leaders. Even though there’s an increasing opposition to violence, yet war, being an idea, like dueling or slavery, over time has become embedded in the behavior of others. The appeal and legitimacy of war in the country are now in profound decline. But until leaders of the nation offer better alternatives - better quality of life, expansion of democracy, development of appropriate norms and institutions - warfare will still persists in the form of domestic conflicts as a consequence of inadequate governments. So the best way out will be the improvement in state’s policing efficiency and effectiveness to deal with “residual warfare.” This realization abounds among Marylanders, thus the birth of a Reunion Committee to encourage Marylanders to return Home every November 29. This is because misunderstanding has considerably affected the Local and Legislative leadership’s ability to smoothly lead a postwar reconstruction effort in the County. This spiral of misunderstanding and conflict needs to be replaced with a spiral of peace, unity, mutual understanding and cooperation in order to create an environment conducive to self-sustaining and durable peace. The approach to helping resolve these misunderstandings by the November 29 Reunion Activity will rest on three central dimensions: addressing the underlying causes of conflict and misunderstanding, repairing damaged relationships and dealing with issues of infrastructure and human resource development. Each of these must rely on different strategies and techniques towards peacebuilding – one that will consist of a wide range of activities associated with capacity-building, reconciliation, unity and societal transformation. The Reunion Committee, in this respect, is quite aware that peacebuilding is crucial to future violence prevention and the promotion of a more peaceful and tolerant future of Maryland . Thus, it will involve articulating desirable structural, systemic, and relationship goals that might include sustainable economic development, self-sufficiency, equitable social structures that will meet human needs, and building positive relationships. These measures will be required to prevent conflict from reemerging by creating mechanisms that will enhance cooperation and dialogue among different groups for them to manage their conflicts through peaceful means. It will also include discussion to build institutions that will provide procedures and mechanisms for effectively handling and resolving conflict. One example is the building of fair courts, capacities for labor negotiation, systems of civil society reconciliation, and a stable electoral process. The Reunion activity will encourage a united and strong executive, legislative, and judicial institution. It will encourage democratization as a key way to creating the right sort of peace-enhancing structures, because democratization seeks to establish legitimate and stable political institutions and civil liberties that will allow meaningful competition for political power and broad participation in the selection of leaders and policies. That being the case, it will encourage the importance of Leaders adhering to principles of transparency and predictability, and for laws to be adopted through an open and public process. Post-conflict peacebuilding in Maryland and the democratization process will all form part of a comprehensive project to rebuilding those institutions. Thus, the November 29 County Reunion Event will help galvanize the Youth and close the gap between them and our Seniors; it will encourage all Marylanders to reunite their efforts, resources, education and link them with the peacebuilding process in order to move Maryland County once more into her inheritance and into the 21st Century of community development!         republic of liberia m i n i s t r y of i n t e r n a l  a f f a i r s Harper, Maryland county office of the superintendent     To: Committee FROM: The Office of the County Superintendent, Maryland County Ignatius Sie-Teba Neufville SUBJECT:  APPOINTMENT OF A MARYLAND COUNTY REUNION COMMITTEE,   DATE:            October 31, 2007 In commemoration of the 112th Anniversary of the late President William V. S. Tubman, we deem it necessary to plan and implement Reunion Program and activities thereby bringing all Marylanders and their sympathizers together in the County on November 29, 2007. For these activities to be well-planned and coordinated, a Maryland County Reunion Committee has been constituted. Because of your wisdom in these kinds of undertaking, you have been appointed to serve on said committee with immediate effect. Below is the membership of the Committee: Ø  Rt. Rev. B. Nyema Dalieh…………………………….Chair Ø      Hon. Regina W. Sampson…………………………….Co-chair Ø      Mr. Thomas G. Bedell…………………………………Secretary Ø      Hon. Standford Sieh…………………………………...Member Ø      Mr. G. Nyema Wisner (LMA)…………………………Member Ø      Mr. Daniel S. Wilson (Interest group)……………….Member Ø      Mr. Thomas Seebo (Traditional)……………………..Member   Accept our congratulations for your preferment.     Signed: Ignatius Sie-Teba Neufville                County   Superintendent               Maryland County , Republic of Liberia