By Philip N. Wesseh(PNW)

While growing up as a child in the borough of New Kru town, I took a little boy to my mother and introduced him as "my friend." My late mother then laughed and said, "He is not your friend." I then inquired why? She then explained to me that a friend is someone you can gain from and that friendship is sometime that is mutual. With simplicity, she said to be "friends means someone who will help you and who you will help whenever there is a need to do so. But for this child, he has nothing to five you,. And so he is not your friend."

I am reflecting on this event between my late mother and myself because of the comments made by the Chinese ambassador accredited to Liberia HE Zhou Yuxiao when he paid a visit to THE INQUIRER newspaper on Wednesday. He said China would be a good friend of Liberia and remain committed to the reconstruction goal of the country. He stated that friendship is seen through "deeds, commitment and honesty." In other words as my late mother said to me those days, a friend must do things that will benefit his friend and that friend must be honest, that is, not doing it for any ulterior motive. Frankly, I agree with the Ambassador that friendship must be seen through one's deeds (actions) and that one should be honest (sincerity) arid committed (faithfulness).

Now in view of the friendship between Liberia and China, Liberia stands at a position to tap on the experience and expertise of the Chinese people. This is why during our discussion, I made two major appeals to the Ambassador as a way of accentuating this friendship. Already it is a known fact that China is actively involved in the reconstruction program of this country. It has undertaken many projects and is still undertaking other projects. But my appeal to the Ambassador was on "ARGICUL TURE and TOURISM" because during the time I visited that country few years ago with one of my colleagues, Jerome Dalieh of the News newspaper, I have come to realize that the Chinese have done much in the area of agriculture and tourism.

The Area Of Agriculture

Despite its gargantuan population, China is self-sufficient in food production to the extent that it exports.

It may seem incredible, but this is true. The Chinese feed themselves. I am aware that the Chinese are involved in agricultural activities in this country. This is good; we have to do everything with this little population in a country with abundance land and fertile soil. The recent experience of rice farm near the President's home, which yielded much, is a clear indication that if this continues with strong political will and determination, in the next few years, this country will be self-sufficient in rice production, or other crops.

Over the years, there have been lip services regarding the issue of food production and there have been fine documents, but nothing has been done to bring this to fruition. I am still aware of the "Green Revolution" launched during the late Samuel K. Doe regime, but that too, remained a mere paper work.

Whatever the situation may be, we have to now correct the mistakes of the past and utilize the friendship of the Chinese people to move this country forward in the area of agriculture and not circumscribing it only to rice, though it is our staple food.

The Area of Tourism

Again during our discussion on Wednesday, one of the areas that I stressed for this country to benefit is tourism because I have observed that we do not take tourism seriously. Like what I saw in China, this country has a rich culture and tourism sites from which this country can develop a good tourism program. I respect the Chinese for their deep sense of history and respect for their culture. China has been able to preserve its cultural heritage dating back hundreds of years. There are structures and trees that have been in existence hundreds of yegrs ago. China gets huge amount from its tourism program. That alone does not promote the culture of that country, but it is also a source of employment. Most of the areas we visited, we had tour guides and workers maintaining the facilities. Also when we visited the Forbidden Palace, we saw workers trying to refurbish the facilities. Incontestably, tourism creates job opportunities for a nation.

Commercially, it is useful because business people use those facilities to sell souvenirs. At the Great Wall of China, we took instantaneous photos. We have lakes, beaches. Mountains, rivers. Waterfalls, monuments as well as historic sites such as the Providence Island, where the slaves settled in the 1800's, the Providence Baptist Church on Broad Street, where the Deciaration of Independence was signed, Just to name a few. Tourism is very important for any nation because it shows the heritage of that nation and also makes its citizenry to appreciate their culture. Besides, tourism is very beneficial in that it is also income generating. It is indeed a lucrative venture.

In Liberia we can use our friendship with the Chinese to get the secret to their success story about their tourism program. Perhaps if we get to promote and appreciate our culture, this will help to promote nationalism and unity. We will get to realize that we are one people with one destiny. At the same time, tourism helps young people to know the natural features and also to understand some historical happenings and events. So you see, tourism is very vital to any nation, especially so in Liberia which has a rich cultural heritage and historical events.

Once again, let us tap the expertise and experience of the Chinese in the areas of agriculture and tourism.

Source: The Inquirer, Feb.1, 2008