In Liberia, youth bikers chase cash

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By Christina Holder THE WASHINGTON TIMES

GANTA, LIBERIA

When evening falls on war-torn Liberia, the one-eyed jungle cats come out to play.

They are the motorcyclists of Ganta, a remote, northern city on the edge of the Guinean border. As they stalk passengers along broken roads, their single headlights blaze through the darkness.

While cars are seen by the handful in this no-stoplight town, there are thousands of bikers here - most of them Liberian youth. This pack runs after only one kind of prey.

"I want plenty money," teenage biker Prince Dolo said. "Motorbike is instant money."

During the past five years, Liberia has slowly emerged from a 14-year civil war, but widespread poverty and an estimated 80 percent unemployment rate make it difficult for most Liberians to bring home an income.

The bikers of Ganta are an exception. Shortly after the war ended in late 2003, Liberian refugees who had fled to neighboring Guinea began bringing motorcycles across the border to Liberia. In Guinea, motorcycle transportation is widespread. Soon, bikes were wheeling into towns all over Liberia.

In December, Mr. Dolo gave up going to school to "ride traffic," as the biking business is called here. He is among many Liberian youth who are trading class and after-school studying for the lure of fast money. The nameplate on the front of his shiny red bike reads: "My Money-1."

Mr. Dolo's father bought the red bike several years ago for about $850. When the family needs extra money, he rents it out to drivers like his son. Mr. Dolo transports people for about 30 cents a ride. After a long day of running people around under the burning Ganta sun, he makes up to about $15. A police officer in Liberia makes about $80 a month. A newspaper journalist makes about $20.

Mr. Dolo, 18, said that he plans to go back to school. He will be in only the sixth grade, typical of many Liberians whose educations have been disrupted by the country's protracted series of civil wars that lasted from 1989 to 2003.