By John Dennis Weah
+231 776460595
From the hills of the industrial mining site of Bong Town in Bong County descending to the shores of Montserrado County northwest coastal seaport city of Monrovia, hundreds of Liberians both youth and the elderly flock into Louisiana Township during mid-week and weekends enduring and surviving struggling times day and night yet persistent to sustain themselves through a local means of transport using one of the existent railways in the country for more than three decades now.
The idea of transportation using the train track was developed by the locals during the civil crisis and has since been a livelihood ultimately and a source of income to many who have no form of formal skills training in the economy of less available job opportunities.
Some of its transporters have gradually left the main income generation activity to acquire other skills at the end of the war; while others have remained in the Make-It-Red adventure as breadwinners and have even double the size of training and compensating more youths into the business in rural areas that have little or no employment.
The moving objects are operated by conductors and designed for trade and commerce to transport people and different kind of goods like charcoal, sugarcane, vegetables, fruits and woods for building construction purposes.
Make-It-Red Transport as it is locally referred to be is organized as a union of transporters with a leadership having one of its main stations situated right along the track at the central Louisiana General Market. The name itself was coined to suit the harsh conditions linked and experienced by those involved.
Mr. Jefferson O. Hoggand, the union’s Co-Chair, explained how he and others got involved with the business at the beginning of the Liberian Civil War in 1990 when transportation became hard for people to take basic commodities from one place to another. He said it was a difficult time and they thought of doing something beneficial for themselves and others to survive the crisis period due to limited commercial vehicles plying major routes from the city to the interior parts of Liberia.
“The name came about when people started getting hurt during accidents. There were a lot of injuries and the severities of wounds were often red. That’s why we referred to it as Make-it-Red.”
He also mentioned that the self-manufactured no-engine wheel is made of woods and cylindrical roller bearings that swivel on the train track loaded with variety of goods from the former Bong Mining Company town to Louisiana near Monrovia. Push by man power side-by-side until they reach to the final destination.
The scarcity of motor vehicles in the early 90’s which impeded the movement of people to commute prompted the new discovery of transportation called ‘Make-It-Rail’. It was initiated in the midst of the first Liberian Civil Crisis due to destitution and the impoverished war conditions that ruined the stability of the nation.
Mr. Hoggand joined the informal transport sector in 1991 as a young man and continues to play a top leadership role due to what he described as seeking members’ welfare and showing concern for them in times of difficulties. According to him the union has signed MOU with China Union to keep the local business running with the obligation that the union’s members maintain highway security and side brushing of the track.
The Bong Mine Railway in Liberia was initially operated by the Liberia Mining Company known as LMC but resumed operations in 2003 after the cessation of the second phase of the war. Later, it was taken over by the group referred to as China Union but has narrowed down rail activity over a period of time.
The Mine Railway was built in the 1960’s to bring ore from the mines 80km down to the Liberian port and capital, Monrovia, for shipping abroad.