Liberian Warlord George Boley has a soft and gentle side. That’s the tone of a Democrat & Chronicle story in today’s paper. As the warlord’s court date to face immigration charges nears, the press is on to ensure that he is seen locally as a great guy, “sweet and kind”.
Presumably between the times his troops were looting, raping and press ganging twelve year olds into military service.
Neighbors, including some who didn’t want to be quoted or named, universally described Boley as polite and kind.
“He’d do anything for you if you asked for help,” said Mary Lou Pack, who has lived next door to the Boley family at least 15 years.
“They’ve always been really sweet and kind with us,” said Chris Bates, who has lived across the street from the Boleys for a little more than a year.
Marah thought enough of Boley’s credentials, which include a book on Liberian politics, to consider him for an adjunct teaching position at SUNY Brockport. That was until he read in July that Boley’s immigration status was in question.
P. Reffell Conteh, a native of Sierre Leone with Liberian parentage, worked under Boley for a year at Rochester’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School a few years ago. “I think he’s a wonderful man. He’s a smart guy. He’s knowledgeable, he’s educated,” she said.
Conteh said Boley was in charge of one “house” within the former middle school. Whenever he proposed new ideas, though, his staff shot him down, she said, which she attributed to prejudice against foreign-born educators.
When you read the accounts of those times, you don’t find anyone with clean hands. George Boley was not the most horrific of the warlords, but he was no innocent. Now he’s laid on a campaign to allow him to remain in this country because he’s such a nice guy. The truth appears to make him as guilty as any of the concentration camp guards we’ve deported in the last decade. We’re sending eighty year old women back to the old country to face trial. Boley should have the same opportunity.
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