Residents of the Hotel Africa area in Virginia, Montserrado County, are appealing to the Liberian government to delay or reconsider an ongoing eviction notice that could see thousands of families displaced from the community they have called home for decades.
Speaking to reporters, Francis Massaquoi, Chairman of the Blessed Road and Villa Three Communities, said the planned eviction threatens to uproot over 25,000 residents across the three settlements surrounding the former Hotel Africa premises. He described the community’s current situation as one of “pain and frustration,” noting that many residents have nowhere else to go.
“We are not fighting the government. We are citizens of this country. All we are asking for is time and support to resettle. People are hungry, there is no money, and no job. For the sake of peace, let the government give us at least two years,” Massaquoi pleaded.
According to residents, many families have lived in the area since the late 1970s and 1980s when the once-grand Hotel Africa was built to host the Organization of African Unity (OAU) conference. Following years of civil unrest, much of the hotel complex and its surrounding land became occupied by families seeking refuge and stability.
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Miata Blama, the community’s chairlady who has lived in the area since 1997, said that while residents support national development, they want the government to consider compensation or relocation before eviction.
“Not everybody can build or buy land,” Blama said. “If the government gives us something, even three or four thousand dollars, we will leave peacefully. But they can’t just drive us away without a plan. We have schools, churches, and children in school.”
Blama added that families are requesting at least a year’s grace period to relocate, especially as many children are in school and have nowhere else to live.
Another long-time resident, Elder Zuana Boima Gibson, who identified himself as a former construction worker at Hotel Africa, said he has lived in the area for over 46 years. He recalled working on the hotel’s construction in 1979 and remaining there with his family ever since.
“My father was a security man for public works, and we have lived here since the 1970s,” Elder Gibson explained. “We know this place belongs to the government, but we are asking that before they take it, they resettle us. I have a school, a church, and my family here. If the government compensates us, we will leave.”
Residents said they were informed about the government’s plan to reclaim the area for redevelopment, reportedly giving them one month to vacate. However, community members insist that such a timeline is impossible for families who have lived there for decades and built homes, schools, and churches from scratch.
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They expressed hope that President Joseph Nyuma Boakai will personally intervene to ensure that affected families are treated with compassion and fairness.
“We voted for this government. We are not enemies of development,” Massaquoi emphasized. “But let them not forget us the citizens who built their lives here when the place was bush. All we ask for is resettlement, not confrontation.”
The residents say they remain peaceful but warned that a mass eviction without a relocation plan could lead to humanitarian hardship for thousands of families in the area.
As the government pushes forward with its redevelopment agenda, community members are urging authorities to balance national progress with social justice ensuring that no Liberian is left homeless in the name of development.
