When Nations and Lives Come Unglued

Steve Clemons, Director of New America’s foreign policy programs, joined the Diplomatic Correspondent of the New York Times Helene Cooper for a conversation about her recent memoir The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood. Raised in relative opulence in her early years in Liberia, Helene was forced to flee the country with her family in 1980 as a militant group seized the government in a coup d’état. On television, she watched her “Uncle Cecil,” a member of the government’s foreign affairs office, die by firing squad. Her mother was compelled to barter and compromise her own body temporarily in exchange for a guarantee of safety for her children.

When Helene moved to America following the coup, she “Americanized” herself, dropping the Liberian accent on her English and doing whatever should could to fit in. Occasionally, Helene wrote letters back to her sister Eunice in Liberia that claimed falsely that Helene had joined the cheerleading squad and was dating the captain of the basketball team when in reality she was often alone and without friends.

Helene’s life in America was difficult at first, but she worked her way of the journalism-career ladder, eventually earning herself a spot as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and then later as the current Diplomatic Correspondent for the New York Times. Helene commented that in the process of developing her career, she seemed to travel everywhere except Liberia. It was not until she found herself in a war situation in Iraq that she decided she needed to go back to Liberia, the only country in which she could envision a proper or reasonable end to herself.

After the conversation on her past, Helene answered questions related to her views on nation-building and some others on U.S. foreign policy. She commented that as a journalist she felt more comfortable describing situations rather than prescribing solutions.

- Event summary written by Josh Meah, Intern, American Strategy Program

Video of the discussion is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

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Participants

Featured Speaker
Helene Cooper
White House Correspondent, The New York Times
Author, The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood

Moderator
Steve Clemons
Director, American Strategy Program New America Foundation
Publisher, TheWashingtonNote.com