It’s 11pm on a Saturday night in downtown Monrovia and at the African Palace nightclub, revellers are getting down to some serious partying.
For two months the club, with its long wooden bar, single television set and steel door was closed as fighting raged between government forces and rebels a few kilometres away.
But true to form, one of Monrovia’s oldest and hottest night spots has reopened its doors a week ago and on Saturday night, cold Club beers — of which hotels and drinking spots were running low because the brewery across the Mesurado River in Bushrod Island was destroyed in the fighting — were flowing freely.
From the outside, the place does not look like much. A small neon sign discreetly denotes the name, and the club is one of the few places in Monrovia’s ramshackle city centre that has electricty running from a generator.
However, once inside, after passing a uniformed policeman, the music is loud as clubbers, dressed to the nines in rap-style clothing, a few government soldiers in uniform and well-kept women who describe themselves as ”single ladies” dance to the sounds of Ken O’Brien — a Liberian artist who blends pop and tradional African music.
”Yo, wassup?” comes the traditional Liberian greeting from George, no last name given, a self-styled Liberian businessman who wears green gumboots, shorts and a red designer vest, and sits at the bar while polishing off one beer after another.
”Well, it looks like the war in Liberia is over,” he says. ”Now people can get back to what they enjoy doing, and that is to party,” as he eyeballs some of the single ladies on the dance floor, before ordering another ”40 feet”, the nickname given to a large bottle of Club because of its size.
George sells mobile phones in Monrovia and when asked where his offices are, he apologises profusely: ”I don’t have my GPS (Global Positioning System) with me to show you.”
Clubbers here fancy hard-style rap, some rhythm and blues and reggae, including legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and even South Africa’s Lucky Dube. There are three nightclubs in Monrovia and two ”entertainment centres” which has a more laid-back vibe and where live bands like Pro Satellite play — fully equipped with electrical guitars and a drum set. All bar one have opened their doors in recent days, following the signing of a peace deal between the government and rebels.
The African Palace is hot and sweaty but there is no animosity here. Even after a couple of drinks, talk about peace seems the order of the day.
Said George: ”Liberian nightclubs may not be equipped like western nightclubs, but we make up for that by being some of the most sociable people on the African continent.”
Outside in Monrovia’s dark streets, there’s a gauntlet of checkpoints manned by government soldiers to be run, bringing its own danger in the early hours of the morning.
But for now, people forget their worries, as another Club is being cracked open with sweating bodies swinging to the sounds of Bob Marley’s Buffalo Soldier. – Sapa-AFP