Over 175,000 motorcycle taxi drivers operate across Liberia. Most of them are either former child soldiers or conflict-affected youth who lost out on economic and educational opportunities because of the war. Best Man Corner profiles the young riders of one of Monrovia’s motorcycle taxi ranks, exploring how the ‘motorbike hustle’ is a means of survival but also a form of building peace.
Runtime: 19:02 mins
Main Credits
Director/Producer Jaremey McMullin
Camera Matthew Hyndman
Editor Tanja Schangin
Research Assistance Kennedy K. Berrian
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What kind of place is Best Man Corner? What are its spatial characteristics? What happens there?
How does Edwin articulate ‘hustling’ and ‘the motorbike hustle’? What features does hustling have and to what extent is it a peacebuilding activity?
Does motorcycle taxi driving facilitate ex-combatant reintegration? How so?
What distinct roles do economic livelihood and social interaction play in the reintegration trajectories of Liberia’s conflict-affected youth?
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
Tatiana Adeline Thieme (2018) ‘The Hustle Economy: Informality, Uncertainty and the Geographies of Getting By,’ Progress in Human Geography, 42:4, 529-548.
Alcinda Honwana (2014) ‘“Waithood”: Youth Transitions and Social Change,’ pp.28-40 in Dick Foeken, ton Dietz, Leo de Haan, and Linda Johnson (eds) Development and Equity: An Interdisciplinary Exploration by Ten Scholars from Africa, Asia and Latin America (Leiden: Brill).
Jaremey R. McMullin (2013) ‘Integration or Separation? The Stigmatisation of Ex-combatants after War,’ Review of International Studies, 39:2, 385-414.
Mamadou Diouf (2003) ‘Engaging Postcolonial Cultures: African Youth and Public Space,’ African Studies Review, 46:2, 1-12.
WEB RESOURCES
Center for Security Studies and Development (CENSSAD, Liberia)
