I was intrigued to note at the recent Safari Club International Convention that Sergio Dimitrijevic of Safaris International has his eye on reopening Liberia. Long-time subscribers know this country well for the many problems that developed there five years ago when Tom Banks of West African Safaris managed to open it for a short while. Ultimately, a number of Hunting Report subscribers lost money when Banks folded and went away. A few subscribers did take duikers, though, and the country has remained of interest to a few specialist hunters.
We contacted Dimitrijevic last month about Liberia and got the following note back from his secretary, Christina Lutovac: "Sergio is currently out of the office, but he asked me to tell you that he is indeed about to get some concessions in Liberia, but it will take time to organize everything. We plan to prepare things by summer and will send you a detailed report then. In the past two years, there haven't been any problems in Liberia. The situation is controlled by the Americans, and all is peaceful except for occasional incursions from Ivory Coast. Those are not important because we will not be hunting on that side."
We certainly intend to follow these plans closely. In the meantime, if you are interested in Liberia, be sure you take a look at the new Travel Warning just issued by our State Department (http://travel.state. gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_925. html). It does note that things are improving in Liberia, but it does not give the green light for travel there. More details as we get them.
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