Musu’s Diary is a cartoon illustrating the resilience of Liberians who seek to end impunity after the 14-year back-to-back civil wars. It tells the story of a brave young girl in Monrovia, Liberia. With her family torn apart by the Liberian Civil Wars, Musu seeks to reunite them and embarks on adventures with her tag-along little brother, Varney. Chronicling her journey and quest for justice during trials of alleged war criminals happening outside of Liberia, Musu is confronted and frustrated by the varied conceptions of justice and the prevalence of impunity in her country.
Musu’s Diary connects cartooning with the battle against impunity in order to encourage Liberians to voice their own quest for justice. Through the cartoons, we aim to ensure people are informed about cases of alleged Liberian war criminals.
The characters in Musu’s Diary reflect the different sentiments Liberians have in their post-conflict situation. Musu’s Diary combines expressionism and magical realism within a classic hero’s journey to convey the hope, prosperity, and justice Liberia can attain given the pursuit of criminal justice for victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Additionally, in collaboration with students from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and the LivArts Visual Arts Academy in Monrovia, Civitas Maxima and the Global Justice and Research Project are conducting a Cartooning for Justice workshop in Monrovia.
Written by the staff of Civitas Maxima and the Global Justice and Research Project, and illustrated by JP Kalonji, the cartoon is the product of the partnership between Civitas Maxima and the Swiss-Congolese artist.
Episode One
Episode Two
