Amos Paypay

Member of the Pen-Pen Peace Network (Montserrado)

Amos Paypay is a commander with the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Monrovia, Liberia, and a member of the Pen-Pen Peace Network (PPPN) in Montserrado County. The PPPN is a local peace committee formed after a meeting which the Purdue Peace Project convened in 2013 to help prevent violence and enhance relationships among pen-pen riders and others in Liberia. The PPPN has evolved and is now working with the National Elections Commission and other groups to help ensure that the 2017 elections in Liberia are peaceful.

After thirty years of experience in law enforcement, Paypay says it is important that the LNP collaborates with NGOs and community members to introduce the best practices when it comes to preparing for a peaceful election season in 2017. For this reason he is proud of the PPPN’s efforts to offer promote and work toward peaceful elections. Paypay admits that these opportunities unite pen-pen riders (motorcyclists) and the LNP to work hand in hand, making “it possible to have successful interactions on a daily basis.”

From his perspective, peace is “not just an event, it’s a process”, which means all institutions, schools, communities, and civil society need to participate in sharing the message of peace. Paypay says, “peace means democratic practice - you must understand democratic bodies. They are the root.” He believes the LNP has been “striving and working toward the understanding of democratic practice” to “ensure to bring everybody on board to see peaceful elections come 2017.”