–Says it is In Honor of their Numerous Sacrifices Given to THEIR Department and Country
The Department of Naturalization of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) has honored with certificate and flowers, eight of its employees who have been retired by the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Civil Service Agency (CSA) recently. Six of the retirees are women and two are men.
Speaking during the honoring ceremony which was held at the Liberia Female Law Enforcement Association’s (LIFLEA) Head Office in Sinkor on October 27, 2020, the Deputy Commissioner General for Naturalization at the LIS, Atty. Asatu Kenneth said, of all the people who were recently retired from the LIS, her department decided to honor the ones who came from their department because of their long years of diligence and sacrifices they have rendered to the Department and the country at large.
The eight retirees who have spent over 20 year at the LIS included: Gloria George, Bennetta Warner, Veronica Woto, Esther Twegby, Juah Bestman, Charlesetta Kerdor, Lamine Swaray and Gabriel weLahkaryean.
According to Atty. Kenneth, their retirement is an honor to them as well as their families for the long length of time they have sacrificed themselves for their country.
“Instead of they being seen with the negative eyes because they are retired, this retirement is rather an honor to them for the level of commitment, integrity and uncountable sacrifices they have given to their country”, she said.
In remarks, the Director General of the Liberia Fire Service, Alex Dixon said, retirees deserve to be well taken care of as they are being retired from the places they have spent years working for.
But, according to the Fire Service boss, it is so unfortunate that retirees are hardly being taken care of upon being retired from their various sectors.
He, however, called on those who were retired from the Department of Naturalization of the LIS to “go home and take care of their grandchildren after their many years of hard work for their country with clean records.”
He added that life must go on despite their retirements.
For her part, the former Director of Naturalization and Technical Assistant for Naturalization of LIS, Gloria George, who spoke on behalf of the honorees appreciated the Department of Naturalization for honoring them.
Retired Director George said, they feel honored for their many years of services they have given to their country because of the honoring ceremony that was held for them by their former Department.
She also used the occasion to call on the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) to emulate the good example set by the Naturalization Department instead of just publishing their names on bulletins.
“We want to say thank you to our department for this honoring program, and the LIS should also copy this idea of officially honoring their retirees instead of only publishing their names on bulletins, and watching them walk away”, she said.
For her part, former Colonel Charlesetta Kerdor who has a twist in her right leg at the time she was on duty thanked the Head of the Department, Atty. Director Asatu Kenneth, for making them to feel that their workings at the LIS was appreciated.
She however appealed to the authorities of LIS and the Department to help her seek proper medic al treatment for her leg as she has now been retired to go home.