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  • SHANE SMITH: So is that why your nickname was

  • General Butt Naked?

  • SHANE SMITH: A lot of people would drink or do

  • drugs before fighting?

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH: So you killed the child?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH: And then you drank the blood?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah.

  • MALE SPEAKER : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • CROWD: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE SPEAKER 1 : So what kind of war is this?

  • Guerrilla?

  • MALE SPEAKER 2 : World War III.

  • SHANE SMITH: We here at Vice have been fascinated by

  • Liberia for a long time.

  • It's America's first and only foray into

  • quasi-colonialism in Africa.

  • It started as a back-to-Africa movement for freed slaves and,

  • in fact, their constitution was written in Washington.

  • And Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, is actually named

  • after President Monroe.

  • It became a state in the 1840s.

  • So the freed slaves go back to Africa and promptly enslave

  • the native Africans based on the plantation method they had

  • learned in the US, which lasts for about 140 years, until

  • Samuel K. Doe, the first native African-born Liberian,

  • was elected.

  • But this doesn't last very long.

  • Why?

  • Because an American-educated--

  • and some would say American-backed--

  • rebel leader named Charles Taylor and his buddy, Prince

  • Johnson, came from America and overthrew him.

  • MALE SPEAKER: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE REPORTER : Despite reports that the government

  • wants talks with the rebels, the violence goes on.

  • FEMALE REPORTER : Rebel forces stormed into the center of the

  • capital today.

  • They are now less than a mile from the executive mansion

  • where President Samuel Doe has barricaded himself with about

  • 500 soldiers.

  • SHANE SMITH: In fact, Prince Johnson had got to Doe before

  • his buddy Charles, ended up torturing him, cutting him up,

  • and is rumored to have eaten him while

  • filming the whole thing.

  • [SHOUTING]

  • SHANE SMITH: So Charles Taylor finally gets elected with a

  • campaign slogan that reads, "He killed my ma, he killed my

  • pa, but I'll still vote for him." And it

  • works, he gets elected.

  • But he's so corrupt that soon after, there's a bunch of

  • warlords fighting for control over Liberia, the country

  • devolves into civil war, and things go from bad to

  • severely fucked up.

  • SHANE SMITH : But this is like a civil war on steroids.

  • It's a post-apocalyptic Armageddon with child soldiers

  • smoking heroin, cross-dressing cannibals, systematic rape--

  • it's total hell on earth.

  • [GUNFIRE]

  • MALE SPEAKER: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE SPEAKER 1: We love the music.

  • There's the music.

  • MALE SPEAKER 2 : They call it the sound of death.

  • MALE SPEAKER 1: Yeah, but it's the sound of music to us.

  • SHANE SMITH: Liberia's been in the news a lot lately because

  • Charles Taylor is on trial at The Hague for war crimes.

  • But we wanted to know what happened to all the other

  • warlords, so we contacted a Canadian journalist who lives

  • in Liberia named Myles Estey, who's kind of a Kurtz-like

  • character--

  • tall, skinny, skeleton guy who's had malaria more times

  • than he's had hot dinners.

  • And he said he could get us access to all these

  • ex-warlords.

  • So we said, great.

  • We got on a plane, and we flew to Liberia.

  • [MUSIC - THE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS, "ALL MY LOVING"]

  • SHANE SMITH : When you first get to Monrovia, the first

  • thing you think is, it's really hot.

  • It's really hot, it's really poor, and

  • it's totally chaotic.

  • In fact, when we went to pick up Myles, he had just gotten

  • out the hospital with malaria.

  • He gets in the car, and he says, are you ready to go?

  • We're going to Baboon Town in the red light district to meet

  • our first general, General bin Laden.

  • So as we drove to Baboon Town, we asked Myles what's up with

  • the name, "General bin Laden?" And he said, well, a lot of

  • the generals took different names because they didn't want

  • to be identified after the various wars, and these

  • pseudonyms were meant to strike terror into the hearts

  • of their enemies.

  • So there's a General Rambo, because he's scary, there was

  • a General Mosquito, because mosquitoes are terrifying

  • because they bring malaria.

  • The general that fought General Mosquito was named

  • General Mosquito Spray.

  • And of course, there's General bin Laden.

  • In fact, there's two General bin Ladens.

  • Our General bin Laden, we found out en route, had just

  • been put in jail.

  • Now, he didn't know why, but he suspected because the

  • authorities found out that we were coming with

  • cameras to shoot him.

  • MYLES ESTEY: And they say they're not gonna let him out,

  • but we can interview him in the jail and we can interview

  • the commanders.

  • SHANE SMITH : Let's do that.

  • Let's go then.

  • MYLES ESTEY: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : So the minute we arrive in Baboon Town, our car

  • is surrounded by a bunch of sketchy dudes.

  • So when Myles came back and said we could interview bin

  • Laden in the police station, I was like, yeah, let's get out

  • of here and get in there really quick.

  • So we get into the police station, and it's chaos.

  • Some guards are saying you can go see him, other guards are

  • saying you can't go see him, and we just have to

  • sit there and wait.

  • SHANE SMITH: I like being in the police station.

  • It's nice.

  • [MONKEY SCREECHING]

  • SHANE SMITH: Monkey.

  • Little monkey.

  • He's got herpes, I think, or something.

  • Hi.

  • What's wrong with the monkey?

  • Why is the monkey here?

  • SHANE SMITH: Why is the monkey here?

  • [MONKEY SCREECHES]

  • SHANE SMITH: We're in a police station in the middle of the

  • red light district to meet General bin Laden, and I'm

  • wondering why the monkey's here.

  • [SHANE SMITH SIGHS]

  • SHANE SMITH : Then eventually, after sitting there for a

  • while, we realized, oh, we've got to grease some palms.

  • So we gave them some money and bang-- we were back into the

  • jail and we could talk to bin Laden.

  • Hey, bin Laden?

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN : Yeah?

  • SHANE SMITH : How are you?

  • MYLES ESTEY : This is my friend, Shane.

  • SHANE SMITH : Shane.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: [INAUDIBLE].

  • Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH: Nice to meet you.

  • We're gonna try to get you out of here now, and

  • then we can go back.

  • SHANE SMITH: All right.

  • We're gonna do it right now.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: Now.

  • SHANE SMITH: OK.

  • MYLES ESTEY: Yeah, I know what he did.

  • We're talking about to get him out, what do we have to do?

  • MYLES ESTEY: To who?

  • MALE SPEAKER : OK, we'll stop.

  • We'll stop.

  • SHANE SMITH : Video's off.

  • OFFICER : --without the permission.

  • MALE SPEAKER : It's off.

  • SHANE SMITH : The video's off.

  • He's carrying-- he's just holding it right now.

  • MYLES ESTEY : Look, we're good people.

  • We're good--

  • nobody's recording anything.

  • MYLES ESTEY : Sure, I can give him cash and--

  • can we pay him and pay you a fine?

  • And then take him?

  • OFFICER : Fine.

  • MYLES ESTEY : OK, great.

  • OFFICER : That's good.

  • MYLES ESTEY : OK.

  • SHANE SMITH : OK, let's go, let's go, let's go.

  • Let's go, let's go, let's go.

  • OK, let's go, let's go.

  • MALE SPEAKER: Hey, yeah-- you!

  • SHANE SMITH: We went in there--

  • we're being followed by the police right now.

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah, we might have to change tapes or do

  • something, because--

  • what we do is we shoot cars--

  • MALE SPEAKER : Yeah, that's--

  • SHANE SMITH: --and if they come, we can

  • give them the tape.

  • There's nothing on the tape.

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • We do, right now.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: We'll go to my warehouse.

  • SHANE SMITH: OK.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: Don't worry about that.

  • SHANE SMITH: Our trip is getting progressively heavier.

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah, that'll be good.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: We're going on top of the building.

  • SHANE SMITH: OK.

  • I'm kind of a little bit worried that the police are

  • gonna come get us right now.

  • I gave them a fake name and fake number.

  • SHANE SMITH: OK, nice to meet you.

  • SHANE SMITH: Nice to meet you.

  • SHANE SMITH: Thank you.

  • Thank you.

  • So after we got bin Laden out of jail, he was very excited

  • to get us up to his rooftop and tell us his story.

  • And according to him, the ex-generals, who are now the

  • community leaders, are the only ones doing anything to

  • help the people.

  • SHANE SMITH: So maybe you could explain a little bit

  • about-- so first of all, you became known as bin Laden

  • during the war?

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: During the war.

  • SHANE SMITH: And then after the war, now you're sort of

  • trying to help people by carpentry and by karate.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: Karate.

  • SHANE SMITH: Do you get any money here?

  • SHANE SMITH: No, but the UN or the government doesn't give

  • you any money?

  • SHANE SMITH : Nothing?

  • SHANE SMITH: And is this area-- this is red light here?

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN: It's a red light.

  • This is red light.

  • SHANE SMITH: And is it--

  • is there a lot of crime in red light?

  • MALE SPEAKER : Oh yeah.

  • GENERAL BIN LADEN : Yeah, it's--

  • this is red light.

  • SHANE SMITH : Red light.

  • SHANE SMITH : So Myles comes over, stops the interview, and

  • says, we have to get the fuck out of here now.

  • Bin Laden looks down and he goes, yeah, yeah,

  • those aren't my guys.

  • You guys should really go.

  • SHANE SMITH : So bin Laden gave us an escort, and a

  • couple of his guys got us through the crowd to the car,

  • and we got the fuck out.

  • SHANE SMITH : So let's go.

  • Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

  • Holy fucking shit.

  • That was out of hand.

  • We gotta get out of here.

  • There was some heavy duty Libs there, boy.

  • So after meeting and being freaked out by General bin

  • Laden, we wanted to see what the UN and government were

  • doing to rebuild Liberia.

  • We met a local journalist named Nagbe, and we asked him,

  • and he said, you want to the government and UN are doing?

  • I'll take you to West Point.

  • West Point is the worst slum in Liberia, which makes it one

  • of the worst slums in West Africa, which makes it one of

  • the worst slums in the world.

  • Now, when you first get there, the first thing you want to do

  • is get the hell out.

  • It's open sewers everywhere--

  • shit, piss, garbage, everything mixed in--

  • and the stench is overpowering.

  • SHANE SMITH : Oh, dude.

  • It really stinks here.

  • SHANE SMITH : But, I mean, one of the first basic rules is

  • don't shit where you eat.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: That's it, but--

  • SHANE SMITH: That's a number one rule.

  • SHANE SMITH: But the government has to do something

  • about that.

  • SHANE SMITH: Mm-hmm.

  • So even in one of the worst slums of Western Africa, you

  • see the cultural impact that America has there.

  • All the kids are wearing Biggie or Tupac t-shirts.

  • In fact, one kid came up to us and said, hey, I'm a rapper.

  • Can I rap for you?

  • And we said yes.

  • And it wasn't about bling, and it wasn't about Cristal.

  • SHANE SMITH: And is there a lot of malaria in here?

  • SHANE SMITH : Needless to say, in West Point, health

  • conditions are foul.

  • Disease is everywhere--

  • malaria, infections, and AIDS are rampant.

  • SHANE SMITH : Cover up for heroin.

  • SHANE SMITH : Wow.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: So a big business.

  • SHANE SMITH: We heard stories that during the war, the

  • rebels would go out in boats with diamonds and trade the

  • diamonds for weapons and cocaine, and there was a lot

  • of Colombians and Mexicans.

  • SHANE SMITH: We find it interesting because cocaine

  • and heroin are very expensive drugs, and so we were

  • surprised to find heroin here.

  • Usually in poorer countries, there's speed or meth or

  • things you can make.

  • SHANE SMITH: Why is that?

  • [BABY CRYING]

  • MALE SPEAKER: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE SPEAKER : You got to smoke this up.

  • MALE SPEAKER : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE SPEAKER : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • MALE SPEAKER : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • SHANE SMITH: Liberian dollars or--

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: Liberian dollars.

  • SHANE SMITH: So how much is that?

  • SHANE SMITH : So because of the poverty, a lot of women

  • have to become prostitutes?

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH: Sex worker.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: We can go this way.

  • SHANE SMITH: No, you can just show it to us.

  • SHANE SMITH : The legacy of civil war in Liberia is

  • staggering.

  • It's the fourth-poorest country in the world.

  • 50% of the country is illiterate, 70% of the female

  • population has been raped, 80% of the population is

  • unemployed, and a large percentage of the population

  • has eaten human flesh.

  • MALE SPEAKER: It tastes like real meat.

  • If you taste it, you'd like to eat it every day.

  • You want to see some piece?

  • SHANE SMITH : Now one of the warlords responsible for these

  • atrocities, who fought in all three civil wars, is a guy

  • named General Rambo, who we picked up at a market.

  • He said, I'll talk to you if you take me to the old

  • headquarters of the rebel factions outside of town.

  • SHANE SMITH : When did the hotel stop working?

  • SHANE SMITH : Because of the war.

  • GENERAL RAMBO : When the war came.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • GENERAL RAMBO: Yes, it happened.

  • SHANE SMITH: So you were one of the ones that came in to

  • take out Taylor?

  • GENERAL RAMBO: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH : And then, at one point, the American government

  • came to try to get you to go to Iraq?

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH: American.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • And so when there was Iraq, it was like, OK, let's go.

  • We can help.

  • So what happened?

  • SHANE SMITH : The government wouldn't let you go?

  • SHANE SMITH: Do you think it's a problem that you have all

  • these ex-combatants who grew up fighting-- you fought in

  • three wars--

  • they have no money, they have no job, and

  • isn't that a problem?

  • GENERAL RAMBO: It's a big problem.

  • SHANE SMITH: So they're still there with the guns?

  • GENERAL RAMBO: Yeah, they're still there with the guns.

  • The war is hot.

  • SHANE SMITH : So if the rebel forces wanted, they could take

  • over tomorrow?

  • SHANE SMITH: Two or three hours?

  • GENERAL RAMBO: Sure.

  • SHANE SMITH: Wow.

  • SHANE SMITH : And do you think there's a

  • possibility of that happening?

  • GENERAL RAMBO: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH : So what Rambo is saying is, there's still

  • plenty of guns in Liberia, and him, or someone like him, can

  • take over Monrovia in two hours if the UN leaves, and

  • the UN is scheduled to leave next year.

  • And as we said our goodbyes to Rambo, we told him we were

  • going back to West Point.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah?

  • SHANE SMITH: Cannibalism, chaos, killing, rape,

  • everything.

  • GENERAL RAMBO : Everything.

  • SHANE SMITH : A few years ago, we did an article in Vice

  • Magazine called "General Butt Naked Versus the Tupac Army,"

  • about a particularly fierce Liberian warlord called Butt

  • Naked who fought naked, his child soldiers fought naked,

  • and they were cannibals.

  • So we asked Rambo if he knew him by chance, and he said, in

  • fact, we're from the same tribe, I know him well.

  • He promised to set up an interview while we did our

  • follow-up in the brothels of West Point.

  • [CAR HONKING]

  • SHANE SMITH: Driving into West Point at

  • night is pretty freaky.

  • There's no electricity grid in Monrovia, so it's pitch black.

  • SHANE SMITH: Hit it on the wall.

  • Hit it on the wall.

  • So this is the craziest, fucking scariest

  • drive ever down here.

  • We got a little bit lost in the port, and you couldn't see

  • anything, there's no electricity.

  • And then you just see people wandering around, fucking

  • shit, piss--

  • fucking yelling at us, we want money, we want money.

  • Now there's no lights in here.

  • We're gonna go in here, this is the brothel.

  • We're gonna see what's going on.

  • Hello.

  • How are you?

  • A lot of dudes are coming in now, it's crazy.

  • I don't know where we're going.

  • MALE SPEAKER : Straight.

  • SHANE SMITH: Straight.

  • Wow.

  • That room looks--

  • MALE SPEAKER : Now we're in chalet number five.

  • SHANE SMITH: I don't know what happens in here, but I don't

  • want to know.

  • Wow.

  • What the fuck goes on in here, dude?

  • Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

  • Well, we were here a little bit earlier.

  • There was used condoms and bloodstained sheets, and now

  • they've sort of done it up.

  • So we're gonna interview some of the girls, see what they

  • have to say.

  • We have a code for when something's freaky.

  • We go, "It's gnar gnar." Gnar gnar.

  • SHANE SMITH : One of the things we had heard since we

  • arrived in Liberia was about the alleged sexual misconduct

  • by the UN staff, so we asked the girls at the

  • brothel about it.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: OK, paradise.

  • FEMALE SPEAKER: I wanted to get me a job.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: Yeah.

  • FEMALE SPEAKER: For myself.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: What sort of work do you do

  • in West Point now?

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: OK.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: All right.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: OK.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: OK.

  • FEMALE SPEAKER: Now.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: All right.

  • We were talking-- listen to me.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: Listen to me and sit down.

  • Now listen.

  • IMMANUEL NAGBE: Listen.

  • SHANE SMITH : As soon as the girl started screaming, a

  • bunch of heads popped into the room.

  • And then when she started screaming about money,

  • everyone's going, money, money,

  • money, where's the money?

  • And at that point, Nagbe said to us, you'd better get the

  • hell out of here.

  • So we sort of took off through the tangled alleyways and just

  • tried to get back to the car.

  • SHANE SMITH: We're getting the fuck out here right now.

  • And when we got to the car, our driver-- who was also

  • supposed to be our security-- was so freaked out that he

  • peeled out and nearly hit a group of people that had

  • surrounded the car.

  • SHANE SMITH : And if you hit a group of people down deep in

  • West Point, that was it.

  • It was a death sentence.

  • They would have tore us apart.

  • [CAR HONKING]

  • SHANE SMITH : And to make things even freakier, as we're

  • pulling out of West Point, Rambo texts Myles and says,

  • not only does Butt Naked want to do the interview, but that

  • he's waiting at our hotel for us.

  • Yeah, now we're going back to sanity, to hang out with an

  • ex-cannibal and multi-murderer, who's now

  • staying at our hotel and decided not to leave.

  • Because they were there-- they want us to hang out.

  • Meanwhile, he knows I have tons of money, and he's on the

  • run because people want to kill him.

  • Should I just leave my door open, General?

  • Do you want to come in?

  • SHANE SMITH : Now we are very nervous to meet General Butt

  • Naked, and he's very nervous to meet us, because he's had

  • several assassination attempts against him.

  • He wants to meet us and vet us before he'll OK an interview.

  • When we told him about our escape from West Point that

  • night, he laughed, and he seemed to ease up.

  • After that, he asked for a phone, he called

  • Rambo, and it was on.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • GENERAL RAMBO : Yeah?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah, some white guys.

  • They are good guys.

  • The guy's a good guy, man.

  • Tell the boss lady hi, yeah?

  • SHANE SMITH : We asked the general, now known as Joshua

  • Blahyi, why people were trying to kill him, and he told us

  • that it was because he had been recently pardoned for his

  • war crimes.

  • And when we asked how he got pardoned, he told us it was

  • his conversion to Christ and his becoming a man of God.

  • SHANE SMITH : So we talked with Joshua late into the

  • night, until he told us to get to bed because the next day he

  • was going to show us his Liberia.

  • [SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • SHANE SMITH: In the morning, Joshua Blahyi took us out, and

  • the first stop was the area within Monrovia that he used

  • to control during the war.

  • SHANE SMITH : And who would be attacking?

  • SHANE SMITH: Alive?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH: And what does that do?

  • SHANE SMITH : The next stop was the place where there had

  • been an assassination attempt on Joshua's life

  • just the day before.

  • SHANE SMITH : And he just-- he hit you and then ran?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah.

  • Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : You jumped over the car?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah, jumped over the car.

  • SHANE SMITH : And who do you think it was?

  • SHANE SMITH : Hurt a lot of people in the war?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: In the war.

  • SHANE SMITH : Next, Joshua wanted to show us his mission

  • in the country, where he was

  • rehabilitating ex-child soldiers.

  • SHANE SMITH : And are there are a lot of people who fought

  • during the war that can't get rid of the violence?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: It's very hard.

  • SHANE SMITH: Very hard.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: It takes time to get rid of the violence.

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • How did you get rid of the violence?

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : OK.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Come, you can look at--

  • come, come and see.

  • SHANE SMITH: Nobody brought bug juice.

  • [LAUGHING]

  • SHANE SMITH: No, no, no, no.

  • It's OK.

  • Well, I don't mind getting wet.

  • SHANE SMITH : About a million people in Africa die every

  • year from malaria, and malaria thrives in swamps

  • exactly like this.

  • SHANE SMITH: It's very sploochly on my moochly.

  • Thanks.

  • Good.

  • Hello.

  • MALE SPEAKER: Hello.

  • SHANE SMITH: This is what all fear stems from.

  • Thank you.

  • So these were some of the boys that you fought

  • with before, or no?

  • SHANE SMITH: Yeah.

  • So is that why your nickname was General Butt Naked?

  • SHANE SMITH: A lot of people would drink or do

  • drugs before fighting?

  • SHANE SMITH: So you killed the child--

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yes.

  • SHANE SMITH: --and then you drank the blood?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : Now why would you fight naked?

  • [MEN SINGING]

  • SHANE SMITH: This is his mission that they're building.

  • They're singing now.

  • MALE SPEAKERS : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI : Welcome to our home.

  • SHANE SMITH : Thank you.

  • SHANE SMITH: So you fought for Charles Taylor and--

  • SHANE SMITH: Johnson.

  • So you were enemies before?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI : Yeah, we're enemies.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : Where are we right now?

  • SHANE SMITH: Cemetery.

  • SHANE SMITH: So this is the cemetery where, after the war,

  • there was nowhere to live, so the people would come in,

  • empty out the graves, and live in the graves.

  • Maybe up to about 4,000 people lived in the graves.

  • SHANE SMITH: It's a very heavy vibe.

  • Empty graves everywhere.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • SHANE SMITH: We were just at lunch, we were talking about--

  • we ordered some ribs, and you said, "No, I don't like to

  • eat--"

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Flesh.

  • SHANE SMITH: "--flesh." And I said, "Why don't you like to

  • eat flesh?" And you told me the story about coming back

  • from Nigeria.

  • Could you tell us that story?

  • SHANE SMITH: You were eating human flesh?

  • SHANE SMITH : What would you eat?

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI : Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH : Yeah.

  • OK.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH: We're talking about eating

  • human flesh in a graveyard.

  • It's a bit weird.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Yeah.

  • SHANE SMITH: OK.

  • So we can go.

  • [JOSHUA BLAHYI SINGING]

  • PREACHER : In Jesus' father name!

  • CONGREGATION : Amen!

  • PREACHER : In Jesus' father name!

  • CONGREGATION : Amen!

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • PREACHER : Let it be done in Jesus' name.

  • CONGREGATION : Amen.

  • PREACHER : In Jesus' mighty name.

  • CONGREGATION : Amen.

  • PREACHER: God bless you.

  • Put your hands together for Jesus.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • PREACHER: Hallelujah.

  • Hallelujah.

  • OK.

  • God bless you.

  • Amen.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING, SINGING]

  • SHANE SMITH : Liberia, on the one hand, has more crime and

  • poverty and rape and cannibalism

  • than you've ever seen.

  • But on the other, it's also got a church on every street

  • corner, every car has a religious slogan, they have

  • huge revivals with tens of thousands of worshipers.

  • It's some sort of weird heaven-and-hell scenario.

  • [CHEERING]

  • [CHEERING]

  • FEMALE SPEAKER : [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING, SINGING]

  • SHANE SMITH : While hanging out with Joshua, I started to

  • get a bit of Stockholm syndrome, because he's

  • charming, the churches are nice,

  • there's not as much danger.

  • And I started to like him.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING, SINGING]

  • SHANE SMITH : But as he was preaching, I thought to

  • myself, this guy has killed tens of thousands of people.

  • In fact, he's probably killed the relatives of the people in

  • the church worshipping and adoring him now.

  • And I'm thinking to myself, what the fuck is going on?

  • [MUSIC PLAYING, SINGING]

  • FEMALE SPEAKER : Hallelujah!

  • FEMALE SPEAKERS : Amen!

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • SHANE SMITH: I just want to say thank you for having me in

  • your church.

  • Praise God.

  • And I'd like to say thank you to Joshua Blahyi for all the

  • good work he's doing.

  • Hopefully, we can help, and hopefully, we can show what

  • we're doing here in Liberia, what you're doing in Liberia,

  • and we can help make it better and bring more awareness to

  • what's happened here.

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Amen.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • SHANE SMITH : I have to admit that when Joshua handed me the

  • mic, I had no idea what I was saying.

  • At that point in the trip, I felt like I was on acid.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING, SINGING]

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: [SINGING]

  • I worship you because of who you are.

  • [MUSIC - THE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS, "ALL MY LOVING"]

  • SHANE SMITH : And as I sat and listened to Joshua preach, I

  • thought about the fact that the UN is leaving in less than

  • a year, and Rambo had told us that the generals

  • are ready to fight.

  • They have the soldiers, they have the guns, and they're

  • living in abject poverty.

  • And I wondered if that happened, would Joshua stay

  • with God, or would he return to being General Butt Naked?

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Somebody shout "Glory!"

  • CONGREGATION : Glory!

  • JOSHUA BLAHYI: Let us pray.

  • [MUSIC - THE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS, "ALL MY LOVING"]

SHANE SMITH: So is that why your nickname was

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