CNN -- Michael Chea ca n't forget what they did to him . Though he is standing in the morning sunlight , surrounded by giggling teenagers and chirping birds , his face is twisted by grief . American John Etherton talks to a Liberian about his country 's violent past . He is reliving the moment when he escaped death in the `` land of blood and tears . '' `` In 1990 , I was a very small , and I saw so many things , '' he said . `` The war took us away in the forest , and we started running . They killed my grandmother . They killed my grandfather . They killed my auntie . '' Chea could have easily become just another anonymous victim of war in Liberia . At least 200,000 Liberians were killed in a series of conflicts between 1989 and 2003 that transformed the tiny nation on the west coast of Africa into a wasteland . But Chea found a way to preserve his pain . His story was captured on film by a skinny 27-year-old American college student who is using an interactive video system mounted on a SUV to show others how nations emerging from war can come to terms with their violent past . 'It really feels like the Wild West ' John Etherton , a graduate of Georgia Tech in Atlanta , Georgia , is a `` post-war correspondent . '' He is part of a school program called GTV , or Greater Truth through Voices , that dispatches people through Liberia to record the experiences of war victims like Chea . The Georgia Tech program is n't just concerned with the past ; it 's preparing Liberians for the future . The collected stories will be sent to Liberia 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission , a group formed to rebuild trust among Liberians by identifying war crimes and encouraging victims to come forward . The commission is holding its final hearing this month and is expected to release its final report soon . Liberia is trying to move away from its violent past . It elected Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf , Africa 's first female head of state , as president in 2006 . And the country 's former notorious warlord , Charles Taylor , is being tried for war crimes . But Etherton says the country still feels on edge . Streetlights have bullet holes in them , roads are n't paved or free from bandits , and there 's no electricity in many cities . `` It really feels like the Wild West , '' Etherton said . `` It 's an eerie , surreal feeling to know that this was a war zone five years ago , and people were dying here . '' Now Liberians are trying to learn how to live again . Part of that journey begins with listening to one another 's stories . That is part of the rationale behind Liberia 's commission : A nation that can confront its violent past will have a better shot at a stable future . `` It 's necessary for people to talk and share their stories and engage in debate , '' Mike Best said . The Georgia Tech professor says GTV uses a cartoon character who looks and speaks like a typical Liberian to show war survivors how they can record their stories on the mobile video system . `` Ultimately , some transformative truths will allow people to see themselves in a new way . '' 'Land of blood and tears ' Getting at those truths , though , may require Liberians to sift through some gruesome memories . During its civil wars , various warlords fought for control of the country . The war 's savagery turned surreal at times . It spawned thousands of child soldiers clutching AK-47 assault rifles . It featured soldiers charging into battle wearing blond wigs and amulets that they thought would protect them from bullets . And it was propelled by men like Gen . Butt Naked , a warlord who fought in the nude because he thought it would terrorize his enemies . According to Amnesty International , war crimes became routine . Various armed factions engaged in the arbitrary killings of civilians , systematic rape , forced amputations and the abduction of children . Marguerite Michaels , a journalist who took a tour of the country near the end of its last civil war , said in a Time magazine essay that the psychological damage to Liberia 's war-weary citizens `` can not be fathomed . '' She spoke of the country 's white beaches , marred by corpses sticking out the sand . She called Liberia the `` land of blood and tears . '' Etherton soon learned that that the war did n't just leave its mark on Liberia 's physical landscape . It left its mark on its people . At times , he would share a joke with an easy-going Liberian and learn later that his entire immediate family had been murdered . `` So many people have lost someone , '' he said . `` No one is unscathed . '' Yet getting Liberians to share these stories is n't easy , he says . Many wanted to know whether Etherton was going to provide them with a job when he arrived with his camera . They were n't eager to dredge up painful memories . `` They 're coming out survival mode , '' he said . `` They have n't had the luxury of sitting back and discussing the war . Their attitude is more like , what do we have to do right now to not die . '' The tangled U.S.-Liberian relationship . Violent divisions have been part of Liberia 's history . The country was founded in 1847 by freed slaves traveling from America . During the 19th century , various groups thought the best solution to slavery was returning freed slaves to Africa where they could create colonies . But when freed slaves arrived in Liberia , many recreated the slave-master relationships they experienced in America , historians say . They created a caste system where they were the masters and systematically discriminated against -- and some say enslaved -- the indigenous people of Liberia . Tribal divisions persist in Liberia today , Etherton says . He says he saw evidence of these divisions when President Obama was elected in November . Many Liberians rejoiced but were puzzled when Obama 's opponent , Republican Sen. John McCain , appeared on television to graciously concede the election . `` A lot of people thought that was amazing , '' he said . `` They said that would never happen in Africa . No one would ever gracefully bow out . '' Perhaps the stories collected by Liberia 's Truth and Reconciliation Commission will help teach Liberians how to move forward . It did seem to help Chea , the war survivor , when he shared his story with Etherton . When he speaks about his war experiences , Chea is at first so angry at losing his family that he can barely put his thoughts into words . The muscular young man waves his hands in frustration as he tries to explain what happened to him . Chea says he wishes he had a different childhood , where he did n't have hide for survival in the forest while soldiers hunted down his family . `` In the forest , nothing good I learn , '' he yelled . Then Chea begins to talk about the needs of his country and its war survivors . His voice calms as Etherton keeps the camera rolling . Once , Chea may have been a frightened boy who was hunted by strangers . At least on this day , however , a stranger was treating him like a human being . `` Just to express yourself to someone who cares and to know that your voice is important is very empowering , '' Etherton said later . `` If nothing else , just knowing that someone cares is important . ''
Liberia is emerging from 14-year war that turned country into wasteland . The United Nations says the number of people infected with Ebola has risen to more than 10,000, and there are fears it could spread further in West Africa as a result of an outbreak at one health care facility. Liberia is still reeling from horrors of war . American in Liberia : 'It 's really feels like the Wild West '