faudzil.blogspot.com: EBOLA NEWS

Photographs and interviews by DANIEL BEREHULAK

Portraits of those who labor and those who survived at an Ebola treatment center in rural Liberia.

SUAKOKO, LIBERIA OCT. 31, 2014

The patients arrive, at first fearful of the people in spacesuits whose faces they cannot see. They wait for test results, for the next medical rounds, for symptoms to appear or retreat. They watch for who recovers to sit in the courtyard shade and who does not. They pray.

The workers offer medicine, meals, cookies and comfort. They try to make patients smile. Very, very carefully, they start IVs. They spray chlorine, over and over, and they dig graves. They pray.

These are the people of one Ebola clinic in rural Liberia. Run by the American charity International Medical Corps, the clinic rose in September out of a tropical forest. It now employs more than 170 workers, a mix of locals and foreigners, some of them volunteers. There are laborers trying to make money for their families, university students helping because Ebola has shut down their schools, and American doctors who, after years of studying outbreaks, are seeing Ebola’s ravages in person for the first time. A mobile laboratory operated by the United States Navy has set up shop at a shuttered university. Now, test results come back in a matter of hours instead of several days.

Some of the workers will stay a few more weeks, or until the end of the year. Many of the Liberians vow to remain until the disease is gone, when they can go back to their old jobs or resume their former lives. They work toward a time after Ebola.

<span class="text">I have dreams in the middle of the night, waking up in the Ebola ward as a patient. I’ve had dreams where I’m in the ward without any gear, just standing there in my pants and shirt. But I like getting up in the morning, and I like coming here. I think we’re actually making a difference for these people.</span><span class="title short">Steven Hatch, 45, physician</span><span class="title long">Steven Hatch, 45, physician from Boston</span><span class="metadata">At home, Dr. Hatch is an infectious-disease specialist in Worcester, Mass., and the father of 13-year-old twins.</span> — I have dreams in the middle of the night, waking up in the Ebola ward as a patient. I’ve had dreams where I’m in the ward without any gear, just standing there in my pants and shirt. But I like getting up in the morning, and I like coming here. I think we’re actually making a difference for these people.Steven Hatch, 45, physician from BostonAt home, Dr. Hatch is an infectious-disease specialist in Worcester, Mass., and the father of 13-year-old twins.

<span class="text">I came here to look for a job to help my family. Some were afraid to come here, and I took the chance. I focus on my work. I can’t feel nothing when I’m working.</span><span class="title short">Otis Bah, 41, gravedigger</span><span class="title long">Otis Bah, 41, gravedigger</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Bah, who has a 20-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son, previously worked in private security. One of his closest friends was treated for Ebola at the clinic; when he died, Mr. Bah helped bury him.</span> — I came here to look for a job to help my family. Some were afraid to come here, and I took the chance. I focus on my work. I can’t feel nothing when I’m working.Otis Bah, 41, gravediggerMr. Bah, who has a 20-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son, previously worked in private security. One of his closest friends was treated for Ebola at the clinic; when he died, Mr. Bah helped bury him.

<span class="text">I got up in the morning, I prayed. In the evening, I prayed. At dinner, I prayed. Prayed to get well. Yesterday they said, 'You, you’re free.' I danced, I jumped.</span><span class="title short">George Beyan, 34, Ebola survivor</span><span class="title long">George Beyan, 34, Ebola survivor</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Beyan contracted Ebola after carrying a sick friend in a hammock. The day he found out that he was free of the virus, he received word that his wife and two of his children were going to be tested. When he was photographed, he did not yet know the results. His 5-year-old son, William, tested positive, and Mr. Beyan returned to the Ebola ward to care for him. The boy died a few days later.</span> — I got up in the morning, I prayed. In the evening, I prayed. At dinner, I prayed. Prayed to get well. Yesterday they said, 'You, you’re free.' I danced, I jumped.George Beyan, 34, Ebola survivorMr. Beyan contracted Ebola after carrying a sick friend in a hammock. The day he found out that he was free of the virus, he received word that his wife and two of his children were going to be tested. When he was photographed, he did not yet know the results. His 5-year-old son, William, tested positive, and Mr. Beyan returned to the Ebola ward to care for him. The boy died a few days later.

<span class="text">People are waiting on these tests. We know that time is of the essence for them, because somebody’s going to stay overnight in a suspected ward if we don’t get things done as fast as we can.</span><span class="title short">Lt. Cmdr. Ben Espinosa, 44, microbiologist</span><span class="title long">Lt. Cmdr. Ben Espinosa, 44, microbiologist from Frederick, Md.</span><span class="metadata">By getting test results back as quickly as possible, Commander Espinosa and his team try to reduce the chances that a patient who does not have the disease will become infected by staying in the ward for suspected Ebola cases. Commander Espinosa, who is head of operations of the Navy’s Biological Defense Research Directorate, is married with four children, ages 7 to 20.</span> — Lt. Cmdr. Ben Espinosa, 44, microbiologist

<span class="text">When I go in, we chat with them, ask how they’re doing, how they are feeling, whether they are in pain. They need love. They need reassurance. For those that believe in God, you have to tell them to have faith in God. Eat well. Take a lot of water. You can talk softly, rub their back, hold their hand. You want to take off the mask so that they see that you’re feeling what they’re going through. But you can’t.</span><span class="title short">Pares Momanyi, 30, nursing supervisor</span><span class="title long">Pares Momanyi, 30, nursing supervisor from Nyamira County, Kenya</span><span class="metadata">Ms. Momanyi, an emergency-medicine nurse, has worked on other humanitarian relief efforts, such as the response to a hepatitis E outbreak in South Sudan.</span> — Pares Momanyi, 30, nursing supervisor

<span class="text">When this Ebola broke out, people were afraid to come here and work. But I thought, 'If we Liberians sit back and say we’re not going to work, then how will the other people feel that came across the sea to help us?' I’m here to serve this country, and I’m here as long as Ebola is in this country. If I die, my country will have the record of me.</span><span class="title short">Tamba Shello, 26, gate security guard</span><span class="title long">Tamba Shello, 26, gate security guard</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Shello, who previously worked as a street vendor, graduated from high school just this year and hopes to study agriculture at a university. He has 3-year-old twin girls.</span> — Tamba Shello, 26, gate security guard

<span class="text">When I come into work, I pray to the almighty God that I should not be ill, that I should be strong and work. I feel a little scared. When I get there, I know how to move. I don’t touch any object in the high-risk area. I am very careful about how I work. When I am around a patient, I don’t touch them.</span><span class="title short">Moses Tarkulah, 29, sprayer</span><span class="title long">Moses Tarkulah, 29, sprayer</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Tarkulah graduated from high school recently and was looking for work before the Ebola outbreak. He disinfects the high-risk<br/>areas of the clinic, including the hallways, bathrooms and garbage. When someone dies, he sprays the body before it goes to the morgue.</span> — Moses Tarkulah, 29, sprayer

<span class="text">I like going over to the patients and interacting with them, giving them hope. When I am home, I feel that I am not doing the right thing. So some of the days I am off, I will come back and say hi to the patients — just to give them that courage that there is still life for them, that they can come out.</span><span class="title short">J. Sam T. G. Siakor, 30, water, sanitation and hygiene supervisor</span><span class="title long">J. Sam T. G. Siakor, 30, water, sanitation and hygiene supervisor</span><span class="metadata">Only specially trained workers in protective gear can enter the two wards that house people with confirmed or suspected cases of Ebola; others can interact with the patients from outside a fence, several feet away. Mr. Siakor, a university student, teacher and gospel artist, has lost an uncle and an aunt to the disease.</span> — J. Sam T. G. Siakor, 30, water, sanitation and hygiene supervisor

<span class="text">In some communities we visit, they say I want to kill the patient. Sometimes they ask me to even drink the oral rehydration solution. It’s not poison! I have to drink it before I give it to the patient. They will ask me to give the patient a mask, because I am wearing a mask, so the patient too should wear a mask.</span><span class="title short">Mabel W. Musa, 27, ambulance nurse</span><span class="title long">Mabel W. Musa, 27, ambulance nurse</span><span class="metadata">Ms. Musa has lost a close friend and several colleagues from her previous workplace to Ebola. She believes that working at the clinic has made her a better nurse.</span> — Mabel W. Musa, 27, ambulance nurse

<span class="text">Every day when I come into work, first thing, I pray. At first, I was so afraid. But now I’ve decided that being afraid will not help. All you have to do is just be more careful of everything.</span><span class="title short">Sophie Jarpa, 25, safety officer</span><span class="title long">Sophie Jarpa, 25, safety officer</span><span class="metadata">Ms. Jarpa is responsible for monitoring the workers as they put on and take off their protective gear. She was inspired to work at the clinic after her university classmate and friend died from Ebola. Her university is shuttered because of the outbreak.</span> — Sophie Jarpa, 25, safety officer

<span class="text">I lost one of my nephews. At the time, to be very frank, we did not believe that Ebola existed, so we were doing things with that ignorance. He did not even go to a<br/>medical center. I took this job to join the process of fighting Ebola in Liberia. I feel happy rendering my services to my own people. And I feel happy when they are becoming cured from this Ebola unit. I feel proud.</span><span class="title short">Daniel Korha, 36, laundry worker</span><span class="title long">Daniel Korha, 36, laundry worker</span><span class="metadata">In addition to his nephew, several other members of Mr. Korha's family have died from Ebola. Previously, he built roads and bridges. His involvement with the clinic started before it began operating; he was on a construction training course that was canceled because of the outbreak, and he helped build the clinic instead.</span> — Daniel Korha, 36, laundry worker

<span class="text">I saw dead bodies all the time. I became afraid. I had all the symptoms. After nine days, I started responding, little by little. I would walk in the morning. I made friends. I took care of the children.</span><span class="title short">Mami Bienda, 39, Ebola survivor</span><span class="title long">Mami Bienda, 39, Ebola survivor</span><span class="metadata">Of the three children that Ms. Bienda helped care for while she was recovering in the Ebola ward, at least two survived. Ms. Bienda, a produce vendor, was infected by her husband, who died. She has three children of her own, ages 5 to 18.</span> — Mami Bienda, 39, Ebola survivor

<span class="text">When they said the clinic is coming, I decided to come and work and find a job. I feel bad. All this time, people dying, every day, burying all day. It’s very wrong.</span><span class="title short">Jean P. Dolo, 44, gravedigger</span><span class="title long">Jean P. Dolo, 44, gravedigger</span><span class="metadata">Before the Ebola outbreak, Mr. Dolo was a taxi driver, but work dried up when the epidemic began. A benefit of working at the clinic, he believes, is that he would receive treatment quickly if he got sick. Mr. Dolo is married with four children.</span> — Jean P. Dolo, 44, gravedigger

<span class="text">I came here to fight for survival. You see your friends are going down, down, down. You observe people being buried on a daily basis. If you don’t have heart, you lose hope. But however bad is the situation we were in, God was able to carry me through. Over the three weeks, I encouraged myself by exercising. I jogged around. I read the Bible. I prayed. And that’s how I was coming up, little by little, until now.</span><span class="title short">Genesis Sackie, 30, Ebola survivor</span><span class="title long">Genesis Sackie, 30, Ebola survivor</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Sackie, a language arts and social studies teacher, contracted Ebola from his brother, who died. After his release, he was most looking forward to playing with his children, ages 1, 3 and 9.</span> — Genesis Sackie, 30, Ebola survivor

<span class="text">Every day, people die of this sickness called Ebola. It hurts me a lot. Sometimes when I go in and see a patient lying there, I encourage them. I say, you have to pray, give yourself strength. Don’t look up at us because we’re carrying a body. You got to get it off your mind. I tell them the sickness can happen to everybody. It is not your fault.</span><span class="title short">Albert Nimely, 18, burial supervisor and hygienist</span><span class="title long">Albert Nimely, 18, burial supervisor and hygienist</span><span class="metadata">Before the outbreak, Mr. Nimely played for Liberia’s under-20 national soccer team. His dreams for the future include playing professional soccer internationally, working for International Medical Corps abroad and becoming an information technology specialist.</span> — Albert Nimely, 18, burial supervisor and hygienist

<span class="text">When I came, I was very weak. I was feeling miserable. I took my medication and always listened to the bosses, the bigger people that were there. That got me encouraged.</span><span class="title short">Junior Samuel, 8, Ebola survivor</span><span class="title long">Junior Samuel, 8, Ebola survivor</span><span class="metadata">Ebola killed Junior‘s parents, and now his uncle and aunt will care for him. Upon his release, he was eager to see his siblings.</span> — Junior Samuel, 8, Ebola survivor

<span class="text">I’m the guy who kills the virus. When it comes to our lab, it comes to me first. It’s my job to inactivate it. And if I mess up, I endanger my guys. So I can never be wrong, ever. There are people who don’t recover, but there are people who do. I can watch people get better in test results, even though I’ve never met them, never seen them.</span><span class="title short">Lt. James Regeimbal Jr., 36, microbiologist</span><span class="title long">Lt. James Regeimbal Jr., 36, microbiologist from Maryland</span><span class="metadata">In his regular life, Lieutenant Regeimbal, a Navy microbiologist, studies bacterial infections associated with blast amputations suffered by military members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.</span> — Lt. James Regeimbal Jr., 36, microbiologist

<span class="text">First, I was a waste handler, for one month. And then I was promoted to the laundry as supervisor. I feel good. I found passion in the job. I want to save the lives of my people. I worry about my health, but by God’s grace, God is protecting me.</span><span class="title short">Yarmah J. Cooper, 30, laundry supervisor</span><span class="title long">Yarmah J. Cooper, 30, laundry supervisor</span><span class="metadata">Ms. Cooper was studying agriculture before Ebola closed her university. She has two children, ages 3 months and 14, and her fiancé also works at the clinic. She looks forward to resuming her studies and, eventually, to farming rice, potatoes and cassava.</span> — Yarmah J. Cooper, 30, laundry supervisor

<span class="text">My mother was afraid for me to come to the Ebola center. She was panicked. I said, 'Mommy, if we all sit back and no one volunteers to fight Ebola, what would it be like in Liberia? We’re going to die from the virus. You can die from Ebola, I can die from Ebola, my sister can die from Ebola, and even my daddy. It is better that we volunteer ourselves to be trained and combat the virus.' She got convinced, and she allowed me. But all the time, she tells me I should be careful.</span><span class="title short">James McGill Kiamue, 23, sprayer</span><span class="title long">James McGill Kiamue, 23, sprayer</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Kiamue sprays bleach inside the high-risk areas, including patient rooms, the garbage and the toilet. He also sprays corpses and accompanies the burial team. Before the outbreak, he was studying biology and chemistry at a university. He is planning to marry and hopes to become a doctor.</span> — James McGill Kiamue, 23, sprayer

<span class="text">From the outside, it’s really, really scary. And with the P.P.E., you are very hot. But when I got used to it, I took it in my way. I’m used to working with a smile. When you do a job that you like, you have to do it with a smile. It’s the only way to succeed.</span><span class="title short">Eric Dieudonne, 32, water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator</span><span class="title long">Eric Dieudonne, 32, water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator from Moundou, Chad</span><span class="metadata">Mr. Dieudonne worked for Doctors Without Borders for many years, supporting missions in various African countries. His background is in civil engineering. "P.P.E." refers to personal protective equipment.</span> — Eric Dieudonne, 32, water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator

Daniel Berehulak is a photographer on assignment for The New York Times. Interviews have been condensed, and in some cases edited from Liberian English.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/

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2 November 2014

EBOLA NEWS - Braving Ebola

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