Living in the shadow of Ebola: Reflections of Kenyans in Liberia

Like many Kenyans living in Liberia, this is probably the most trying time away from home following the worst Ebola outbreak in history. Every day we think about our families, the risks we are exposed to, and the uncertainty about the future.

We live under the shadow of the devastating news about the recent death of a Ugandan doctor due to Ebola, and the unthinkable that happened: being buried in Liberia and the disbelief back in his village in Uganda. It is totally un-African to be disposed of that way. My village deep in western Kenya would not accept it, yet that is what we are staring at.

Kenyans currently constitute the largest bloc of civilian professional expatriates working in various sectors, with the largest number in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Though Kenya doesn’t have a peace- keeping contingent, the UNMIL force commander is a Kenyan, Major-General Leonard Muriuki Ngondi. There are also Kenyan police and correction officers coming in shifts primarily for training of their Liberian counterparts.

FAMILY PRESSURE

Another sizeable group is in various UN agencies, Bretton Woods institutions and various international NGOs. Others work for the Liberian government as consultants and in the private sector.

While the largest number are concentrated in the capital Monrovia, Kenyans are present in virtually all of the country’s 15 counties undertaking a variety of humanitarian and reconstruction activities.
There seems to be pressure building up from family members in Kenya for people to leave, fuelled mostly by what is being reported by the international news organisations. Friends are also posting provocative stories on Facebook and tweets like, “Don’t come to Kenya with Ebola.”

The other day I talked on the phone to my nine-year-old daughter in Kenya, for whom Ebola is a household name.

“Daddy, when I think about Ebola, I get nightmares, I can’t even Google it,” she said. “We are praying for you.”  

Perhaps one of the most difficult things we are facing is what to do upon return to Kenya and to face loved ones: wives, husbands, children, and friends.

Even without any symptoms, do you go for tests to “clear” doubt? What message would you be sending? What about the health facility or hospital where you show up to reveal your dilemma? How do you message this without sending an unnecessary panic and getting into the risk of being quarantined?

There is a raging debate on these things among international staff across the board with no clear rule of thumb.

What is now clear is that countries of destination, including Kenya, are imposing new measures where travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are subjected to new precautionary procedures ensuring ease of “contact tracing”, one of the most crucial steps in containing the spread of the Ebola virus.

In the meantime, fear, anxiety and panic has engulfed the entire country — fear that surpasses the Liberian civil war. The difference is that Ebola is an invisible enemy which attacks and kills in a more brutal manner than the guns.

We are dealing with an evolving and complex emergency affecting the sub-region, an unprecedented epidemic whose global response capacity is limited and might already be over-stretched, especially in urban areas of Liberia. The worst hit is Montserrado County, home to the capital city Monrovia where I live with many other Kenyans.

I was listening recently to an expert from the US-based Centres for Disease Control confirm that the existing professional case management centres (so far only three) might have only touched 10 per cent of the caseload.

The toll on the few workers at the forefront of the fight in Liberia and Sierra Leone is unprecedented, with the death and infection of medical professionals creating further panic.

The approach remains: isolate the sick, trace and monitor contacts, and quarantine suspects till pending confirmation of their status. But where is this epidemic going? Experts say it is here for the long haul — at least until the end of the year.

NEW STRAIN

Detailed analysis has revealed the Ebola strain is a new one, an unprecedented outbreak in terms of numbers and locations with a mortality of between 60-70 per cent, and haemorrhage seen later in the disease as compared to the Zaire strain. Because of this, it is believed that patients remain relatively better for longer, allowing more extensive spread of disease.

Many Liberians have all along questioned the existence of Ebola since its first wave in March/April. It is this state of denial that has fuelled its spread. I have listened to Liberians on FM stations manipulating information and misinforming the public — with even prominent pastors and opinion leaders casting aspersions on the existence of the disease.

Some accuse the government of using Ebola to raise donor mone, and the popular saying in the airwaves has been that Ebola is not real. The turning point in the Liberian psyche and in the fight against the disease might have happened last week.

The death of the Liberian top civil servant in Lagos, followed by the death of a well-known physician, Dr Samuel Brisbane, together with the violent attacks against Samaritans Purse staff changed the scenario.

Meanwhile, Kenyans in Liberia remain a deeply worried lot. Some agencies are taking measures including considering essential and non-essential staff and recommending voluntary administrative leave given a general scaling down of programme activities.

God protect us as we support the fight against this deadly disease and return us safely back to our motherland.