months as the deadly Ebola epidemic swept through the region. Now they
face a new threat as measures to stem the spread of the virus spark
fears of starvation.
In an effort to contain an epidemic that has cost nearly 1,000 lives
throughout west Africa, the Liberian government quarantined the most
affected northern provinces -- cutting off access with military
roadblocks and restrictions on travel.
Photo: Players of the "FC Gberedou Abobo" football team poses with a
sign reading "Stop ebola in Africa" prior to a football tournament
gathering youth from Guinea near the Koumassi sports center in Abidjan
on August 10, 2014. West Africa was counting the cost of measures to
contain the deadly Ebola epidemic on August 10, as unprecedented
restrictions caused snarled transport, food shortages and soaring
prices. AFP PHOTO
The quarantine has meant that traders have been unable to travel to
buy food and farmers cannot harvest their crop, which has in turn
caused shortages and sent prices soaring.
"People are panicking here. We are afraid to die from hunger," said
Siaffa Kamara, from Bopolu, north of the capital Monrovia.
"This is rainy season and it is raining everywhere. The little money I
had I used to buy rice, which is very expensive. What I bought is not
enough for three weeks. I have 25 people to feed in my house," he told
AFP by phone.
"We agree that measures have to be put in place to contain the virus
but at the same time we don't have to die from hunger," said Miatta
Sharif, also from Bopolu.
"Clinics are closed, if we cannot get food to eat how do we survive?
The victims will be more than that of Ebola," she added.
The restrictions came into force on Wednesday when Liberia declared a
state of emergency to try and stop the spread of virus. The army has
been deployed to restrict movement, particularly from the
worst-affected provinces to the capital.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warned that the extraordinary measures
were needed "for the very survival of our state".
- State of emergency -
Speaking on Thursday, Defence Minister Brownie Samukai said residents
of virus-hit areas in the north to stay put.
"Stay where you are because if you leave your place for another place
you may not be allowed to go back to where you came from," he said.
As a result, traders in those areas have dared not go to Monrovia for supplies.
"The goods I had are finished. I don't have any more rice here. The
little that I have I am keeping it for my family," Paul Fahnbuleh, a
rice-trader from the north-west told AFP.
On Thursday, Liberian lawmakers approved an emergency package to
provide compensation for families who have been directly affected by
the Ebola epidemic, as well as health workers on the frontline.
They also considered paying an advance on the salaries of civil
servants caught in quarantined zones.
But for many, the help is not coming fast enough.
Sando Johnson, a senator in the province of Bomi, northwest of
Monrovia, said the restrictions were "severe" and warned people would
die of starvation if they are not relaxed.
"My county has been completely quarantined because soldiers don't
allow anyone to get out of the area and they don't allow anyone to go
there," he told AFP by phone.
"A bag of rice that sold for 1,300 LD ($14, 11 euros) is now selling
for 1,800 LD. The poor people will die of hunger for God's sake. These
are Liberians like others."
- 'We're starving' -
At a military checkpoint on the edge of the quarantine line in Bomy
County, many expressed anger at the restrictions.
"Let the government see reason," said Augustine Kimber, a plantation
worker. "If they do not, there will be many deaths ... not from Ebola
but from hunger."
Others simply doubted the government's plan of action would work.
"I think there should be another means put into place that will
actually curtail the spread of Ebola," said student Morris V. Ware.
The Ebola virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever
and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea -- in some cases
shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the latest outbreak
"a public health emergency of international concern."
AFP
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