We are 5 people from Médecins Sans Frontières flying to Monrovia, Liberia. Next to me a young couple who are going to spend their end of the year in Morocco and I want to ask them if I can go with them instead of going to an ebola epidemic. I feel kind of connected to this woman because she also grasps the armchairs while flying through a heavy zone of turbulence....oh God, I still hate flying and the Xanax is not working properly!
Getting out of the plane and being hit by the instant heat, humidity and sweet smell of Africa is usually one of my favorite moments since I started working here. But I didn't smell it this time, something was different.
Outside there were no enthusiastic men trying to get your attention to offer you a taxi or to carry your luggage, the streets were empty and dark. When the epidemic hit the capital some weeks ago, a curfew was put in place and although the daily number of new cases has gone down, there are still new patients every day. This epidemic is far from over.
Arriving at the hotel we realized we forgot to give each other a last big hug before entering Liberia! No touch policy back in place and a new day at work tomorrow.
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| First day at work: epi team Monrovia, Liberia 2014 |
