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EBOLA News Extra
VOL 8 NO.688
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
see PG 2 & 3
CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA
MARKET BUYING AND SELLING RATES
LIBERIAN DOLLARS PER US DOLLAR
These are indicative rates based on results of daily surveys of
the foreign exchange market in Monrovia and its environs. The
rates are collected from the Forex Bureaux and the commercials
banks. The rates are not set by the Central Bank of Liberia.
Source:
Research, Policy and Planning Department,
Central Bank Liberia,
Monrovia, Liberia
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
BUYING SELLING
L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
L$85.00/US$1 L$84.00/US$1
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014
EBOLA - pg.6
EBOLA
BONANZA?

pg 7
p6

I
N
S
I
D
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EBOLA EBOLA

CDC TEAM
CONDUCTS TRAINING
FOR RIA STAFF
SPREADING
EBOLA?
President Sirleaf Promises
package for Legislature
Prayer Mother
Shielding Sick
EBOLA HITS
LONESTARCELL/MTN

CREATIVE, BUT
DANGEROUS
IGNORING DANGER, LIBERIANS USING ARTIFICIAL PPES
TO COMMUTE SICK RELATIVES TO EBOLA UNITS
We have been calling the ambulance since two days now and the woman is very sick, I think
you can see her, blood coming from her mouth, so we cut plastic and put it on our hands and
head to bring her here. - Lawrence Paye, Husband of suspected Ebola Patient
Page 2 |
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
see page 3
Wade C.L. Williams, wade.williams@frontpageafricaonline.com
Monrovia
A
nyone harboring or encouraging suggestions
that the U.S. military is in Liberia on a mission
to facilitate the overthrow of the democratically-
elected government headed by President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf should forget about it, according to U.S.
Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac.
The U.S. envoy made it emphatically clear at a news conference
Monday that U.S. troops are in the country strictly to help
Liberia battle the deadly and menacing Ebola outbreak and
nothing more.
Said Ambassador Malac: I hope you will help us get the
message out about what the role of the US military forces who
are coming to Liberia actually is. Let me be very, very clear and
it should be subject to no questioning or doubt. They are here
to provide additional heft to the efforts that is already ongoing
to fght Ebola (period)! Theyre not here as a show of force;
theyre not here to push against or change the government. I
want to be very, very clear; everybody laughs and thinks that
were not serious but I know that conversation is going on out
there and I want to be clear. Theyre here to help us fght Ebola.
Added Ambassador Malac: They bring additional logistic
capacity. They bring greater heft and energy and ability to get
things done; particularly when you have these infrastructure
constraints and other things. They can move things around. I
dont want to see anywhere in any newspaper or hear on any
radio station that the US military has come in because the US
government has a secret plot to overthrow the government here
in Liberia; that is absolutely not true.
Sirleaf is being represented at the General Assembly by Foreign
Minister Augustine Ngafuan.
The clarifcation from the Ambassador lays to rest heightening
speculations which has been in the air for months that the troops
from America came to the Ebola-hit nations with an ulterior
motive.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Sept. 16, ordered 3,000 U.S.
soldiers into West Africa. In a speech at the United Nations last
week, Mr. Obama criticized the international response thus far
and said other donorsgovernments and organizationsneed
to step up quickly with aid. "Right now, everybody has the best
of intentions, but people are not putting in the kinds of resources
that are necessary to put a stop to this epidemic," he said. More
nations urgently need to contribute goods and services like
health-care workers, equipment and air transport, he said.
The U.S. response was preceded by a September 9, 2014 letter
sent to President Obama by President Sirleaf in which the
Liberian leader implored Obama for help in managing Liberias
Ebola crisis, cautioning that without American assistance the
disease could send Liberia into the civil chaos that enveloped
the country for two decades.
Sirleaf wrote: I am being honest with you when I say that at
this rate, we will never break the transmission chain and the
virus will overwhelm us. The President also requested 1,500
additional beds in new hospitals across the country and urged
that the United States military sets up and run a 100-bed Ebola
hospital in the besieged capital, Monrovia.
Sirleaf went to great lengths to lament that her administration
risks losing gains made in a still-fragile environment as the
outbreak threatens to reverse progress made by her government.
Without more direct help from your government, we will

Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Page 3
A DEADLY FOE

The Man Leading Americas Fight Against Ebola Tells About His Mission
Monrovia-
T
he man leading the
United States of
America military
wing in the fght
against the deadly Ebola Joint
Task Force Command, United
Assistance, Maj. General
Darryl A. Williams said his
men have been working
with members of the Armed
Forces of Liberia to accelerate
Liberias response to the
deadly Ebola Virus. JTFC
Maj. Gen. Williams speaking
at a news conference at the
US Embassy in Monrovia said
the US military in West Africa
is working in a support role,
bringing its unique ability to
organizations that have been in
Liberia fghting the Ebola virus
disease for months.
He said the lead US federal
agency in this response is
the United States Agency for
International Development
(USAID).
As our military forces
continue to fow in, we will
continue to work together,
so that we compliment each
others abilities and efforts
to support the government of
Liberia, he said.
We will also be partnering
with the Armed Forces of
Liberia and theyre eager to
help their fellow countrymen.
Our soldiers, sailors, airmen,
marine, are to work side by
side with our Liberian Host and
build on our already special
relationship.
JTFC Maj. Gen. Williams
it is only though working
together that all can hope to
be successful against what he
called a deadly foe. He said the
US military are going to deploy
its engineering expertise and
logistics.
Units from across the entire
department of defense will
converge in Liberia over the
coming weeks with several
critical missions, he said.
The construction of a 25-
bed expeditionary clinic for
aid workers, multiple Ebola
Treatment units and a facility
for training Liberia medical
health workers. As I speak,
successive teams are spread
throughout Liberia conducting
site survey and have begun
construction already.
He said U.S. military C-17s
landed at Roberts International
Airport over the weekend
carrying two mobile Ebola
testing labs and equipment to
build the 25-bed feld hospital
for health care workers. He
said the labs are a huge step in
stopping the spread of Ebola
virus.
With the arrival of the hospital
over the weekend, we will
continue to expand our efforts
to accomplish our mission,
he said. This weekend also
saw the arrival of two mobile
testing labs, theyre bound for
the Island Clinic and Bong
County ETUs. These labs
are a huge step in the fght
against this disease. I cannot
overemphasize the importance
of our mission and were glad
to be on the team.
The 25-bed hospital arrived
as U.S. Seabees broke ground
on the hospital site in Margibi
County. Originally designed to
treat military service members
in combat zones, the facility
will be staffed by the U.S.
Public Health Service and
will be used to care for health
workers in Liberia.
JTFC United Assistance
Maj. Gen. Williams said he
brings onboard the capability
to be able to build the Ebola
Treatment Unit adding that
Liberians will see helicopters
fying in the next few weeks
as the work swing into action.
He said the US military will
also depend on the help of the
Liberian army to be able to
work effectively.
The AFL has a great ability,
they are already out, theyre
doing these surveys with us and
helping us because they have
knowledge of the local area
so, were not doing anything
solely by ourselves, he said.
From a tactical standpoint as
Joint Force Command, I owe
the best means to move this
thing as quickly as possible.
This is about urgency and
speed. Thats what Im about,
urgency and speed. What
youre going to see here
pretty soon is forces fown in
relatively quickly.
Asked about the number of
soldiers that will actually
land on Liberian soil despite
the 3,000 men highlighted by
President Barack Obama, he
said the US government would
bring in the amount of soldiers
needed to accomplish the
mission and fll the gaps.
The government of Liberia
has an excellent plan already, I
work by with and through with
the Ambassadors leadership,
with AID, so as the condition
change; when youre fghting
anything whether a disease
or an enemy and in this case
this is our enemy, the issues
change, he said.
So, I have the fexibility as
joint force commander to bring
in the forces required to fll the
gaps and meet the mission. You
heard what the president said
thats in the bulk part of what
were bringing. But we will
continue to evaluate the need,
to accomplish this mission.
The 25-bed hospital and mobile
testing labs are part of the U.S.
effort to help the government
of Liberia and other Ebola-
affected countries contain the
Ebola virus, save lives and
alleviate human suffering.
Other U.S. activities include
setting up a logistics base to
facilitate the fow of military
personnel, supplies, and
equipment into the affected
region, helping to build 17
Ebola treatment units, and
training for hundreds of health
care workers.
The U.S. Agency for
International Development
(USAID) is the lead U.S.
government agency overseeing
the overall U.S. response to the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The U.S. military response, led
by Major General Williams,
Commanding General of
U.S. Army Africa, is acting
in support of the USAID-led
Disaster Assistance Response
Team by providing expertise
in command and control,
engineering and logistics
according to the US Embassy.
lose this battle against Ebola. A WHO investigation conducted
with other partners and our own Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare projects thousands of cases over the next three weeks.
A week later, Obama during a speech at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta, announced a more aggressive
American response to the disease, declaring that the U.S. will
construct a US$22 million, 25-bed hospital for Foreign health
workers only. However, after the announcement was greeted
with a lot of backlash, the U.S. shifted position to say that the
hospital will now be used for all medical workers in Liberia.
Working Together to defeat Ebola
Maj. Gen Darryl Williams, Joint Task Force Command, United
Assistance, who is leading the U.S. military response in Liberia
told reporters Monday that the U.S. Military is bringing in
Mobile Ebola Testing Labs and other Supplies to Fight Ebola.
The US Navy General said As our military forces continue to
fow in, we will continue to work together, so that we compliment
each others abilities and efforts to support the government of
Liberia.
He said the US Navy will be partnering with the Liberian army
in accomplishing the mission to defeat Ebola.
Said Maj. General Williams We will also be partnering with the
Armed Forces of Liberia and theyre eager to help their fellow
countrymen. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marine, are to work
side by side with our Liberian Host and build on our already
special relationship. It is only though working together that we
can hope to be successful against this deadly foe.
U.S. military C-17s landed at Roberts International Airport over
the weekend carrying key pieces of U.S. military equipment
to aid in the anti-Ebola fght: two mobile Ebola testing labs
and equipment to build the 25-bed feld hospital for health care
workers.
The mobile labs will be placed at the Ebola Treatment Centers
(ETUs) at Island Clinic and in Bong County, and are expected
to be operational this week. The labs are a huge step in stopping
the spread of Ebola because they reduce the time needed to
determine if a patient has Ebola from several days to just a few
hours. The labs will be operated by members of a U.S. Navy
Medical Research Unit.
The 25-bed hospital arrived as U.S. Seabees broke ground on
the hospital site in Margibi County. Originally designed to treat
military service members in combat zones, the facility will be
staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service and will be used to
care for health workers in Liberia.
The 25-bed hospital and mobile testing labs are part of the
U.S. effort to help the government of Liberia and other Ebola-
affected countries contain the Ebola virus, save lives and
alleviate human suffering.
Other U.S. activities include setting up a logistics base to
facilitate the fow of military personnel, supplies, and equipment
into the affected region, helping to build 17 Ebola treatment
units, and training for hundreds of health care workers.
The outbreak has now killed more than 3,000 people in West
Africa out of 6,263 cases in the fve West African countries
affected by the disease as at the end of September 26.
Liberia which has more than half of the deaths of the total
number in the affected countries, reported 99 more deaths
in Liberia since September 17, compared to four new deaths
recorded in Sierra Leone since September 19 and only three
new deaths in Guinea since September 20.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control laid out a
scenario under which it suggested that cases in Liberia and
Sierra Leone could rise to between 550,000 and 1.4 million
by January if there are no "additional interventions or changes
in community behavior. The range of estimated cases -- from
550,000 to 1.4 million -- is wide because experts suspect the
current count is highly under-reported. The offcial death toll
from Ebola in West Africa has climbed to more than 2,800 in six
months, with 5,800 cases confrmed as of Monday, the World
Health Organization said. But the CDC estimates that if 70% of
people with Ebola are properly cared for in medical facilities,
the epidemic could decrease and eventually end.
The clarifcation from the U.S. diplomat comes on the heels
of a peaceful anti-corruption protest at the United Nations by
Diaspora-based Liberians calling for Sirleafs resignation.
The protest was held under the auspices of the Movement
Against Corruption in Liberia (MOLAC) and Concerned
Liberians Against Corruption and Impunity (CLACI) and
brought together Liberians living in the United States.
A position statement of the group calling on the President
to resign says they also staged a peaceful protest in Liberia
alongside with the New York protest and insist they will continue
to stage peaceful protest until President Sirleaf steps down.
Protesters say they were pressing for Sirleaf to step down
because she has failed to prosecute corrupt offcials and signed
68 illegal contracts that gave out the country resources without
securing Liberias share.
Ellen Corkrum, a naturalized Liberian American, one of the
campaigners for the resignation of the President Sirleaf says the
Liberian leader has failed her people.
In Liberia, President Sirleaf has failed us. We witnessed a
Military quarantine and not a medical quarantine. The world,
and we, watched three of our children being shot in West Point
and the death of our ffteen year old, Shaky Kamara. This was
yet another ploy by the Liberian government to insight fears
in us and to keep us, Liberians, from standing up for our basic
human rights. Our own military that should protect us, rather,
have implemented deadly force against us our children during
this critical time of unendurable health, intolerable sanitation,
prolong hunger and abysmal leadership stated Corkrum.
Page 4 |
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
v
J. Yanqui Zaza, Jyanqui@aol.com, Contributing Writer
BIG BUSINESS
FrontPage
v
Commentary
EDITORIAL
A GROUP UNDER the banner, the Ebola Private Sector
Mobilization Group (EPSMG) last week welcomed an
announcement by the UK government that it is to lead
the international drive against Ebola.
IN RECENT WEEKS, companies like ArcellorMittal
and Golden Veroleum among others have taken the
initiative by making valuable contributions in an
effort to kick the menacing and deadly Ebola virus
now wreaking havoc in West Africa, just as many were
beginning to wonder why many corporations were
abandoning ship and leaving Liberia in the wake of a
major health epidemic.
QUITE RECENTLY, Golden Veroleums communication
department initiated a door-to-door awareness campaign
in Butaw to combat the spread of the dreaded disease.
The campaign was intended to compliment other efforts
currently being implemented by the company.
LAST WEEK, ArcelorMittal Liberia donated two
ambulances to the Government of Liberia to buttress
ongoing fight against the Ebola Virus Disease.
THESE ARE THE KINDS of contributions that are
important to countries hit hard by the outbreak which
has to date killed more than 3,000 persons in Liberia,
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Liberia alone
accounts of 1,975 of those deaths.
CONTAINING EBOLA benefits everyone, not just
those countries hit by the outbreak.
A CASE IN POINT, some 15 contracting companies
working on the ArcelorMittal expansion had to declare
force majeure and evacuated 645 employees assigned
with the world's biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal in
a bid to protect the company from legal action if it
violates contract obligations because of circumstances
beyond its control, such as a flood, a nationalization or
the outbreak of a disease.
IN SIERRA LEONE, London Mining Plc, whose only
operating mine is in Sierra Leone, reported a first-half
loss due to a drop in iron ore prices and said the outbreak
of the deadly Ebola virus across West Africa could hurt
production in the second half. The company's shares
fell as much as 19 percent to 32.50 pence on morning
trading, making them the biggest percentage loser on
the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.
A LOT OF MULTINATIONAL companies packed up
and left in the wake of the crisis when they could have
done more to help these countries deal with the deadly
Ebola.
THIS IS WHY WE welcome an initiative by a
consortium of companies operating in West Africa
signaling increased international coordination.
WE EXPECT MORE contributions in kind and cash
from multinational companies operating in Liberia
because in the end, all stand to benefit when this storm
has passed over.
IN THE FINAL analysis, all international organizations
including the UN and the World Health Organization
agree that the Ebola outbreak is no longer just a public
health crisis; but a complex emergency, with significant,
social, economic, humanitarian, political and security
COMMENTARY
PROMOTING
GOOD
CORPORATE
CITIZENSHIP
A
s Liberians search for solutions to the health sector/
Ebola crisis, let us not forget about the issue of national
leadership, as the primary reason why Liberias Ebola
death rate is higher than the death rate of Guinea and, or
Sierra Leone. If the democratic process is good for other countries,
the Liberian people dont think it is good for Liberia, according to
Mr. Ashoka Mukpo. Mr. Mukpo stated in an article that Liberias
poor believe that the International community chooses their leaders,
and then shrugs when those leaders treat them callously.
Poverty continues to increase, although Liberia's prior and current
leaders continue to follow the blueprints of the World Bank (W/B),
as detailed within the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Additionally,
even when other reports depict the W/B policies to be harsh and
harming ordinary people, the W/B continues to praise its policies
and the leadership. The Governance Commissions 100-page report
is a case in point. The Commission stated that the Health and Social
Welfare Ministry and Education Ministry did perform poorly, the
President, I guess, relying on W/B policies, did not respond to the
report. (http://goodgovernance.org.lr/mediacenter/AGR.pdf).
Further, it is diffcult for the poor to beneft form Liberias natural
resources because the W/B is writing fawed concessionary
agreement, according Robert Sirleaf, son of President Ellen Sirleaf.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmGJQo419YI&feature=yo
utu.be). Added to the suffering of the poor, our powerful leaders
dont follow a code of public spiritedness, dont live a lifestyle
that is more integrated into middle class nor do they restrain
their private interest for the sake of domestic tranquility, or do they
recognize the lines between public service and private enrichment,
excepts from Mr. David Brooks, a NY Times Columnist.
Nonetheless, the W/B recruits such characters because such
individuals dont care when fawed concessionary agreements
are negotiated, labor laws are compromised, natural resources are
exported without adding values, minimal taxes and, or minimal
royalties. In case you have doubt, Global Policy Forum wrote:
poverty is rising because W/B coerces poor countries to deregulate
capital markets, privatize state companies, and downsize public
programs for social welfare.
(https://www.globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-policy/the-
three-sisters-and-other-institutions/the-world-bank.html).
Predictably, to achieve its aims, W/B needs local politicians within
strategic positions of infuence, including some Civil Society
Organizations. Equally so, it simultaneously, badmouths any
individuals or groups that holds counter views. So, by working
with Monrovia-landlords/urbanites as well as some Civil Society
Organizations, it fnances and promotes its preferred candidates.
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative(EITTI), for example,
is one of the organizations that W/B fnances, according to W/Bs
report. (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/CSO/Resources/228716
1369241545034/CSReviewFY10-12FINAL.pdf). EITTI, on the
other hand, ensures that provision within fawed agreements is
implemented.
In disparaging advocates, the W/B as well as urbanities that beneft
fromsuch spoiled economic arrangement, refer to advocates as
communists, atheists or homeless. Sadly, other good-meaning
people such asMr. Gbi Gabla, Theodore Hodge, Frederick Jayweh,
etc.,unwilling to takeon the real exploiters of the poor, are calling
advocates gravy seekers, corrupt, backstabbers, good for nothing
PhDs, etc.
But those individuals who are accusing the advocates have not
provided any evidence, yet the avalanche of criticism continues.
Now with irrefutable evidence indicating that the advocates did not
orchestrate the April 12, 1980 coup, Monrovia-landlords/urbanites
are now saying that if the advocates didnt call for change, the April
12, 1980 coup wouldnt have happened in the frst place. Also, some
are asking the advocates to be advisers and advocates at the same
time.
On the issue of corruption, let us look at a few of the advocates. Dr.
Sawyer, Dr. Tipoteh and Dr. Fahnbulleh are not part of President
Sirleafs other advisers who are building huge mansions or listed
as targets of the Anti-corruption Commission, General Auditing
Commission, Ministry of Justice, etc. They are living modest live-
styles with dignity and happiness.
Neither did the late Gabriel Matthew live an opulent lifestyle. Dr.
Amos Sawyer continues to provide laudable advice in writing the
Code of Conduct, National Decentralization & Local Governance
Policy: an essential Step toward Popular Participation Bill, the
Report on the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Ministry of
Education, etc. He worked as Chairman of the 1986 Constitutional
Commission during the military regime. President Samuel Doe
fred Dr. Sawyer for reinstating the four-year term for the senate
and presidency of the Constitution. Wrongly, though, critics are
accusing him for the 9-year provision within the Constitution,
even though Dr. Edward Kesselly and others of the Constitutional
Assembly Committee included the 9-year provision.
Whats about the Interim Government of National Unity? Did Liberia
have money through 1990-1994 for someone to steal? The U.S.,
pressured by anti-progressives forces, did not want to do business
with Dr. Sawyer, much more to assist him. The country was not
ready, and did not negotiate and, or re-negotiate any concessionary
agreements. So, how was it possible for Dr. Sawyer and other
advocates to have siphoned public monies into their private bank
accounts? Nonetheless, Monrovia-landlords/urbanites, advised by
the W/B, continue to indict him. Okay, let us look at the issue of a
house he bought on credit in the United States of America. Without
recognizing and accepting the economic arrangement in the United
States of America where a minimum down payment could allow
a borrower to claim an ownership to a home, Liberians concluded
otherwise. Yet when confronted with the mortgage document, they
said Dr. Sawyer is guilty of being insensitive since Liberians were
poor and homeless.
Interestingly, the W/B through its facilitators (Monrovia-landlords/
urbanites) do not have problem with corrupt candidates. More so,
they do not criticize corruption issue evenly. They will vote for
candidates that have proven records of corruption or questionable
characters, but do notvote for advocates, whose accusations are
without evidence. For example, Charles Taylor, a rebel leader
and accused of selling the countrys resources, was elected
overwhelmingly as president in the 1997 Liberian presidential
election. Currently, Mr. Beoni Urey, someone who accumulated
wealth during the Charles Taylor regime, is leading the poll for the
2017 Liberian presidential election. In fact, they now believe that
corruption is a badge of honor, as long as the owners of the ill-gotten
wealth do not questions illegal or unlawful activities of big business.
Such accusation and, or contradictory charges are not limited to the
70s progressives of Liberia, and these accusations are not going to
end as long as there is a need for an arbiter to divide the economic
pie that big business has interest in. Neither is the debate unique to
Liberia, especially when it is between, on the one hand, advocates of
the poor, and, on the other hand, those who are benefting from the
current economic arrangement. For example, the landowner of the
site of the Hotel Africa building would have lost the rental income
or economic gain from the sale of the land if Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
and her boss, President William R. Tolbert, had decided to use the
money and invest in education in rural towns. Presumably, were U.S.
President Barack Obama to advocate for the poor of Liberia, proxies
of big business would call him a socialist, corrupt progressive, etc.
Error correction: In my last article I did not write that Dr. Sawyer
stated that the Governance Commission did inform President Sirleaf
and the lawmakers of the poor performance of the Ministry of Health
and Social Welfare, and that there was no response. And, that I did
not state that he informed the teleconference participants that the
Governance Commission report about the poor performance of the
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Ministry of Education
is on the GC Web Site. Rather, I stated that Dr. Sawyer said to
the participants that the Governance Commission did predict the
collapse of the Ministry of Social Welfare, and did inform President
Sirleaf and lawmakers that the Ministry and Social Welfare would
collapse.
dimensions underlining the seriousness of the situation
and the necessity for international coordination.
THAT a group, comprising some of the largest private
employers in West Africa have pledged their commitment
to the region should go a long way in alleviating the
fears of many being abandoned in a time of trouble.
BUT THESE COMPANIES must go beyond their
commitment and back up their pledge with a renewed
effort in joining with the countries hit hard by this
menacing virus in a fight to save their existence, keeping
in mind that their operations are at stake and the lives
of millions of people hanging on the fringes of time
needing all the help that they can get.
FALSE CHARGES AGAINST ADVOCATES; PRAISES FOR DISHONESTY
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Page 5
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The Reader's Page
MARTIN KPAHN GUEST FACILITATOR AT BRIC HOUSING
The scenario doesn't seem to change. The poor hungry sick
African, the benevolent white worker who becomes the center of
international media attention. While we welcome Samaritan Purse,
MSF and the Red Cross, Liberian professionals must be at the
forefront of the fght against Ebola. Dr Jerry Brown and your heroic
team continue your good work! Even in the midst of tragedy you
make Liberia proud.
ANDREW GURSAY TOP COMMENTER
Martin Kpahn, why do you want Liberian professionals in the
forefront? To sell more buckets? $ 8 per plate of food, what are
they feeding them, flet mignon(steak/beef)?
DUMITRU CHIVU ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AT AMLIB
Liberians need to be protected not from Ebola but from their
leaders. And not only from leaders. From all the weakened people
that surrounding them. All the international aids will be short
because only an insignifcant percentage will reach to the people.
Most of the aids will be sealed by shameless people who suppose
to distribute. Some of them start to advertise their business right
on FPA comments. I never agreed the idea to send UN troupes to
content the outbreak but is seems like is the only solution. One day,
I told to youth leader of Kokoya I want to create an educational and
entertainment center for the children of town. All on my expenses.
He replied me frst I must buy 20 bags of cement for his house.
And he have thousands of rubber threes plantation. How far the
ruthless can reach in this country? I know a lot of good, honest
and well educated people who really want to do something for
Liberia. But they are not accepted into government institutions.
Even the Comiun people don't appreciate them. Because Liberians
appreciate more the reach people than honest ones. I surprised to
hear people who had a job in police or government and they never
stole are considered stupid.
NANCY NWABUNNIA UTICA COLLEGE
There are many structures in Liberia owned by the government
that could be converted with some outside help quickly for these
patients. Please let us think out of the box, the mere fact that
these people are sick and laying on the ground does not help their
situation. To those stealing the supplies to sell, you will defnitely
feel the wrath of God. and to the Honorable Senator you should
have that person arrested instead of buying the buckets.
JEROME GAYMAN TOP COMMENTER FLORIDA
ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
Joe Cassell, are you reading this or you are busy looking for
distractions? What happened to the catering contract? Which
one of your friends is charging dying people $8 a plate? WOW,
they even steal from dying people. Joe Cassell, you can't blame
it on government haters. Who has the power to award contracts?
HMMMMMMMM!
NYEMADE WANI TOP COMMENTER UNIVERSITY OF
LIBERIA, MONROVIA, LIBERIA CAMPUS
What happened to all the beds donated by the Lebanese and Indian
communities? probable in the senators and government offcials
houses. Buckets donated are being sold and bought by the senators.
Ebola will not fnish if Liberians continue to steal.
CHARLES E. KING TOP COMMENTER MONROVIA,
LIBERIA
Greetings: If the shop owner is stating that "they toilet here" and
sleeping there, is she referring to those who have the Ebola or what.
Did the reporter ask her ok, then who cleaned up the toilet and
other body fuids that she says she fnds in the area where she sells.
Has anyone been tehre from the Ebola response team to ask her
questions? If that is the case, then she is selling in an area, cooking
in an area and providing service in an area that may be already
contaminated? Am I missing something here? Regards Charles E.
King, Former Deputy Director of Police for CID Affairs, RL.
ANDREW GURSAY TOP COMMENTER
Charles E. King, you might want to go back and review sub-topic
'Rejected' Stones Roam the night' in the article. The frst two
paragraphs might provide you with some answers. Particularly, The
statements from Betty Zarmie and Ma Zara. just as a pointer, the
second paragraph in the suggested topic for review begins as follow:
"As Ebola rescue workers clean feces and vomit from"...........You
will know who clean what, and to whom Zarmie and Zara were
referring.
JESSE FAHNGON TOP COMMENTER HUMLINE
UNIVERSITY, ST. PAUL, MN
Yes King, you are missing something here: it is obvious that the
shops owners contacted healthcare workers and they came....
PATIENCE LORRAINE COOPER FOLLOW
The donations are being stolen by these greedy no use people! All
future donations may have to be air lifted and dropped directly into
the disaster centers by American helicopters. The greed of Liberians
in spite of all this disaster is phenomenal and unprecedented!!!
Unscrupulous people have no consciences!
DISAPPEARING ACT: EBOLA
SUPPLIES SHORTAGES AMID
LIBERIA DONATIONS
V
eteran Liberian, Albert Portes letter to President Tubman
August 25, 1951, on the use of Liberias treasury to
purchase the frst luxury presidential yacht (463-ton vessel
with a passenger capacity of thirty-six which required an
international crew, a separate bureau within the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and an annual of $125,000.00). (published in Thinking about
the Unthinkable things the Democratic Way, Monrovia 1967 pp. 22-
23)
Dear Mr. President:
Ever since I read a copy of the Listener in which you published your
message to the Legislature convoking the special session, I have been
thinking and trying not to think, and feel urged to let you know some of
the thoughts that have been passing through my mind, sincerely hoping
and believing that it will be taken in the real democratic spirit, realizing
fully, as I know you do, that ultimate success or failure in a democracy
rests not only upon the President, but upon each citizen as well.
Liberia is classifed among the undeveloped countries of the world. She
lacks some of the basic minimum requirements, and needs much more
than she can muster at the present time for her internal development.
And although this is so, we are undertaking to spend $150,000 for the
purchase of a yacht for the use of the President. In addition to this, it
will require a tidy sum for its upkeep. It is my humble opinion that at
the present stage of the countrys development, this amount could be
more proftably used towards real development with more permanent
results. Yes, other countries have these things and in time as our country
is developed we too will have some of them, but I think we should
concentrate upon fundamentals.
Unfortunately, the citizens of this country do not feel free to express
themselves upon vital questions affecting them, but sit by and grumble
the people dont mean anything. I am afraid that even in the
Legislature there is a great reluctance if not the absence of the free
expression of thoughts and opinion, especially where the President
is concerned. To tell the truth, it has required a huge effort on my
part to have expressed my thought here. So I have no justifcation in
condemning the reluctance in others.
This only bring to face to face with great responsibility weighing so
heavily upon the President, which could be lightened if the people felt
free to express themselves and their views were taken in the right spirit.
Very sincerely your,
Albert Porte
________________________________________
President Tubmans response to Albert Porte
Dear Mr. Porte.
Your letter of August 25th in which you informed me that you have
been worried since you read the copy of the Listener which carried my
Special Message to the Legislature and my reference to the purchase of
a Yacht for the President of Liberia have been received.
You state in your letter that One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars
should be utilized for some other more benefcial purpose and not
for the purchase of a yacht for the President of Liberia, and that some
people are grumbling but that they do not come forward and state their
dissatisfaction, even some Member of the Legislature you state.
I appreciate you candor in the matter, but I am in total disagreement
with your views expressed and method of thinking on the subject.
I take the liberty to tell you an experience that I had in 1939 at which
I was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The Legislature and
the Supreme Court were to be opened and for two weeks they could
not get a quorum. An American ship came in the Captain name was
Mr. Bogden. He knew me personally and therefore agreed to bring me
to Monrovia, but refused to take any other Member of the Legislature
or Member of the Supreme Court. I pleaded with him to take the other
Members but he insisted that he would not.
Finally, he asked me the following question: Justice Tubman, do you
mean to tell me that your Government has no means to by which she
can get Members of the Legislature and the Supreme Court to the Seats
of the Legislature and the Supreme Court except they are transported
there by our ships or some foreign ships? Although embarrassed, I
had to reply in the affrmative. He then asked another question: If your
President desire to come to Cape Palmas, you mean to tell me that he
could not come unless our ship or ships of some other line brought
him? Again, although embarrassed, I had to reply in the affrmative.
Hen then came forth with the last question: Then Justice Tubman, do
you think you should have a President, a Legislature, or a Supreme
Court if the Members of these bodies have had to be transported to the
seats of the Legislature and the Court by foreign craft? This question
baffed me and I could not answer it.
I narrate this experience of mine to show you the difference in the
thinking of civilized people about the type of thing that you are
objecting to.
On the other hand, you and the rest of the grumblers, although I do
not know who they are but they seem to be known to you, make no
contribution or make so little contribution to the resources of the country
that you should be ashamed to talk about the public expenditure.
How much taxes have you or any of the grumblers paid into the public
treasury from 1944, when I took offce and met the net revenues at One
Million Dollars, to the present? By recommendation to the Legislature
of measures to increase the revenues which they approved, within
seven years it is expected that revenues will reach eight to tem million
dollars at the end of the year. How much taxes of any kind or fnancial
contribution have you or the grumblers put into the revenue to cause
this increase? Have you or any of you contributed towards the Income
Tax, the Ticket Tax, the Injury Tax, the Sales Tax or the Proft tax? Have
you paid your Real estate Taxes; if so in what amount?
It might interest you to know that I paid Income tax of more than Two
Thousand Dollars for the last year alone. Firestone paid nearly Three
Million Dollars Income Tax.
The people who pay taxes in the country and would be entitled to
interpose objections are those up country, the foreigners and few of
your element who really do pay taxes. The grumblers are the set who
contribute nothing for the protection, right and beneft of citizenship
which they enjoy.
Now you just sit down and forget that it is you and begin to think what
fnancial contribution do you or have you made to your country.
Your spirit appears to me to be anarchical I remember during the last
Administration, you were critical and censorious of it. When it comes to
the present Administration, you are occasionally censorious and critical
of it. I have never known you to compliment any administration, but
you always look for what you think to be weak spots in it. I think this is
an evil spirit and an evil eye which will not do you or the country any
good. Supposed every or most persons had the same spirit, what would
happen to the country!
It may be necessary to inform you that in 1949, without consultation
with me, the Legislature voted One Hundred Thousand Dollars to
purchase a yacht for the President> I did not do so but delay it because
I felt the revenue had not reached where I wanted them; now the
revenue justify it. I made contacts to get one but found that the One
Hundred Thousand Dollars could not purchase it. I therefore requested
the additional Fifty Thousand Dollars and the same has been approved,
and I will but the yacht.
During the early days when the founding fathers frst came here, they
had ships which were not owned by Government but by private citizens
and companies. That industry was permitted to die out and for more
than sixty to seventy years there was not a solitary means of transport
from one point to another until recently when I succeeded in procuring
two airplanes for Government since private citizens could not do it.
And now we have an Airline in the country and the planes land airstrips
built by Government.
I will but the yacht without regard to the grumbling of you grumblers.
That yacht will be used for the recreation of the President from his
onerous duties that have been increased by more than one thousand
percent since 1944, and may invite you to accompany me on one of
my cruises that you might get a beneft of some rest from your onerous
duty as a school teacher and which may possibly broaden your vision.
Kind regards,
Sincerely yours,
W. V. S. Tubman
EXCHANGE BETWEEN ALBERT PORTE AND PRESIDENT TUBMAN
Page 6 |
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
CREATIVE, BUT DANGEROUS
We have been calling the ambulance since two days now and the woman is very sick, I think you can see her,
blood coming from her mouth, so we cut plastic and put it on our hands and head to bring her here.
- Lawrence Paye, Husband of suspected Ebola Patient
Monrovia-
W
ith four
ambulances
lineup at the
Medicine
San Frontier-MSF run Ebola
Treatment Unit (ETU) also
known as ELWA-3, Lawrence
Paye and four others arrived
with their sick relative, wearing
artifcial Personal Protective
Equipment (PPEs) made of
plastic bags.
They had come from the Fendell
Community, few kilometers
from Monrovia, taking mater in
their hands after efforts to get
an ambulance to pick up their
sick relative failed for two days,
as Paye, the husband to the sick
Comfort Togbah explained.
With the ETU workers yet to
admit patients from the four
parked ambulances, into the
center on a rainy afternoon,
a yellow bus showed up with
Comfort who was bleeding from
the mouth, one of the symptoms
of the acute stage of the Ebola
virus, unable to walk as her
brother fed her with water.
Since the outbreak of the
deadly virus in Liberia,
donations from local and
international organizations
including individuals have been
forthcoming.
China has so far donated
thousands of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPEs) and other
countries have made donations
in materials in an attempt to
equip health workers to fght the
virus but without PPEs in homes,
Liberians are fnding way out to
help sick relatives.
With health facilities
overwhelmed by the number of
patients ambulances have not
been able to collect sick people
from various communities as in
many instances calls are made
for up to three days or even more
before an ambulance shows up to
IGNORING DANGER, LIBERIANS USING ARTIFICIAL
PPES TO COMMUTE SICK RELATIVES TO EBOLA UNITS
pick a sick.
Paye along with two other
men and a lady created a scene
to watch for many onlookers
when they disembarked the bus
wearing the artifcial PPEs which
they used to cover their hands,
feet and heads.
We have been calling the
ambulance since two days now
and the woman is very sick, I
think you can see her, blood
coming from her mouth, so we
cut plastic and put it on our hands
and head to bring her here, Paye
said.
Not sure of the exact date his
wife got ill before reaching the
stage of bleeding, Paye said
for the last two days his wife
had been very sick, unable to
eat or walk and after attempts
to get the ambulance could not
materialize, he and his brother
in-law along with other family
members decided to carry out
what he termed self defense
wearing plastics to take his wife
for treatment.
Paye said we have been hearing
that when somebody is sick dont
touch that person but my wife
has been very sick, so I cant say
I will not touch her, that is why
we fx the plastic to wear it and
bring her here.
Nurses and other health care
providers have contracted the
virus while caring for patients
and even with PPEs worn some
nurses and doctors have still
become infected, thereby raising
doubts whether people like Paye
will be safe wearing plastics
which are not tested and proven
to be medically safe for wearing
to attend to Ebola patients.
Quizzed on the risk involved
with wearing plastic bags to
touch his wife who was visibly
showing symptoms of the virus,
Paye admitted that he was aware
of the risk but could not sit idly
and watch his wife die as he had
to do something.
I know there is danger, but what
can I do, my woman is dying so,
I have to do something to help
her. I pray nothing will happen
to me and my brother in-law and
my friend who came to help me
bring her here, Paye said.
Korvah Togbah, brother to
Comfort said his sister needed
help and he had to come to her
aid by wearing the plastics to put
her on the bus and take her to the
ETU.
Korvah said he did not care
whatever sickness his sister is
suffering from, be it Ebola or
not he had to help her get to a
medical facility.
Even if I know that Ebola my
sister has, I have to help her,
because or else she will die in
our hands, Korvah said.
He frowned at the ambulance
teams failure to quickly respond
to people that require help.
Said Korvah if they say we
should not touch sick people,
they have to come fast when
people are sick, but you cannot
see your sister or somebody like
your wife dying and leave them
alone.
Unlike Lawrence and his team
that wore plastics, several
vehicles also arrived on the scene
with family members bringing in
sick relatives without wearing


F
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PAGE
EBOLA
any form of protective gears.
Person- to- person transmission
has been described as one of the
fastest means of spreading the
Ebola virus in Liberia, a country
where touching and caring for a
sick family member is a common
practice.
Taxi cabs transport sick patients
on hourly basis to both the
ELWA 2 and 3 ETUs despite lack
of bed facilities as both facilities
are said to be flled with patients.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) recently expressed
that Taxi cabs and motorcycles
are some of the modes of
transmission of the Ebola virus
in Liberia.
In latest statistics, Liberia is
the worse hit by the virus with
3,280 probable, confrmed and
suspected cases as well as 1,677
deaths in the same categories of
cases. The WHO report covering
the period September 24 stated
that 552 people have confrmed
to have died from Ebola in
Liberia.
The United States Agency for
International Development
has promised to provide about
50,000 protective home kits to
Liberians to be used in attending
to sick relatives when urgently
required before calling medical
workers.
The Ministry of Information,
Culture Affairs and Tourism
has announced that 9,000 of
the kits have already arrived in
the country to be distributed to
households.
EBOLA HITS
LONESTARCELL/MTN
WHAT IS THE
EBOLA VIRUS?
Monrovia
A
female employee
at LoneStarCell-
MTN has reportedly
been infected
with the Ebola virus. A
company representative told
FrontPageAfrica that the
company is bolstering existing
preventive measures to curb
any further infections.
The female employee was
reportedly infected in the
aftermath of an incident during
which a male customer vomited
blood while being attended to,
a company representative told
FrontPageAfrica Monday.
The employee has since been
admitted to an Ebola Treatment
facility.
The good thing is we
caught on time, and we are
addressing it and hoping for
One Suspected Case Emerges After Customer Vomits On Staff

M
ost people's views of Ebola are probably informed
by Hollywood they think of it as a deadly and
contagious virus that swirls around the world, striking
everyone in its path and causing them to hemorrhage
from their eyeballs, ears and mouth until there is no more blood to
spill.
In reality, Ebola is something quite different. About half of the people
who contract Ebola die. The others return to a normal life after a
months-long recovery that can include periods of hair loss, sensory
changes, weakness, fatigue, headaches, eye and liver infammation.
About the blood: while Ebola can cause people to hemorrhage, about
half of Ebola sufferers ever experience that Biblical bleeding that's
become synonymous with the virus.
More often than not, Ebola strikes like the worst and most humiliating
fu you could imagine. People get the sweats, along with body aches
and pains. Then they start vomiting and having uncontrollable
diarrhea. These symptoms can appear anywhere between two and
21 days after exposure to the virus. Sometimes, they go into shock.
Sometimes, they bleed. Again, about half of those infected with the
virus die, and this usually happens fairly quickly within a few days
or a couple of weeks of getting sick.
Nor is Ebola as contagious as Hollywood would have you believe.
You need to have contact with the bodily fuids vomit or sweat or
blood of someone who is symptomatic and shedding the virus to
get the disease. That's why health-care workers and family caretakers
who nurse the sick have borne the burden of Ebola.
The virus isn't airborne, thankfully. Experts expect that it will never
become airborne. As Anthony Fauci, the director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Senate recently:
"Very, very rarely does [a virus] completely change the way it's
transmitted."
What makes Ebola scary is the fact that there is no cure or treatment
yet on the market, but those who have access to hospital care
including fuids and antivirals have a much higher chance of
beating the disease. The trouble is, until now, Ebola always strikes in
Africa and among populations where few have access to that kind
of advanced medical care.
a happy ending, a company
representative said Monday.
LonestarCell MTN,
one of Liberia's leading
telecommunication company,
has been aggressively creating
awareness about the deadly
virus through, stressing in a
news release recently that the
situation is rapidly evolving.
"We are obliged by our own
standards to maintain this status.
Therefore, we are again taking
the lead in communicating
about your health. As we
cautiously go through this
period of the spread of the
Ebola epidemic in Liberia, we
will remain your number one
communicator. We, including
Health professionals, should
take all necessary precautions
when dealing with suspected
cases or potentially infectious
materials.
The companys subscribers are
urged to text E to 6611 for a
FREE weekly subscription for
Tips on Ebola.
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Page 7
F
RONT
PAGE
NEWS EXTRA
EBOLA BONANZA?
Monrovia-
L
awmakers were
Monday heard
discussing in separate
groups about a
package promised by President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she
held closed door meeting with
members of the Liberian Senate
and House of Representatives.
According to legislative
sources, during the closed
door discussions, the president
promised the lawmakers an
undisclosed package.
Following the closed door
discussions, some lawmakers
were heard debating the content
of the package because according
to them the President did not say
what would be in the package
in terms of dollars while others
were discussing who to represent
them at the Executive Mansion
to collect the package.
One of the lawmakers, name
withheld was heard saying; the
President only said package what
is in the package because some
of us have spent our money to
buy buckets and other sanitary
materials for our districts.
Prior to the Presidents Visit to
the legislature, few lawmakers
requested for a comprehensive
audit of the fve Million United
States dollars initial allocation
by the legislature for the fght
against Ebola.
Senators are divided over the
call for an audit with others
demanding an audit of the
money while their colleagues are
defending the Executive branch
of government saying it is too
early to call for audit when the
fght against Ebola is ongoing.
In the wake of the hullabaloos
President Sirleaf on Thursday
of last week sent a report to
the legislature informing them
about how the money was
disbursed and further stated in a
communication attached to the
report that line ministries and
agencies that received portion
of the fve Million will be made
to make a comprehensive report
to the legislature about how
they spent the money received,
something some lawmakers saw
as a disservice to their request.
Sources have also hinted that the
President Monday September 29
visit to the Capitol was intended
to soften the grounds especially
when some lawmakers are
contending that they will stand
their grounds on calling for a
comprehensive audit of the Five
million.
Other sources had it that the
President had gone to seek the
consent of the legislature to
travel to the United States to
address the United Nations on
the National health crisis facing
the country.
After the president closed door
meeting with the legislature
presidential press secretary
Jerolinmek Piah told reporters
that the President had gone to
the Capitol Building to hold
discussion with lawmakers to
ensure that they are on board in
the Ebola fght.
He also said, president Sirleaf
also presented a new plan to
the legislature, a new plan
developed by government
international partners including
an organizational structure to
ensure the implementation a
successful fght against Ebola
and to inform them about
resources available.
Responding to question about
whether or not the issue of the fve
Million was raised he confrmed
and said; the president was
clear to the legislature that all
the entities that received the
fve million will provide details
expenditure report to them on
how they used the money they
received.
President Sirleaf not prepare
Representative Bhofal Chambers
(CDC-District#2 Maryland
County) in an interview with
reporters frowned on the
president for appearing before
the legislature unprepared to
answer to major concerns and
blamed the leadership of both
the Liberian Senate and the
House of Representatives for
inviting the President to the
Capitol without a mandate from
President Sirleaf Promises package for Legislature
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo47@gmail.com
A. Macaulay Sombai, sombai121@gmail.com 0777217428
the plenary.
Lawmaker Chambers said
Plenary is the highest decision
making body. The leadership
of both houses acted in a way
that they were not mandated to
do what they did. They, both
leadership need to return to their
respective chambers to tell why
they acted the way they acted
without being told to do so.
The Lawmaker who failed to tell
reporters what was discussed
in camera is one of those
lawmakers who have persistently
requested for the appearance
of those heading the National
Ebola Taskforce before plenary
of the House of Representatives
to provide update achievement
and expenditure.
For his part, House Speaker Alex
J. Tyler said, the President visit
to the Capitol Monday was to
address concerns raised by some
members of the legislature which
resulted into a joint legislature
executive session.
The president briefed us on
issues on national concerns
which include the issue of Ebola
and others if it had not being so
we would have made it an open
session where she will speak to
the nation Speaker Tyler said.
Responding to question about
criticisms about his presence on
the national Ebola Task Force he
said; I went to the taskforce on
my own will because I feel this
is an issue of national concern
and not a time to be territorial
especially knowing the threat
Ebola is posing to the Nation.
CDC TEAM CONDUCTS
TRAINING FOR RIA STAFF
Monrovia-
T
he Centers for Disease
Control team in
Liberia has completed
a training session
on measures to combat Ebola
with staffers of the Roberts
International Airport (RIA)
where certifcates were presented
to eleven staff members of the
airport.
The training covered key areas
including the usage of the
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE), Implementation of
Primary and Secondary
Exit Screening and the
complementation of the Ebola
Recognize, Isolate, Notify, Give,
Support (RING) Model Training.
The Team comprising Dr.
Douglas H. Esposito, a Medical
Epidemiologist and Vanessa
C. Jew, an Epidemiology
Quarantine Public Health Offcer
of the CDC pointed out that
the Management of RIA has
embraced every effort aimed at
keeping the airport safe in the
on-going fght against the Ebola
Virus, describing the effort as
commendable.
The CDC team said, the various
safety measures currently
in place including a regular
temperature check for employees
and primary and secondary
screening procedures which are
mandatory for passengers are
ways the airport has complied
with recommendations of health
experts on the control and
prevention of Ebola.
During the certifcation, the
Management of the Roberts
International Airport received
commendation from a CDC team
which has been helping to build
the airports capacity in response
to the Ebola situation.
In response to the commendation
and the training, RIA General
Manager Abraham T. Simmons
described the commendation as
welcoming news for the airport
as it strives to stop the Ebola
virus from spreading to the
entity. He said the airport since
the outbreak instituted several
safety measures on Ebola as
recommended by health experts.
He promised that RIA will use
the training acquired from the
CDC to maximize its potential
to contain and stop the spread
of the disease. Mr. Simmons
then commended the CDC
for the continuous capacity
strengthening initiatives to keep
the airport safe for travels.
RIA has remained robust in
the fght against Ebola since the
outbreak and has extended its
outreach to nearby communities
while at the same time funding
sensitization messages on
community radio stations around
the airport, Simmons said.
Those certifed after the training
are: Abraham T. Simmons,
General Manager, Robert
F. Morris, Deputy General
Manager-Administration and
Regina Ajavon-Benson, Human
Resource Manager while
nurses who received certifcates
included Kou Slawon, Diana
Dahn, Patience Collins and
Loleyah Kollie. Others are Hawa
Morris, Bendu Kekeh, Christine
Kollie and Dorothy Naplica all
of the RIA.
MOTORBIKE RIDER BREAKS
TWO LEGS IN COLLISION
WITH POLICE VEHICLE
Monrovia-
A
motorbike rider has broken his two legs at the
intersection of Benson and Johnson Streets after
collision with a police vehicle.
An eye witness told FrontPageAfrica that the victim
of the accident who is a Guinean national from the Fula tribe was
the cause of the accident because he was trying to escape from
police arrest.
The police offcers were standing at the intersection of Benson
and Johnson Streets after arresting a group of criminals down
Johnson Street but the motorbike rider fear was that he could be
arrested and his motorbike taken away so he decided to run away
from the area but he was unfortunate said one eyewitness.
He was later taken to hospital for treatment.
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo47@gmail.com
Page 8 |
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014

CHRONICLE NEWSPAPER CASE MOVES
TO FULL SUPREME COURT BENCH
Monrovia-
T
he case including the
National Chronicle
Newspaper whose
publication was
suspended by the Government
of Liberia has been moved to the
full bench of the Supreme Court
of Liberia after Acting Justice
in Chambers, Associate Justice
Kabineh Janeh announced that
he could not rule in the writ of
prohibition fled by the Press
Union of Liberia challenging the
closure of the newspaper barely
two months ago.
Acting Justice In Chambers
Janeh who presided over the
prohibition hearing Monday said
he could not rule alone in the
case because issues raised by
the petitioner, the Press Union of
Liberia were all constitutional.
When constitutional issues are
raised before this court only the
full bench will hear those issues
and make determination said
Justice Janeh the lone Associate
Justice presiding.
The Associate Justice further
said that the action taken by
government to bar the Managing
Editor of the shut down
Kennedy L. Yangian kennedylyangian@frontpageafricaonline.com 077296781
Chronicle Newspaper Philibert
Browne from leaving the country
without any court action was
wrong and that Browne is a free
man and had his right to travel to
any part of the country or out if
he wishes.
The ruling by Associate Justice
Janeh means that hearing in the
writ of prohibition will now take
place after the second Monday
in October when the Supreme
Court will be opening its doors
to party litigants to hear appeal
cases fled before it from the
lower Circuit Courts.
Browne threatens lawsuit
Managing Editor Browne
has revealed plan to sue the
Government of Liberia seeking
damages for the illegal closure
of the paper.
Editor Browne who felt short of
saying how much he will claim
from government in damages
stated that it will be decided by
his legal counsel at the end of the
case.
We are going to take government
to the ECOWAS Court to claim
damages for the losses we have
accrued but our lawyers will
decide that said Browne when
he spoke to reporters at the
Temple of Justice Monday.
In the writ prohibition the
PUL stated that the Chronicle
Newspaper was shut down by
government and its properties
seized while its Managing
Editor Philibert Browne was
barred from leaving the country
which was not done with the due
process of law.
State lawyers resisting the writ
argued before the high court
Chamber Justice Janeh and
stated the action was taken
against the paper because of the
state of emergency while the
Ministry of Information, Culture
and Tourism which issued the
order has an administrative
power.
Addressing reporters outside of
the high court the lead lawyer
for the petitioner (PUL) Syrenius
Cephas stated that the action
taken by the government to
shut down the Chronicle and
barred its publisher from leaving
the country were all illegal
and violates the rights of the
editor under Article 13 of the
1986 Constitution that forbids
restriction on the freedom of any
citizen without any due process.
Cephas stated further that since
the arrest of Editor Browne two
months ago authorities of the
LNP are yet to say which part of
the law he ever violated.
Press Union of Liberia President
Abdullai Kamara stated that
the move taken by the Union
to take government to court is
intended to prevent the arbitrary
closure of media institutions by
government.
According to the PUL President,
there is reason close media
institutions like the action taken
against the Chronicle Newspaper
after fghting these long years for
press freedom.
The Chronicle Newspaper was
shut down in August when armed
police offcers moved into the
offce of the paper and arrested
its publisher Philibert Browne
along with some staffers after
the paper published a story that
revealed plan by some Disapora
Liberians to establish an interim
government to replace the Ellen
Johnson led administration.
The group say plan to establish
the interim government is due to
corruption in government and the
alleged failure by government to
contain the deadly Ebola Virus
that has claimed the lives of over
a thousand Liberians since the
outbreak of the disease in March.
THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED EBOLA ON WHY
THIS EPIDEMIC SPIRALED OUT OF CONTROL
W
hen Dr. Peter
Piot was a
young scientist,
in 1976, he
received a shiny, blue thermos
in his Antwerp lab. It was flled
with the blood of a Belgium nun
who worked in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (then
Zaire). The woman had fallen
ill with a mysterious sickness,
and Piot was asked to screen
the blood for yellow fever.
"We didn't even imagine
the risk we were taking,"
Piot, now the director of the
London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, wrote in
his memoir No Time to Lose.
The sample tested negative
for yellow fever and a range
of other pathogens. But Piot
would later discover that in
that "soup of half-melted ice"
and cracked vials lurked a
deadly virus he named Ebola.
Just before his discovery,
Piot's professors told him that
he had no future in infectious
diseases. Back then, many
people believed that science
had solved the problems
viruses created in humans with
new vaccines and antivirals.
Then came Ebola a disease
for which we still have no cure
and later HIV/AIDS in the
1980s.
Piot is now one of the world's
foremost infectious diseases
experts, and a former under-
secretary general of the United
Nations. He's been watching
the world's largest-ever
epidemic unfold from his post
in London, and we spoke with
him about his thoughts on the
outbreak and how the global
community can prevent future
tragedies of this scale. This
transcript has been edited for
length and clarity.
Julia Belluz: You've been
working on Ebola since you co-
discovered the virus in 1976.
For nearly 40 years, this disease
has largely been ignored by
the international community
except for brief fashes of
interest, mostly spurred by
Hollywood. Now we are seeing
unprecedented attention and
political galvanization around
Ebola. What changed?
Peter Piot: In the 38 years
since 1976 until this current
outbreak, there have been
something like 1,500 people
who died in total. So that's less
than 50 deaths per year. Up to
now, it was not a real public
health problem. This year,
nearly 3,000 have died. All 24
previous outbreaks were both
time and place limited to very
confned communities. Even
in the worst case, Ebola would
kill 300 people. Here it has
involved entire countries, and
it has been going on for over
nine months now.
JB: But the death toll was rising
rapidly for months before
the international community
responded. What do you think
fnally sparked collective
action?
PP: It was the Americans
getting Ebola, I'm afraid.
Beyond that, I don't know
what changed it, really. Early
in the second or third week of
July, I gave an interview with
CNN and I said this crisis
requires a state of emergency
and a quasi-military operation.
After the interview, I thought
maybe I exaggerated. But I
felt that it was really getting
out of hand and it looked like
a completely different type of
Ebola outbreak than we'd seen
before. Then it took another
month, so I really don't know.
"IT TOOK 1,000 DEATHS
BEFORE A PUBLIC
HEALTH EMERGENCY
WAS DECLARED, AND
CYNICALLY IT TOOK TWO
AMERICAN DOCTORS TO
BECOME INFECTED."
JB: Before this year, could
you have imagined an Ebola
outbreak of this size?
PP: I never thought it would get
this big. I always thought it was
an accident of history where
someone becomes infected
from a bat probably and then
an outbreak is contained. Ebola
came and went. I really never
thought this could happen.
But it shows again: when the
right, or bad conditions are all
combined with each other, then
these things will happen again.
JB: We've seen a surge in the
number of deaths now for
weeks with no sign that the
virus is slowing down. Why do
you think this outbreak spun so
far out of control?
PP: I think this is a result of
a perfect storm of a lack of
trust in authorities, in western
medicine, dysfunctional health
services, a belief in witchcraft
as cause of disease and not
viruses, traditional funeral rites,
and a very slow response both
nationally and internationally.
The longer we wait, the
longer there is an insuffcient
response, the worse it will get,
the more diffcult it will be to
control this epidemic through
quarantine and isolation and all
the methods that worked in the
past.
JB: Most of what you point out
here has to do with things that
we had no control over an
accident of geography, local
beliefs. Can you point to a place
where the ball was dropped in
this Ebola response, something
that should have been done to


minimize the suffering in West
Africa?
PP: It took more than three
months to diagnosis the
epidemic. The frst case was in
December and then they only
diagnosed that it was Ebola in
March. But then it took far too
long before the international
community did anything. That
goes from the WHO, to the
US, and UK governments.
It took 1,000 deaths before a
public health emergency was
declared by the WHO, and
cynically it took two American
doctors to become infected. I
think that's where particularly
the local offce of the WHO
was inadequate, that's for sure.
But it's not just WHO. It's the
member states of the WHO,
the ones who decide about the
budget at the WHO.
JB: What do you think will be
the lessons learned from this
epidemic?
PP: This outbreak has
highlighted the fact that we
need to make sure we are far
better equipped for epidemics
in general. There will be others.
But the good news is also that
experimental therapies and
vaccines for Ebola are now
being tested for their effcacy
so I think that's positive. For
the next outbreak, we should
have stockpiles of vaccines and
therapies.
I also think this outbreak is
changing the paradigm that
there will be more investment,
and accelerated development of
drugs for rare diseases. Another
impact is that there will be a
fnancially protected team that
can deal with outbreaks at the
WHO and that there will be
massive support to strengthen
the health systems and services
in these countries.
F
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PAGE
EBOLA
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Page 9
Massa F Kanneh masskanneh@yahoo.com or 0886848625
F
RONT
PAGE
NEWS EXTRA

Prayer Mother Shielding Sick
Monrovia-
D
espite a presidential
mandate that
no individuals
or persons
should keep sick people in
the communities without
informing health care workers,
some religious leaders are
still in the habit of keeping
sick people in their places of
worships, offering prayers.
The Ebola awareness team
in the Barnesville Township
has alarmed that churches are
harboring sick people, claiming
that they could heal them.
Nathanial Solo, Coordinator
on the awareness team in
Barnesville said more than
15 persons have found shelter
in the Faith United Healing
Church to seek spiritual
intervention in their illness,
opposite Kebba market in
Barnesville, though it remains
unclear what kind of illnesses
they might be suffering from.
Solo noted that the issue
has been discussed with
community leaders but the
church is insisting on keeping
the people.
Said Solo With the growing
number of cases of Ebola in the
communities, we have to keep
educating these people, but the
church has refused to listen to
us. They have even refused
for us to take temperatures of
people in the church, telling us
people in the church do not get
sick. They say it is the church
and it is the place where when
people get sick, they can get
well
Capable of healing
The prayer Mother of the
Faith United Healing Church,
Susanna Quaye in an interview
with FrontPageAfrica admitted
that she has sick people in
the church but said she is
capable of healing any kind of
sickness these people might be
suffering.
Mother Quaye lamented that
after a long illness in 2008
she was instructed by God to
SPREADING EBOLA?
come to Monrovia to heal his
people with holy anointing oil
revealed to her when she was
asleep.
Mother Quaye said it was
revealed to me to fnd an
anointing oil to give it to
the people. It can heal all
sicknesses, you sick; you get it
you cripple, you blind God say
all sickness. Even if you not
working or you got problem I
can go through fast and prayers
for the person and God can
help.
She further noted that the
people she is sheltering in her
church are more of spiritual
illnesses and that none of them
have any major illness as it has
been speculated.
The reason why these people
have come here is because, any
body I pray for, that person
will be alright. I dont care
whatever sickness it is. Even
the cripple when I pray for
them, the cripple will walk and
the blind will see, said Mother
Quaye.
The mother reiterated that
her revelation came about
when she conceived and the
pregnancy went as far as 18
months and God was the one
who laid hands on her in her
sleep and she was fnally able
to give birth to a son that is
currently fve years old.
Nobody here is seriously sick,
and we are having a fast and
prayer and after the fast the
people will go, she said.
Refusal to be tested
The Ebola team leader told
FPA that several days of
request made by the Township
Ebola Awareness team to test
temperatures of people seeking
refugee in the church was
turned down but Mother Quaye
however, fnally consented to
the team testing of the entire
group in the church following
her interview with FPA.
According to the Ebola
awareness team, the church had
since denied the existence of
Ebola, also saying that people
who go in the church do not
get sick, and that the church is
the place where if anyone gets
sick, that person could go and
get healed.
Since the Ebola outbreak in
March this year, many religious
leaders including pastors and
imams have died from the
killer virus and some continues
to die in different communities.
Despite the increasing Ebola
deaths some religious groups
are still adamant to the fact and
are still in the habit of clustering
in their places of worships and
some having secret burials
around Monrovia.
Monrovia-
T
he Government
of Liberia and
the African
Development bank
have signed an 11.4M grant to
support the GoLs fght against
the deadly Ebola Outbreak in
Liberia.
Speaking at the signing
ceremony held at the newly
established Ebola Crisis
Respond Center in Sinkor on
Monday, September 29, 2014,
Acting Minister of Finance and
Development Planning Mr.
Amara Konneh disclosed that
the 11.4M grant will be used
for the establishment of Ebola
Treatment Units, support to
healthcare workers and the
purchasing of equipment for
the operation of Ebola centers
around the country.
Minister Konneh said the
government of Liberia is set to
establish 17 Ebola Treatment
Units around the country, but
there are few that are operating
currently in the like Foyah
ETU, JFK, ELWA 2, Island
clinic, ELWA 3 and Gbarnga
which some of this grant will
GOL AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK SIGN 11.4M GRANT
support across the country.
The treasure boss emphasized
that there are two strategies
needed to eradicate Ebola,
one he said will focus on
eliminating and defeating
Ebola, while the other will
focus on providing all essential
health services for those who
dont have Ebola.
We need to implement and
this is why we are here for
and is going to cost a lots of
money, he added.
Margaret Killo the AFDB
representative signing on
behalf of the bank said there
is $1 million from the SRF
Special Relief Fund to all four
countries fghting Ebola.
She said Nigeria has already
defeated what she calls the
monster and Guinea and Sierra
Leone together with Liberia
remain in the battlefeld.
This is the amount we have
just signed It is like a relative
responding with fsh pepper
soup to the hospital when they
hear that your brother is sick
with fever. It is small, but it
services to nourish the sick and
to heal, she said on Monday.
Kilo said the Bank gave US$60
million for Regional Public
Goods to Liberia, Sierra Leone
and Guinea through the World
Health Organization (WHO) to
fght the deadly Ebola Virus.
This is much bigger Ebola
monies that were Signed on
26th August 2014 in Abidjan by
Dr. Luis Sambo and President
Donald Kaberuka, and have
already been disbursed to
WHO, she said.
It is like the money you
pay to the surgeon for very
complicated surgery for your
brother. WHO is already using
some of the funds to pay for
the PPEs, and part has been
disbursed for health worker
incentives.
Kilo said US$150 million will
be approved by the Board
on 1st October to the three
affected countries to ensure the
economic impact is mitigated
through direct budget support.
This is support you provide
when you hear your brother has
had surgery but will go through
a long convalescence. During
their recovery they will be
unable to work to pay for food,
utility bills, she said.
This support from the African
Development Bank ensures
that Liberia can face the fght
against Ebola through all its
stages and mitigate the impact
on Liberian people in every
way. But this is just the fght
against Ebola.
She said the AFDBs support
to Liberias Agenda for
Transformation remains and
that the Bank will continue to
work on ensuring the roads
are built, energy programs
are delivered, food security is
ensured, and water is provided.
And we continue to work with
Government on Governance
and Capacity Building; all
the things that we must do
together to ensure Liberias
socio-economic progress, she
said. She appealed to African
Partners to open up their
borders to allow free movement
of people and goods.
Page 10 |
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Record 3,072 migrants 'killed crossing Mediterranean in 2014'
IN BRIEF
AUSTRALIA WON'T
SEND EBOLA DOCTORS
TO WEST AFRICA

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)
A
ustralia on
Monday ruled out
sending doctors to
West Africa to help
fght the Ebola outbreak there
because of logistical problems
in repatriating any Australian
who became infected with the
deadly virus.
Medecins Sans Frontieres,
also known as Doctors
Without Borders, as well as
the Australian opposition
party have called on the
government to send a medical
team to assist in a worsening
doctor shortage in West Africa
where the worst-ever outbreak
of Ebola has killed more than
3,000 people.
But Foreign Minister Julie
Bishop said the Australian
Health and Defense
Departments had both advised
that Australia could not safely
evacuate Australian health
workers back home.
F
RONT
PAGE
WORLD NEWS
UKRAINE TROOP WITHDRAWAL
IN DOUBT AFTER 12 KILLED
AL-QAIDA LEADER WARNS OF
REVENGE FOR AIRSTRIKES
Kiev (AFP) -
T
he shaky truce
between pro-Russian
rebels and the
Ukrainian military
was challenged Monday when
12 soldiers and civilians were
reported killed in a surge of
fghting across the separatist
east.
A week after talks in the
Belarussian capital Minsk
yielded an agreement for a
ceasefre and the withdrawal
of heavy weapons and troops
from the frontline, a lasting
solution to the confict which
has killed more than 3,200
people seemed no closer.
National Security and Defence
Council spokesman Andriy
Lysenko said rebels had
killed nine soldiers over the
last 24 hours. Some died in a
rebel attack on an armoured
vehicle carrying Ukrainian
paratroopers.
BEIRUT (AP)
T
he leader of al-
Qaida's Syria
affliate vowed
Sunday that his
group would "use all possible
means" to fght back against
airstrikes by the U.S.-led
coalition and warned that the
confict would reach Western
countries joining the alliance.
The U.S. views the affliate,
known as the Nusra Front, as
a terrorist group, but Syrian
rebels have long seen it as a
potent ally against both the
Islamic State extremist group
-- which is the main target of
the coalition -- and Syrian
President Bashar Assad's
forces.
DEADLY CROSSINGS
Geneva (AFP) -
M
ore than 3,000
migrants have died
trying to cross the
Mediterranean so
far this year, more than double
the previous peak in 2011, the
International Organisation for
Migration said Monday.
Europe is by far the most
dangerous destination for
"irregular" migrants, the
organisation found in a report,
with 3,072, or 75 percent, of
the 4,077 registered migrant
deaths worldwide since January
happening in the Mediterranean.
In the 216-page report titled
"Fatal Journeys: migrant
fatalities across land and sea",
IOM said more than 40,000
people had perished since 2000
while migrating -- 22,000 of
them while trying to reach
Europe.
"It's time to do more than count
the number of victims," IOM
chief William Lacy Swing said
in a statement.
"It's time to engage the world
to stop this violence against
desperate migrants," added
Swing, whose agency is not part
of the United Nations but works
closely with the world body.
The IOM report comes just
weeks after one of the deadliest
wrecks on record, when a ship
carrying some 500 migrants,
including Syrians, Palestinians
and Egyptians and an estimated
100 children, sank.
The 11 known survivors have
said the traffckers organising
their dangerous crossing from
North Africa deliberately sank
the vessel off Malta.
That catastrophe came less than
a year after two shipwrecks near
the Italian island of Lampedusa
left more than 400 migrants
dead, catapulting the issue into
international headlines.
The grim tally of Mediterranean
deaths during the frst nine
months of 2014 is already more
than double the previous peak
of 1,500 during the 2011 Arab
Spring uprisings and nearly
fve times the prior peak of
630 in 2007, the Geneva-based
organisation said.
The soaring number of deaths
"likely refects a dramatic
increase in the number of
migrants trying to reach Europe,"
the report said.
More than 112,000 "irregular
migrants" were detected by
Italian authorities during the
frst eight months of this year --
nearly three times as many as in
all of 2013, it said.
"Many are feeing confict,
persecution and poverty," the
report said, with people trying
to escape Syria's bloody civil
war and Eritreans feeing their
repressive regime and forced,
decades-long conscription
accounting for the largest groups
arriving in Italy this year.
The deteriorating security
situation in Libya, a transit
country for many migrants, is
also pushing up the numbers
of people trying to make it to
Europe by any means possible,
it said.
Elsewhere in the world, more
than 6,000 migrants perished
along the US-Mexican border
between 1998 and 2013,
meaning nearly 400 people died
there annually over the 16-year-
period.
Around 100 people have also
died on average each year since
2000 in the seas bordering
Australia, while thousands
of others have succumbed in
Africa's Sahara Desert and in the
Indian Ocean.
- Actual numbers likely far
higher -
IOM meanwhile warned that
the actual numbers were likely
far higher, pointing to the lack
of detailed statistics and the fact
that many migrants die in remote
regions of the world and their
deaths are never recorded.
"Some experts now believe that
for every dead body discovered
there are at least two others
that are never recovered," the
organisation said.
It said it hoped that the report
would shed some light on "a
growing epidemic of crime
against migrants."
Swing pointed out that one
in seven people around the
world are currently considered
migrants, lamenting the "harsh
response to migration in the
developed world."
"Limited opportunities for safe
and regular migration drive
would-be migrants into the
hands of smugglers, feeding an
unscrupulous trade that threatens
the lives of desperate people," he
said.
"We need to put an end to this
cycle," he said, insisting that
"undocumented migrants are not
criminals but human beings in
need of protection and assistance,
and deserving respect."

OBAMA SAYS MISREAD ISLAMIC STATE;
QAEDA WARNS OF ATTACKS ON WEST
BEIRUT/MURSITPINAR
Turkey (Reuters) -
P
resident Barack Obama
has acknowledged
that U.S. intelligence
underestimated the rise
of Islamic State fghters in Iraq
and Syria, where the head of an
al Qaeda branch warned militants
will attack the West in retaliation
for U.S.-led air strikes.
Turkish tanks took up positions
on the Syrian frontier, opposite
a besieged border town where
Islamic State shelling intesifed
and stray fre hit Turkish soil.
U.S.-led air strikes overnight hit
a natural gas plant controlled
by Islamic State fghters in
eastern Syria, a monitoring body
reported, part of an apparent
campaign to disrupt one of the
fghters' main sources of income.
The monitoring group, the
Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, said planes also struck
a grain silo in northern Syria
killing civilians. This could not
be immediately confrmed.
U.S.-led strikes have so far failed
to halt an advance by fghters
in northern Syria on Kobani, a
Kurdish town on the border with
Turkey where the past week's
battle caused the fastest refugee
fight of Syria's three-year civil
war.
At least 15 Turkish tanks were
positioned at the frontier, some
with guns pointed towards
Syrian territory. More tanks
and armoured vehicles moved
towards the border after shells
landed in Turkey on Sunday and
Monday.
The United States has been
bombing Islamic State and other
groups in Syria for a week with
the help of Arab allies, and
hitting targets in neighbouring
Iraq since last month. European
countries have joined the
campaign in Iraq but not in Syria.
Islamic State, a Sunni militant
group which broke off from al
Qaeda, alarmed the West and
the Middle East by sweeping
through northern Iraq in June,
slaughtering prisoners and
ordering Shi'ites and non-
Muslims to convert or die.
It is battling Shi'ite backed
governments in both Iraq and
Syria, as well as other Sunni
groups in Syria and Kurdish
groups in both countries, part of
complex multi-sided civil wars
in which nearly every country in
the Middle East has a stake.
The head of Syria's al Qaeda
branch, the Nusra Front, a Sunni
militant group which is a rival of
Islamic State and has also been
targeted by U.S. strikes, said
Islamists would carry out attacks
on the West in retaliation for the
campaign.
"Muslims will not watch while
their sons are bombed. Your
leaders will not be the only ones
who would pay the price of the
war. You will pay the heaviest
price," Abu Mohamad al-Golani
said in an audio message posted
on pro-Nusra forums.
He also said his followers should
not take advantage of the U.S.
strikes to hit out at Islamic State.
The U.S. strikes have created
pressure on Nusra to reconcile
with Islamic State, a move
that would unite Syria's most
powerful Sunni Islamist forces
and widen territory under their
control.
Obama has worked since
August to build an international
coalition to combat the fghters,
describing them last week in an
address to the United Nations as
a "network of death".
His acknowledgment in an
interview broadcast on Sunday
that U.S. intelligence had
underestimated Islamic State
offered an explanation for why
Washington appeared to have
been taken by surprise when the
fghters surged through northern
Iraq in June.
The militants had gone
underground when U.S. forces
quashed al Qaeda in Iraq with
the aid of local tribes during
the U.S. war there which ended
in 2011, Obama told CBS's "60
Minutes".
"But over the past couple of years,
during the chaos of the Syrian
civil war, where essentially you
have huge swathes of the country
that are completely ungoverned,
they were able to reconstitute
themselves and take advantage
of that chaos."
Some of the U.S. president's
opponents at home have seized
on a remark he made in January
using a sports metaphor to
dismiss Sunni militants in Iraq
and Syria. He compared them
to a low-level school basketball
team posing as professionals.
"If a JV (junior varsity) team
puts on Lakers uniforms,
that doesn't make them Kobe
Bryant," Obama told the New
Yorker magazine in January.
BATTLE ON BORDER
Islamic State's advance has not
been halted in Syria, where it is
fghting Kurdish forces near the
border city of Kobani, where
140,000 refugees fed a week
ago.
Gunfre rang out from across the
border and a plume of smoke
rose over Kobani as periodic
shelling by Islamic State fghters
took place. Kurds watching the
fghting from the Turkish side
of the border said the Syrian
Kurdish group, the YPG, was
putting up a strong defence.
"Many Islamic State fghters
have been killed. They're not
taking the bodies with them,"
said Ayhan, a Turkish Kurd who
had spoken by phone with one
of his friends fghting with the
YPG. He said Kurdish forces
had picked up eight Islamic State
bodies.
Frontpage
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Page 11
Sports
SPORTS
MAN UNITED LINE UP 70M
GAALATICO CENTRAL
DEFENSIVE PAIR BID: REPORT
PSG ON PAR WITH BARCELONA
& MADRID, SAYS PASTORE
LOUIS VAN GAAL HAS BACKED
RYAN GIGGS TO SUCCEED HIM AS
MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER


T
he Old Trafford side
have conceded nine
goals in their opening
six Premier League
fxtures and have been reliant
on young untried talents of late,
with the Premier League side
not adequately replacing veteran
centre-back pair Nemanja Vidic
and Rio Ferdinand.
The Daily Mirror claims that the
Dutch boss is keen on Valencia
Nicols Otamendi, though the
players 40m price-tag is sure to
be one Man United wouldnt be
willing to cover.
The 26 year old cost Valencia
around 10m in the summer
so its hard to see how his
valuation would quadruple so
swiftly though a move to bring in
Otamendi would perhaps be aided
by the presence of his Argentine
national team colleagues Angel di
Maria and Marcos Rojo.
P
aris Saint-Germain
midfelder Javier
Pastore believes the
Ligue 1 champions
have the quality to compete
with clubs such as Barcelona
and Real Madrid in the
Champions League.
PSG made it to the quarter-
fnals of European club
football's elite competition in
2012-13 and 2013-14, with
Barca and Chelsea respectively
proving too strong, yet Pastore
thinks they have what it takes
to go all the way.
"I believe PSG are at the
same level as Barcelona and
Real Madrid," Pastore told El
Mundo.
T
he 40-year-old ended
his 24-year playing
career earlier this
summer to take up
a position as the Dutchmans
assistant.
Van Gaal, who gave a speech
which lasted nearly seven
minutes at a charity tribute
dinner to Giggs at Old Trafford
last Thursday, hailed the former
midfelders transition into
coaching and claims his new
assistant has worked "miracles"
in his new backroom role.
Van Gaals speech in full
"I am wandering the streets in the
evening because I have to spoil
my woman. I am wandering the
streets to pick out a restaurant in
Manchester and in fve metres
I can walk and then 'I want a
picture of you'. Then I say 'fve
points out of fve matches?'. 'But
we have confdence in you'.

EBOLA WITHDRAWAL
T
he Liberia Football
Association (LFA),
on July 29, banned
all footballactivities
in what it said was an effort
to control the spread of Ebola
because there wasa risk of
infection given that football is a
contact sport.
The FAs decision coincided
with a major regional airliner,
Asky, which halted fights to
Monrovia and Freetown, Sierra
Leone because of growing
concerns about the virus.Arik
Air had already banned fights
to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
LFA president Musa Hassan
Bility told the BBC that all
football activity had been
indefnitely suspended to protect
players and fans.
"Football being a contact sport
- people are sweating - they
do contact each other, and that
could result in contracting the
disease.It also has to do with
the fans because whenever
there is a game, a lot of people
come together and we want to
discourage gathering at this
point,"he said.
Fifa trip called-off?
Bility also told the BBC that the
LFA had written Fifa, asking it
to call-off two visits to Liberia,
which were scheduled for
August and September.
"We've asked Fifa to suspend
both [trips] because we do
not want the life of the Fifa
president to be exposed to this
disease," Bility added.
New fgures released by the
World Health Organization
show that 2,917 people have
died in Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Guinea and Nigeria in what has
been described as the worlds
deadliest outbreak of Ebola
since it was frst reported in
1976.
Activities done and dusted
The 2013/2014 national league
ended on March 25,when
the disease was still in Lofa
County,rather than June or July.
Clubs, which are mostly
fnanced by individuals, were
handed a further fnancial
burden with at least two league
games per week.
The third and fourth divisions
leagues in some counties
culminated into a national
play-off, which was flled
with fnancial and logistical
challenges, but ended on a sad
note in May with the severe
fogging of competitions
director Benedict Yarsiah and
center referee David Kollie.
Liberia were painfully
eliminated from the
preliminaries of the 2015 Africa
Cup of Nations (Afcon
qualifers), 2-1 on aggregate in
May, to a Lesotho team vice
president Musa Shannon had
proudly but ignorantly called an
underdog on Fabric 101 FM
following the draw on April 26.


What footballing activities did Liberia ban in the wake of Ebola?
Junior Satellites (Liberias
under-20) were also eliminated
by Ivory Coast 2-1 on aggregate
in May from the 2015 African
championship in Senegal,
having won asecond round frst
leg tie 1-0 in Monrovia.
And Junior Starletsshamefully
withdrew from the preliminaries
of the 2015 under-17
championship in Niger when
it had emerged that head coach
Matthew Julutweh had taken
a bunch of overage players to
Accra, Ghana for the magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) scans
with few days to their opening
match with Sierra Leone in
June.
This was a tactical but needless
cover-up by the LFA, who
had fears of being banned for
two yearsfor age cheating,
having won a protest against
Gambia for felding Sampierre
Mendy, Buba Sanneh, Bubacarr
Trawally, Saloum Fall and Ali
Sowe, who were born in 1994
in a 1-0 home defeat on April 6.
Bility, last December, struggled
to justify the hasty closure of the
league, pinning it down to the
start of off-season tournaments
like the Presidents Cup and
Who Owns the Land.
But the truth is the league was
closed sooner to deny critical
voices like 72nd FCs Tugbeh
Chie Tugbeh and Georgian FCs
Wilmot Smith from voting in
the Grand Bassa congress.
Tugbehs 72ndwere relegated
in a fxed match with Mighty
Barrolle at the Antoinette
Tubman Stadium in Monrovia
on February 25.
Barrolle had to survive
relegation from division two
to three with a controversial2-
1win in which 72nd had three
goals disallowed by center
referee Emmanuel Neewon and
his assistant referees.
And the plot was even visible
when 72nd scored their fourth
goal. It took Neewon and
the assistant refereenumber
two more than 20 seconds to
acknowledge the goal.
After Barrolle found the
equalizer, Neewon and his
crew raised more suspicion
by awarding a controversial
penalty for a careless tackle.
And Tugbeh was understandably
annoyed with the defeat,
describing Neewon as a chap
unft to be called a referee.
So what activities did the LFA
ban or suspend when there were
no plans to begin the pre-season
tournaments Bility had bragged
about in an inclusive interview
with FrontPageAfrica?
There was no suspension
of football activities by the
Guinean FA where the disease
began in December but was
noticed in February.
The 2013/2014 Guinee
Championnat National (the
top league), which began on
December 18, 2013, ended
with Horoya crowned as
championsafter 22 match days
on August 22.
Guineaarethrough to the fnals
of the 2015 African under-17
championship in Niger after a
3-0 win over Togo, 4-0aggregate,
in Lome on September 26.
Sierra Leone beat Guinea 2-0 on
aggregate in the frst round of
the under-20 qualifers in April
before they were eliminated 4-1
on aggregate by Ghana in May.
It was not until August 4
when Sierra Leone Football
Association (SLFA), whether
it was coerced by government
or not, made a somewhat
thoughtless decision to suspend
all football matches, placing
their participation in the
group stage of the 2015 Afcon
qualifers in doubt.
The 2014 premier league, which
began on March 26, was halted
on July 1 after 13 rounds of
matches before the nationwide
ban.
The SLFAs decision means
Sierra Leone chose Lubumbashi,
DR Congo as their home in a
2-0 defeat to the hosts on 10
September and is set to do so
against Cameroon in Yaound
on October 10 and 15.
Twist of irony?
Sierra Leone made it through to
the last round after Seychelles
forfeited the second leg of their
tie on the advice of its health
ministry.
Seychelles immigration offcials
prevented the team from
boarding a plane heading to
Victoria from Kenya's Nairobi
airport over fears that the Ebola
virus could potentially be spread
to the island.
The SLFA's decision to ban
football followed President
Ernest Bai Koroma's declaration
of a public health emergency to
curb the virus.
However, SLFA media
committee member Abu
Bakarr Kamara confrmed their
thoughtless decision.
"We're hoping that the Ebola
disease would be contained
before our home game against
DR Congo and we'll be able to
play them in Freetown.But if the
situation doesn't improve, the
suspension will remain in place
and we'll have to look out for a
neutral venue," he said.
Sierra Leone, which
withdrewfrom the 2015
under-17 qualifers in July,
should have played its Afcon
qualifers behind closed doors
rather than banning football
matches, which made their
team to forgo its precious home
ground.
It was not until August 12 when
Caf ordered Sierra Leone and
Guinea to relocate their home
Afcon qualifers because of
the Ebola virus outbreaks as "a
preventative measure to avoid
mass gatherings that could
facilitate the
spread of the virus" with Guinea
having hosen Casablanca,
Morocco as their home ground.
Most border points and all
schools have been closed in
Liberia while non-essential
public servants are highly likely
to remain on a compulsory
leave until the duration of a
three-month state of emergency,
which was declared on August
6 by President Ellen Johnson-
Sirleaf.
A curfew, which was extended
Danesius Marteh, danesius.marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com from 6:00AM-11:00PM based
on an appeal from nine political
parties, remains in force while
affected communities have been
quarantined but the virus is still
spreading like wildfre.
Dr. Melvin Korkor, who had
Ebola but recovered, has
emphatically stated that Ebola
patients cant take part in any
sport.
And the Liberia Marathon
Trust, which moved the third
Liberia marathon from August
24 to January 25, 2015, took
a calculated and solidarity
decision.
So was the LFA in a solidarity
mood with the government or
it really had programs that was
called-off due to Ebola?
Have football activities
been suspended in various
communities due to the LFAs
pronouncement?
For all the brashness, energy
and resilience of Liberians,
the declining trends of football
are a reminder that the
countryissuffering from a civic
form of post-traumatic stress
of the golden generation of
footballers, who are famously
known as the George Weah XI.
And while Renaissance
Communications Incorporated
(RCI), which Bility owns,
rightly or wrongly tries to tie
the declining state of football
to a failed 2002 World Cup bid,
Liberians should be prepared
for the emotional scars of seeing
their national team being beaten
once there are pranksters,
dramatists and comedians who
will perpetuate themselves
in power even if it means
repeatedly having an election
where a ballot box is concealed
in a room and delegates are
given fve minutes to cast their
vote, having encamped 15 of
the 50 voters at Sam Gibsons
Krystal Oceanview Hotel for
more than a week.
Not only were they encamped,
they were taken to a dinner
meeting at Representative
Edwin Snowes house, a former
LFA president who soured
his relationship with Bility by
announcing plans to replace his
buddy, with Fifa West Africa
development offcer Sampson
Kablan and Caf vice president
Almamy Kabele Camara in
attendance on the eve of the
elections.
The rampaging trend of Ebola
has only aided the LFA in their
unproductive moodbut it is
only a matter of time for the
world to know what plans and
programs they have crafted for
the growth and development of
football with the presentation
of a football development plan
to the government, which the
media is yet to see.
www.frontpageafricaonline.com
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Spot News
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC BLAMES GUARDIOLA
FOR BARCELONA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FLOP
Z
latan Ibrahimovic has blamed
Pep Guardiola for his failure to
win the Champions League in
the season the Sweden striker
spent at Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain have ruled
Ibrahimovic out of Tuesdays game with
his former club after he failed to recover
from a heel injury.
But having moved to Barcelona in 2009,
Ibrahimovic was substituted after 63
minutes of the second leg of that years
Champions League semi-fnal against
eventual winners Internazionale and he has
now admitted his regret at failing to win
the competition for the frst time in his
career.
We had the best team in the world but
we failed to win the Champions League
because of bad decisions from someone,
Ibrahimovic told Canal+.
But its like that. Its nothing to complain
about today. You have to forget it because I
had great moments at Barcelona.
PSGs early season struggles have led
to speculation Blancs position could be
under threat. However, Ibrahimovic is
hopeful they can build on their recent
improvements in Europes premier club
competition.
He said: Were still learning. The club are
new in the Champions League and we gain
experience. This team has been constructed
in the last two years and weve been in the
Champions League quarter-fnals twice.
We want to go further this year.
But its the little details which make the
difference. We hope that these details will
be in our favour this time. Id be very
happy if I could win it, of course. After
your career, you look at how many trophies
you have. If I win, itd be great, if not, it
wouldnt be a failure.
VISIT UNCLE ZEH'S LAUNDRY & DRY CLEANING SERVICE ON CROWN
HILL, BROAD STREET WHERE THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST