45 Ebola Bodies Remain Dumped near River in Johnsonville
The general Town Chief of Kissi Camp, Upper Johnsonville
near Kpekpeh Town, over the weekend informed the Daily Observer that
several dogs in the community have torn the plastic wrapped around corpses of
Ebola victims and are now feeding on parts of the corpses exposed to them.
As such, Town Chief Tamba Tengbeh expressed fear of the
subsequent outbreak of other diseases in the area since some of dogs are
domesticated and could cause harm to the already frightened community dwellers.
Chief Tengbeh, in an exclusive interview with this newspaper
on Sunday, also complained that the more than 2,000 residents of the area have
been suffering an offensive odor of rotting corpses since the bodies were
dumped in the nearby Kpanwein River by authorities from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MIA) without proper burial.
To that effect, Internal Affairs Minister Morris Dukuly, told
this newspaper via mobile phone a week ago that there is no corpse
exposed to create a health hazard or environmental concerns for the
Johnsonville residents.
He maintained that the MIA bought the parcel of land on
which the dead bodies were dumped, and with that, “nobody can tell
anybody that the bodies will be removed since they have been under the
ground for several weeks.”
MIA has up to date not disclosed to this paper the name of
the person who sold the parcel of land on which the bodies were dumped;
nor have they disclosed the amount on money that was involved in the deal
since the land was indeed found to be private property, owned by one Joseph
F. Dolo and others. Mr. Dolo’s ownership to the parcel of the land
in question has been confirmed by his initials marked on his cornerstones. His
father, Emmanuel T. Cole, has also denied any knowledge of the MIA ‘land
transaction’.
Cognizant of the health hazard upon the community dwellers
as dogs were now feeding on some of corpses, Chief Tengbeh has with great fear
for the spread of the disease, instructed some of the ‘vulnerable’ youths to
cover the exposed bodies with red dirt.
He has appealed for government intervention to resolve the
impasse in the community.
Compounding the problems for the residents and the
entire community, Chief Tengbeh said they lack safe drinking water and have
also not been provided any Ebola preventive and protective materials.
According to him, some of the dogs that fed on those bodies
have died, although this paper is yet to confirm that part of the report.
Guarded by heavily armed platoons of officers from the Armed
Forces of Liberia (AFL) and the Police Support Unit (PSU) several weeks ago,
two mini trucks conveyed the corpses of Ebola victims to be buried in
Johnsonville.
This dumping of about 45 bodies on the bank of the Kpan-wein
River under the heavy guard of police and soldiers immediately created a
stampede, with people running in all directions, for fear of being contaminated
or afflicted with the Ebola disease.
The plan had been to bury the bodies in mass graves dug by a
hired yellow machine. But the machine unfortunately got stuck in the mud,
where the property meets the mangrove. The yellow machine is yet to be removed
since its owner has since gone into hiding for fear of being attacked by
the Ebola virus.
The Kpanwein River connects the Kpeh-Kpeh Town Community to
Whein Town in the east and Chicken Soup Factory on Somalia Drive in the west,
as well as Upper and Lower Johnsonville, and many other communities in and
around Monrovia.
Since the first truckload of corpses arrived Saturday,
August 2, residents of the nearby communities vehemently rejected the use of
their land to dispose of the bodies.
An aggrieved Kpeh-Kpeh Town resident, Carey Daniel, told the Daily
Observer that the exact plot of land where the graves are dug is a wetland
on the bank of a river that is a source of water for many communities around
there. They fear that their wells ---from which they get water for drinking and
domestic use – will definitely be contaminated, exposing them to the same
deadly Ebola and other diseases.
Meanwhile, for fear that those dogs might spread the
disease among the residents, many inhabitants have reportedly fled to other
parts of Monrovia.
Courtesy of: Liberianobserver
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