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EBOLA
VOL 8 NO.692
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 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
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 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
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2014
EBOLA - pg.6
I WILL RESPOND
POSITIVELY

p7 p9

I
N
S
I
D
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News Extra News Extra

LIBERIA-TEXAS TWO STEP:
THE CASE AGAINST THOMAS DUNCAN
HEALTH WORKERS
BATTLING EBOLA
STIGMA
GONGLOE
MAKES THE
CASE
With both Liberia and the U.S. State of Texas
Weighing charges against man who took Ebola virus
to America, will it hold up in the court of law?
AN ARGUMENT FOR AN
INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT
OF THE MID-TERM
SENATORIAL ELECTION
I FROZE FOR A MOMENT

HENRY COSTA, A PASSENGER ON EBOLA-SCARED UNITED
FLIGHT RECALLS FRIGHTENED SCENE AS LIBERIAN FALLS SICK
I felt scared for the frst time since ebola struck Liberia. I spoke with this guy, he was so
nice to me, his little one aged 5 or 6 was so lively and asking so many questions. All of that
sent shocks down my core when I eventually saw him being escorted off the plane as the
sick patient; I froze for a moment. Finally we were let out, but then again we had to be
briefy quarantined in the terminal, we flled out forms with contact info, and the CDC folks
came and lectured us for a while and then we were given Ebola literature and we left.
Henry Costa, Passenger on United Airlines 998 which was quarantined briefy after a
Liberian man vomited on the fight

WOODS Open to Assisting Thomas
Eric Duncan With Legal case for
Transporting Ebola to America

Page 2 |
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014
~ see pg 3 ~
From Danan Refugee Camp
in the Ivory Coast To the
Budumburum Refugee Camp in
Ghana, Friends and family recall
a man desperate to go to America
at all cost even at the detriment
of an Ebola-Stricken nation on
the rebound from a bloody and
ruthless civil war.
Monrovia
P
ut Moulton Farley in the same place, time and space as
Eric Duncan, the frst diagnosed case of Ebola in the
United States, and he would do exactly the same thing:
Lie on a questionnaire form at the Roberts International
Airport about making contact with anyone who had the deadly
Ebola Virus, if that was the only thing standing in the way of his
entry into America.
I know this guy
Farley, who says he remembers Duncan when they were friends
at the Budumburam Refugee Camp in Ghana, recalls that almost
every one residing in the refugee camp was desperate to travel to
America. Everybody in that camp was desperate to go to America.
Basically everybody went there (Ghana) for the resettlement but it
didnt work out. I also tried on many occasions and when it didnt
work, I came back home. Everyone who came from Ghana and was
on the camp, know that guy.
Farley says going to America is an opportunity everybody would
wish for, even him. Its only that Im working now; I wouldnt
want to live in America. While it is true I wanted to go to America
back in the day, Im almost 40 now, I wont want to go to America;
Id rather stay in Liberia where I have a job. From what I read on
the internet if it is true then he was really desperate he wanted to
go to America.
Farley recalls that Duncan was a loving person. I knew Duncan
well. As refugees in Bujumbura Camp we were there hustling to
see how we could make it. We were at war back home, so we were
like trying to do everything humanly possible to make sure we
stay alive to come back home. So when the war ended we began
to come home one by one and he came before me. I came in 2011.
We met once and that was around the 72nd belt, somewhere around
Boulevard Junction and we just waved to each other because I was
in a taxi; thats the last time I saw him. When I saw his photo on
Facebook, I was like oh! I know this guy.
Duncans family in the U.S. has been supportive while denying that
he had Ebola prior to entering the U.S., some has even gone as far
as to suggest that Duncan took an Ebola test prior to his departure
from Liberia, a point Tolbert Nyensuah, Assistant Minister for
Curative and Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare debunks. There was no Ebola test given Mr.
Duncan, what he was given at the airport was a temperature test,
people should stop confusing the two.
Nyensuah says it is impossible for anyone to be tested for Ebola
with showing the symptoms and that representatives of the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control were on hand when Duncan was tested.
He was tested and showed no symptoms at departure but to say
that he was given an Ebola test, is completely false, Nyensuah says.
Many medical experts say, the 21-day incubation period for the
Ebola virus makes it easy for anyone carrying the virus to slip out
or into an airport undetected.
Although airport offcials are on the lookout for signs of Ebola
including diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding before passengers
board fights from affected countries in West Africa, spotting those
symptoms could take up to 21 days after a person has been infected
to show up making it diffcult to conduct testing for Ebola.
Clearance Could Take 42 Days
Reuters reported Sunday that it could take at least 42 days for all
those who made contacts with Duncan to be in the clear from the
virus. Health offcials are reportedly watching 49 people in the
Dallas area who may have had contact with him for symptoms of
the deadly disease even as it emerged Sunday that state and local
health offcials waited more than two days to perform blood tests
that confrmed Duncan had Ebola, a delay that appears to have
violated federal guidelines.
Farley dismisses suggestions from many critics who say Duncans
action and decision to lie on the health form at the airport was cruel.
It would be too harsh for him. It was an opportunity, the country
is virtually paralyzed; an able-body man who has not been working
for the past fve years, if you tell him to come go to America, even
if you tell him to hang himself in America he would do it.
Despite his support for Duncan, Farley expresses disappointment
that Duncan was not more forthcoming about his contact with
Marthaline Williams, the pregnant woman who he unsuccessfully
tried to get to a hospital. My own disappointment in him is that
after he knew he had contact with a sick person and not admitting
he did that I think was cruel on his part. Maybe he was afraid that if
he had said it they would have denied him; that could be one of the
factors why he lied. I want to encourage him; he needs everybody,
lets just disregard whatever wrong he did, put it behind us and did
bad, lets put it behind us and wish him well.
Prosecution looms
While many like Farley has been pressing for Liberians to forget
Duncans error in judgment, the fnal decision could rest in the arms
of prosecutors in both Liberia and the state of Texas, where there
has been expression of interests to prosecute Duncan for possibly
lying on his health questionnaire at the Roberts International Airport
even as he lies in critical condition at Texas Health Presbyterian
Hospital in Dallas.
Authorities in Dallas are also pondering charges. County DA Craig
Watkins said Saturday that his offce is looking into the possibility
of fling charges against Duncan for transporting the virus to the
United States. Both Liberia and Dallas are investigating whether
Eric Duncan knew he had been exposed to the Ebola virus before
traveling to Dallas. Were dealing with the issue that he may
have knowingly exposed individuals in Dallas County to the ebola
virus said Watkins. Weve prosecuted individuals, for knowingly
exposing individuals to HIV which is aggravated assault.
Duncans family including a half brother, cousins and mother in
the U.S. have been paraded on U.S. television networks insisting
that he made no contact with an Ebola patient in Liberia even amid
eyewitnesses account from Duncans 72nd neighborhood in Liberia
that he and a friend, assisted Marthalene Williams, seven months
pregnant, to a number of hospitals before her death.
Today almost 100 persons who Duncan came in contact with in
Texas are being monitored and the occupants of the home he was
stopping have been relocated to another location although none of
them have shown symptoms. Among those being monitored are
Duncans girlfriend, Louise Troh, her daughters Nope and Youngor
as well as those who rode in the ambulance that transported
Duncan back to the hospital before his diagnosis, according to Dr.
Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
The debate over whether or not Duncan was less than forthcoming
continues to linger and many attempt to decipher his actions versus
threats of prosecution.
But offcials both in Liberia and the U.S. agree that Duncan showed
no signs of fever or other symptoms of Ebola when he was screened
at the Roberts International Airport on Sept. 19, 2014, before
boarding a fight from Monrovia to Brussels. He few from Brussels
to Washington Dulles and then on to Dallas-Forth Worth.
Two Mothers, two babies in Danan
Duncan had quit his job as at the Safeway Cargo since the beginning
of September, according to former associates who worked with
him. Safeway, according to its website, provides a host of services
to large, medium, and small businesses, international organizations,
government, and non-commercial clients and has been operating in
Liberia since 1995, and is the sole FedEx GSP in Liberia.
Mawatta Dunbar, with whom Duncan has a 19-year-old girl-child
is not sure what Duncans role was at Safeway although she says
she heard that he hung around there a lot. Those who work there
say he was a driver.
Dunbar, recalls that she met Duncan during their stay in the Danan
Refugee Camp in 1994.
Danan, a town in Western Cote dIvoire shares the Guinea and
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014 Page 3
Liberian borders, and was the destination refugees feeing the
Liberian confict across the border. Many Diaspora Liberians
residing in America spent some time in either Danan or Buduburam
or both.
By 1995, Dunbar says she became pregnant.
Ironically, she recalls it was the same period that Duncan had
another woman, Louise Troh pregnant. Troh, is now in Dallas,
Texas and is said to be the one who sent for Duncan. Dunbar bore
a girl who is now 19 while Troh bore a son, Kasiah Duncan. When
the child turned three, Troh took him to America. He is a 19-year-
old college student at Angelo State University in San Angelo, the
MailOnline reported Saturday.
Duncan, according to the report, had traveled to Dallas to marry
Louise, which would have paved the way for him to stay in the
USA permanently.
Report: Marriage, Citizenship Follows
The MailOnline report quoted Mark Wingfeld, pastor at the
Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, where Troh worships, that
'Louise had told the church that Duncan, 42, had arrived in America.
The 42-year-old, who is understood to have arrived in the USA on
a tourist visa, met Ms Troh in Liberia many years ago, according to
Wilshire Baptist church pastor George Mason. The church pastor is
quoted as saying: 'They had this child(Kasiah). They had a falling
out, and she came to the [United] States.'
In Monrovia, Mawatta Dunbar recalled clearly the circumstances:
We were all in the resettlement program in the in Ivory Coast but
I understand her family, her mother and sister sent for her(Troh) so
she went to America and took the boy along with her.
Dunbar says she later heard that Duncan left Danan for Accra,
Ghana where he reportedly got married or started dating another
woman and reportedly had another child. I hear he was back and
forth between Togo and Ghana hustling but I havent seen him in
a long time.
Dunbar says the last time she laid eyes on Duncan was in late
August when he showed and tried to blame her for him not having
enough time with their daughter. I just listened to him ranting but
said nothing and that was the last time I saw him, Dunbar recalls.
Dunbar once fled a complaint against Duncan with the Ministry
of Gender & Development because he forcefully took away their
daughter from her but the case never took off as family pressure
forced her to drop her quest.
In Duncans 73nd community neighborhood, where he rented a
room in a rundown house, neighbors say he stopped going work
around the time he got his visa for America.
And it was in the fnal days leading to his departure that he reportedly
tried to help Marthalene Williams, whose relationship with Duncan
is still uncertain. Some neighbors say she was a close friend whom
he tried to help while others say he was simply lending a helping
hand to Williams, who was the daughter of the landlord, to get her
to a hospital. But every where they went, witnesses say, Duncan
and Marthalenes brother, Sonny-Boy Williams.
Cab Driver Recalls Horror Ride
Marthalene is said to have been seven months pregnant and
diagnosed with low blood pressure was taken to a clinic. Soon after
coming home, she began convulsing. Both the New York Times
and the Associated Press have reported that Duncan, assisted by
Marthalenes family and others, lifted his neighbor into a taxi that
rushed to a hospital maternity ward, where she was turned away.
The 19-year-old woman returned to her house, where she died
hours later.
Jiminez Grugbaye, the taxi driver who drove Duncan and
Marthalene Williams around in search of hospital on September
15, 2014, recalls in an interview with NBC that he had picked up
Williams and ferried her to three hospitals and a clinic while she
convulsed and moaned in the back seat. She was clearly very sick
and feeble, he said. 'She was helpless. She, she was not able to
walk by herself,' Grugbaye is quoted as saying. Grubaye, according
to the report, said he noticed a stream of blood trickling from
Williams' mouth. However, her family told him that she had only
bit her tongue and that she was suffering a miscarriage - not sick
with Ebola. I decided to ask him to intervene a bit as to regarding
this sickness, what type of sickness it really was, and she told me
and reassured me it was not the Ebola thing, it was like abortion,
the driver is quoted as saying.
Pregnancy and Ebola has been an intriguing aspect to the Ebola
crisis ripping West Africa. It can be recalled that the late Patrick
Sawyer also claimed that his sister was suffering from miscarriage
when he took her to the Catholic Hospital in Congotown, until her
death was diagnosed as Ebola related. Sawyer and several nurses
and doctors, lost their lives after that episode.
Similarly, Marthalenes death aftermath has left a trail of infections
and death. Her brother Sonny-Boy also died as wells as many of
those who came in contact with her.
That list includes Wreh Kennedy, one of those who was helping
Marthalene during her ailment.
Infections, Deaths in 72nd, Duncans Neighborhood
Nora Gleyah, a relative of Wreh, told FrontPageAfrica last week,
she is confused about the number of deaths that has come from her
community. Gleyah is worried that more people will get sick in the
area if help does not arrive soon to start contact tracing. When
this girl got sick and died here, other people went there. They were
carrying her to hospital and she died. All those who went there and
helped they are the ones dying now. Marie went and touched that
body, says Gleyah.
In America, Duncan showed no symptoms.
In photographs posted on several Facebook pages of his arrival in
Dallas on Sept. 20, 2014, Duncan is seen holding Youngor Jallah,
35, the daughter of Louise Troh at the waist line and chatting on the
phone, showing no signs of a sick man.
That was until Sept. 24.
On Sept. 25, Duncan sought medical care at Texas Health
Presbyterian Hospital but was sent home. Still gravely ill, Duncans
condition reportedly worsened, and he was taken back to the
hospital by ambulance on Sept. 28. Two days later, on Sept. 30,
2014, Texas health offcials confrmed that his blood tested positive
for Ebola.
His stepdaughter, Youngor, according to the Associated Press
revealed that Duncan was feeling sick enough that he went to the
emergency room. He was reported to have a fever, headache and
abdominal pain, but no diarrhea or vomiting. The hospital said he
told them he'd recently arrived from West Africa, but that he denied
having been around anyone sick. He was released.
Youngor explained to the Associated Press that she went to her
mother's apartment to check on Duncan who had been vomiting
and running with diarrhea the previous night. When she arrived
with crackers, Gatorade and tea, Duncan was too sick to come out
for breakfast, the AP reported.
After she found him fully dressed with socks, shivering in bed
under a thin polyester blanket, Jallah drove to a Wal-Mart to buy
"the warmest blanket I could fnd." When she returned, she noticed
red in his eyes.
Jallah, who the report notes is a nurse's assistant, took Duncans
temperature and blood pressure both of which were unusually
high. This is when she called the ambulance. But she explained
that when the emergency crew came she warned the staff "this man
is from a virus country," at which time they returned in protective
gear and gloves.
Duncans temperature taken before he boarded the plane in
Monrovia as part of precautionary government measures, had been
below normal, reading at 36.3. The normal body temperature is
37 degrees or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. When he arrived in Dallas,
Texas on When Duncan arrived Sept. 20, his temperature was taken
and recorded on a passenger screening form. It was 97.3.
As Duncan lay on a hospital bed in a Texas hospital, murmurs and
declarations of prosecution lingers. Even President Ellen Johnson-
Sirleaf ruffed feathers last week when she told the Canadian
public broadcaster CBC that she would consult with lawyers to
decide what to do with Duncan when he returns home. "The fact
that he knew (he was exposed to the virus) and he left the country
is unpardonable, quite frankly. I just hope that nobody else gets
infected."
Implications for U.S. politics
In the backdrop of all the unfolding drama of the Ebola crisis, the
unexpected reality that may still take a while for anyone to settle is
the likelihood that a menacing virus and a man known only to his
friends, family and loved ones emerged out of the shadows of an
outbreak and on the fringes of possibly becoming an issue in the
competitive midterm elections in the worlds most powerful nation.
U.S. talk radios and television pundits are already weighing the
pros and cons and political ramifcations of Ebola, particularly with
President Barack Obamas critics in the Republican party seizing
the moment in hopes of savoring political points and Obamas
leadership lapses.
Some are already calling for travel bans from countries hit by the
virus into U.S. Michigan Republican CNN reported Sunday that
Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land Friday called for a travel ban or
other restrictions to ensure more infected people do not enter the
country. "I'm a mom. I have kids. People are concerned. Again, this
is a safety and security issue," Land told Michigan Public Radio.
She called on the president and her opponent, Democratic Rep.
Gary Peters, who she is trailing in most polls, to outline a federal
response. "The President needs to lead," Land said. "Congressman
Peters needs to lead -- to come up with a plan to make sure we can
deal with this."
Rob Portman of Ohio, was also quoted as saying that the U.S. needs
to be "more aggressive" in screening people coming to the country
and pointed to recent report that said the Department of Homeland
Security is not equipped right now to deal with a pandemic. "I don't
think we're prepared as we should be," Portman said. "I think this
is another example where the administration was not as engaged
early on as they should have been and now we're playing catch-up."
Despite his complicated life, Duncan still enjoys support from his
family, including his girlfriend, Louse Troh, who says Duncan
never told her that he had made contact with anyone with Ebola.
His half-brother, Wilfred Smallwood, went a stepfather in a CNN
interview to say that he doesn't believe Duncan knew he had Ebola
when he left Liberia for the United States. But he said it isn't out of
the ordinary to come to the assistance of suffering people. Asked
about whether Duncan had contact with Ebola patients, he said,
"(it's) what we do in Liberia -- our tradition is to help somebody
who needs help."
Page 4 |
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014
v
Martin K. N. Kollie, martinkerkula1989@yahoo.com, Contributing Writer
WHEN LIBERIANS BECOME
DESPERATE FOR ECONOMIC
CHANGE: IS SLAVERY AN OPTION?
FrontPage
v
Commentary
EDITORIAL
THOMAS ERIC DUNCANs family have been parading on
U.S. television networks declaring that he was given the green
light from Ebola prior to his departure from Liberia, that he was
declared free of the virus.
THIS MISCONCEPTION appears to be gaining steam from
some corners with many taking a temperature test at the airport
and most business facilities around Monrovia as an actual Ebola
test
MEDICAL EXPERTS all agree that Ebolas a long incubation
period was clearly evident in the Duncan case an incubating
patient can pass through surveillance at airport disembarkation
because that is the last opportunity to limit exposures. The costs
and benefts need to be considered carefully though.
LIBERIAN PRESIDENT ELLEN Johnson Sirleaf told Canadian
public broadcaster CBC on Thursday that she would consult
with lawyers to decide what to do with Duncan when he returns
home. "The fact that he knew (he was exposed to the virus) and he
left the country is unpardonable, quite frankly," Johnson Sirleaf
told CBC. "I just hope that nobody else gets infected. With the
U.S. doing so much to help us fght Ebola, and again one of our
compatriots didn't take due care, and so, he's gone there and ...
put some Americans in a state of fear, and put them at some risk,
and so I feel very saddened by that and very angry with him, to
tell you the truth."
DUNCAN'S FAMILY insists he hadn't mentioned any exposure
to Ebola in Liberia. His girlfriend, Louise Troh says he did
not tell her he had not been with anyone with Ebola. Wilfred
Smallwood, Duncan's half-brother, said Thursday that he doesn't
believe Duncan knew he had Ebola when he left Liberia for the
United States. But he said it isn't out of the ordinary to come to the
assistance of suffering people. Asked about whether Duncan had
contact with Ebola patients, he said, "(it's) what we do in Liberia
-- our tradition is to help somebody who needs help."
BUT CONTRARY TO THE FAMILY members assertion that
Duncan may not have known he had Ebola, all evidence of his
interaction with people prove them otherwise. When Marthaline
Williams, the 19-year-old pregnant woman who Duncan helped
take to the hospital died, she was hemorrhaging from her mouth
according to family sources. Duncan and others, who helped
carry her to the hospital or bathe, braid her hair, wash her
clothes, attend her funeral have either died or are sick. Williams
became sick and died on September 16, by then the deadly Ebola
Epidemic already engulfed Liberia and there had been enough
public education on how to handle a sick person, any sick person
for that matter. Even a baby born today would know about the
consequences of touching a sick person who may be carrying the
virus, so Duncan had no excuse.
BY THE TIME WILLIAMS DIED, Duncan was well on his way
to the US and he probably may have gotten a visa well ahead
of his travel or he may have also probably also lied on his visa
application as the process have become even more meticulous
because of the deadly Ebola outbreak. He cannot say he was not
aware that it was dangerous to handle a sick or person during this
deadly outbreak. What community members said during a fact
fnding visit by FrontPageAfrica last week, is that the family of
Williams even tried to conceal their daughters illness and told
inquisitive community dwellers who were concerned about the
continuous bleeding was that their deceased daughter was in an
accident. When Williams died, her best friend who had visited her
died the next day according to her 15-year-old cousin Angeline
Garway, whose mother also died after coming in contact with
Williams when she was sick.
EVEN PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY became paranoid when
the family quickly got a death certifcate and arranged a funeral
on the same day Williams died something Duncan is said to have
participated in. But like one of his friends said, Duncan may have
been eager to travel to the US and was not willing to spoil that
COMMENTARY
DENIAL IN
DUNCAN FAMILY;
REALITY IN 72ND
NEIGHBORHOOD
I
could not stop laughing my guts out from what I heard few hours
ago. As Liberians anxiously troop their way in huge quantity to
play Diversity Visa (DV) nationwide, one of the applicants who
is a Liberian said he would prefer going to America as a SLAVE
than to live in his own country. Another citizen said he is willing to
walk in the street naked if only he is given an assurance to obtain a
US visa. These are the funniest, but most serious and embarrassing
remarks I have ever heard since this year began. These statements
are making me to ponder and wonder about where our country is
going. How could anyone stoop so low? I guess besides these men,
who have made known their frustrating intentions, many others have
similar thoughts. This shows how desperate our people are to detach
themselves from poverty. It also means they have had enough and
cannot continue to suffer in a small rich country of their own where
hardship is eating them up. Anyone can easily predict Liberias future
judging from present day reality.
How could our people be brought so low? Dont they deserve to
reap a better living condition? Arent they human beings? Must they
continue to undergo deep destitution even when they live in a nation
of abundant natural resources? Were they borne to endure poverty
and economic inequality? Or dont they deserve the social dividends
of the taxes they pay? I really dont intend to answer these critical
questions now, but I shall endeavor to do so after our current fght
against Ebola. The collective destiny of our people seems hopeless
and to even think about being slaves in a foreign land creates a
dark cloud over Liberia. Their persistent pursuit of better livelihood
remains unrealistic as a small portion of self-seeking extortionists
and elitists continues to amass illegal wealth. The primary goal of
these imported bureaucrats and opportunists is to keep our people far
below the economic ladder and compel them to always be followers.
The chain of poor governance must be broken in order to engender
democratic sustainability. An equal and just Liberia can no longer be
overemphasized!
Ebola would not have overrun us if those we stood in long queues
to elect yesteryears were working in our interest. Sadly, this brutal
virus has taken advantage of our poor health system by putting an
end to several lives. It is unfortunate that we have lost 2,069 persons
so far to this destructive disease. This could not have happened if
we had patriotic public servants. Regrettably, such is a time when an
unforeseen disaster is threatening our mutual existence. Our people
must not give up even during this diffcult period of uncertainty.
The fght against ebola depicts a new era of economic and political
transformation. We shall use this situation to decide the fate of those
who are playing gamble with our future. No one goes to the Executive
Mansion or Legislature without the permission of our people.
Therefore, it is important for all of us to rise above Ebola by taking all
necessary precautions. I know it may seem diffcult for some of you
to purchase buckets, chlorine, chloral, and other antigens to protect
yourselves and your families, but please do whatever little you can to
stay safe. This national crisis will soon be over!
From what I see and hear every day, most of our people are willing and
ready to sell their self-respect in order to untie themselves from long-
standing adversity in Liberia. The shackle of poverty has overcome
their determination and endurance. As Ebola increases their existing
trauma, nothing seems more essential to them right now, other than
leaving Liberia to a better destination. No wonder why some of them
would prefer going to the United States as SLAVES. This preference
is not only painful, but very humiliating. All of these frustrations
being expressed by our people simply points to bad governance and
lack of public trust. I hope the status quo will shift towards equality
and justice for all when we fnally defeat ebola. If only we were not
depending on our oppressors to ignite economic revival since 1847,
Liberia would have been an equal and just society. However, it is
never too late to demand inclusive change from a cartel of economic
migrants. The power is in our hands to either remain where we are or
to advance ourselves.
I want to disabuse the minds of all Liberians who feel that reducing
yourself to nothing in order to have an American Visa is an option.
Slavery is not a choice. It keeps your mind, body, and soul in chain till
death. It should not be an option for any Liberian. You are above it and
you must live beyond it. Even though times are hard to an extent our
people lack access to minimum basic social services, but this must not
be a reason to trade human dignity. Unacceptable and Unthinkable!
This nation can rise above its current condition if and only if everyone
begins to protect one anothers interest. Liberia can become a better
place if no one group of people considers it as an inheritance and
family farm. This country can only cultivate tangible developments
if the down-trodden masses become up-trodden. Of course, it is their
right to have access to good food, safe drinking water, better housing,
quality education, improved health care, security, etc. No one, not
even those at the helm of national leadership should see this as a
privilege.
The outcry of our people has been given deaf ears for too long to an
extent that they have been considered noisy minority. The voices
of those who have power to institute a legitimate government as per
our constitution sound useless even when the realities are glaring.
How could this be? I can imagine the misery our people go through
everyday just to survive. They move up and down daily on empty
bellies in search of survival. With Ebola creating an extra economic
burden on them, their hope for a brighter future is gradually crumbling.
Panic and fear have become their closest companions. Self-pity is
eating most of our people up, and if we refuse to take appropriate
measures to guarantee pubic happiness, generations to come will hold
us responsible.
The change we have been yearning for since the very formation
of our nation must begin with the fght against Ebola. After this
countrywide fght, I am confdent that our people shall use every
opportunity available to chart a new course. I hope they will make
good use of their ballots to protest and take control of their own
destiny. The lessons learnt from this current Ebola crisis will be used
as a conscious barometer to reshape Liberia and all who live in it.
The cradle of African democracy (Liberia) must lead this continent
by exceptional examples. This can only be realized if transparency
replaces corruption, if merit substitutes nepotism, if patriotism
surpasses pretense, if justice overcomes injustice, if economic
freedom suppresses political oppression, if equality succeeds
inequality! Liberians are potential people with unique attributes, as
such; slavery is not an option for anyone of them to prefer.
As we continue to combat Ebola together, I hope no one will use
this unfortunate situation to pay his/her mortgage bills in the USA.
This is not time to divert public resources to private accounts. We are
watching with eagle eyes and we will resist any dishonest attempt to
exploit our peoples ignorance this time around.
TEMPERATURE CHECK
IS NOT EBOLA TEST
luck by admitting he had come in contact with a sick person on a
sheet of paper from an airport check which does not go beyond
the sheet of paper. Duncan had is among many Liberians that have
the American dream because they see nothing in a country with
no opportunities for its people and even Ebola would not kill that
dream even if it means transporting a deadly disease. His friend
Moulton Farley admits that this was a long held dream for Duncan
while he was in Ghana as a refugee and it was only a matter of
time. Everybody in that camp was desperate to go to America.
Basically everybody went there (Ghana) for the resettlement but it
didnt work out, he said.
DUNCAN IS NOW in America and has placed his girlfriend
and her children in harms way because he did not tell them the
truth. Back home he has left behind a trail of death that continues,
its only a matter of days that everyone who had contact with
the pregnant woman show sign of the disease yet the denial by
Duncans family is stark hypocrisy and a lack of touch with reality.
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014 Page 5
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DITORIAL TEAM
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE
WORLDWIDE WEB
The Reader's Page
WILSON ZEHYOUE WORKS AT UNITED NATIONS
Ngafuan, I see no truth in your entire speech. That's a complete dried dog
story. Ebola just broke up few months ago. The virus should not be used as
an excuse for your failure . I am quite sure the UN members just laughed at
you for delivering such an abstract report . What better have the government
done after 10 years when Liberians are still living in extreme poorvity .
Let people hear their ears yah, you all have failed Liberia and the Liberian
people . Anybody reading your speech will see corruption in it for sure .
EWORYONWON HARRIS UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA
Did I hear the Accountant saying that gains reversed........which gain if I
may ask? before Ebola president Sirleaf stated that the education system in
Liberia is a mess which implies that it was non existence, the health care
system was non-existent indicative of the fact the ordinary masses were
dying from curable disease while the minister and his family and other
offcials got medical services outside Liberia. Before Ebola there was no
electricity while the minister used government fuel and generator. I can go
on and on and names that there were no reversal of gains but the deplorable
living condition of the people have grown to horrible and acceptable level.
ministers make up to 20k while the few masses that are working make atleast
90.00 but again I and so many will not be surprise if such bold face lie from
a uncompassionate minister and his boss that have no interest in the Liberian
people welfare but to line their pocket.
EDWARD ROYE TOP COMMENTER LIBERIA COLLEGE
Minister, you didn't mention the way forward for the Liberia. the people
u r talking know more about Liberia and the Ebola situation than what u
tried to tell them. we expected to present a blueprint of the way forward
from the Ebola situation. You mentioned nothing about capacitating the
manpower(health) problem. please, lets avoid making people to feel sorry
for us when we can do something about ourselves. Guinea has Ebola amidst
this Ebola crisis, it held investment conference with the Moroccans, air
France continues to fy there and guinea is still attracting other investors to
her country. Why should it be Liberia to tell the world of how bad situation
has become. that we should be begging and telling the people to feel sorry
for us. lets cross this bridge, mehn and stop the crying baby thing. the UN
awaits to receive practical recommendation for the way out of this crisis, do
not try to impress or lecture them
IBRAHIM W. VARMAH STELLA MARIS POLYTECHNIC
Edward, is it the Minister that is making "people to feel sorry for us"? What
will say when US President Obama, UN Secretary General and even the
WHO Director said similar things and continue to say it? Mr. Roye, are
you aware that Liberia is the only hardest hit country whose capital is an
epicenter which is the frst national capital city to ever be hit by an Ebola
outbreak? Air France still goes to Guinea cuz Conakry is not hit ; besides
what will you say of Air Ivoire and Kenya Airways' promise to return?
PLEEBOCOLLINS25 (SIGNED IN USING YAHOO)
Ibrahim W. Varmah yes, Liberia has become the poster child for the Ebola
because of the government negligence. Offcials fying out of the country for
cut on their fnger. Guinea is hit but the word here is competence and ability.
All these cashiers from the US and the ones who cannot read a page trying to
impress us with what they know. What gains is he talking about? The river
toilet in Soniwen or the Western Union line that Liberians need before they
can eat? Everyone of them have failed and now they standing in front of the
Un crying and begging. Our offcials have no dignity.
MAMADEE KAMARA MONROVIA, LIBERIA
Perhaps some people have ears that they don't use to hear. Speaking of
way forward, the Minister said Liberia and other affected countries have
one option and that option is to fght Ebola with all of the resources they
can muster. SN Brussels still comes to Liberia in case you didn't know. Air
Moroc and other airliners will come as well. For some of you doomsayers
and defeatists , what you wish for Liberia is the worst but you are dead
wrong because Liberia will rise and shine in spite of the current Ebola crisis.
The Minister did not deceive the world yesterday, he put it correctly; our
people are dying and we still need more help. Did you want him to say that
we are building rooms in the skies or would you have preferred him lie like
some of you would do at whatever little chance you get? I do not need any
personal favors from Ngafuan but I respect the man because of his love for
his people and will avail myself to defend him when ignoramuses and sheer
non entities who can hardly peep beyond their noses, venture out to impugn
his hard earned reputation.
CLARK DENNIS PACKAGING CLERK AT INTERSTATE BATTERIES
Looking for excuses. What signifcant impact the government made prior to
the Ebola outbreak? The few nurses we had before the Ebola outbreak were
already complaining of less pay why you guys greedy siphon the country
resources, teachers were complaining of unpaid arrears and salaries, price
basic commodities were let loose, the US rate was skyrocketing, economic
crisis was on the increase, there was no electricity, safe drinking water,
unparalleled civil servants income, poor education system, infation, etc. Our
country will survive of this disease but let it not be used as excuse for this
useless government failure
NGAFUAN: LIBERIAS
GAINS PERHAPS ALREADY
REVERSED DUE TO EBOLA
The Editor,
T
he Liberian government has made known its
intentions to prosecute Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan -
to the fullest - if he returns to Liberia because, as
stated by the
government, Mr Duncan LIED on a government issued
travelers questionnaire in regards to helping an Ebola stricken
patient while in Liberia.
Regrettably, this unprecedented posture by a government
against one of its citizens, in the midst of a crisis of unimaginable
proportions, is one of the worst pronouncements ever made.
Due to the government's incompetence, VERY many Liberians
who have the means and opportunity - will fee Liberia ! No
one wants to be a statistic!
The world have watched in horror as Liberians literally die at
hospitals gates some REFUSED entry because the hospitals
are both full and overwhelmed. There are corpses lying in our
streets for days some are only picked up after horrifed and
simultaneously angry residents stage protests ! The National
Ebola Call Center is all but in name ! There seems to be
no coordination between frst responders, ambulances and
hospitals.
Mr Duncan's fateful path to the Texas hospital began with
him offering up himself to AID another stricken Liberian.
Numerous newspapers reports stated that Mr Duncan and
others had to utilize a TAXI to transport the stricken individual
to the hospital. It was also reported that some of those who
together with Mr Duncan came to the aid of the stricken
individual have PAID the ultimate price. I am tempted to ask
the government a simple question: WHERE were the frst
responders ? Their inability to assist in a timely manner led
Mr. Duncan and others to put their lives at great risks!
WHY prosecute Mr Duncan when an incompetent Health
Minister is still at the helm at the Health Ministry ? WHY
prosecute Mr. Duncan when an indicted tax-cheat is still the
Head of the Ebola Task Force ? WHY prosecute Mr Duncan
when dead bodies are left strewn in our streets for days ?
WHY prosecute Mr Duncan when our hospitals have become
literally houses of deaths ? WHY prosecute Mr Duncan when
the President herself
continues to the deny and argues against projections from
reputable international organization regarding the current
extent and future Ebola infection rates? The overall government
INCOMPETENCE amounts to criminal negligence for
which I believe the government must be held accountable.
While the government WAITS with bated breadth to prosecute
a man who is literally fghting for his life I would urge all
well-meaning Liberians to ensure that the government itself is
PROSECUTED for its criminal neglect of the Liberian people!
Benjamin Kofa Fyneah
Bismarck, North Dakota
bfyneah@hotmail.com
DO NOT PROSECUTE
THOMAS DUNCAN;
PROSECUTE THE
FIRST RESPONDERS
The Editor,
T
he rapid spread of Ebola in Liberia that has outpaced Guinea
and Sierra Leone is rooted in the culture of lies, denials,
contempt, the disregard for the sanctity of human life and the
colossal failure of presidential leadership before, after and
now as Ebola is still decimating lives in Liberia.
Patrick Sawyer, and now Thomas Eric Duncan and the lies they told to
get out of Liberia in exporting Ebola to countries helping Liberia fght
Ebola can be attributed to the lies and denials of the presence of Ebola
in Liberia by our government when Ebola frst surfaced in March this
year.
When MSF frst raised the red fag in Lofa when only seven persons
died then in Lofa County, government spin-masters who are now
conspicuously silent were shouting: "No Ebola in Liberia; Liberia is
Ebola."
And where was President Sirleaf then? She was busy racking up
more frequent-fyer mileage globe-trotting and took off to Kuwait
to negotiate oil deals to which she would later bring her son Robert
back in government as the Oil Guru for Liberia. Months later in May,
a noticeably silent President Ellen Johnson, the world's most traveled
head of state, would later jet off to Harvard University and Costa Rica
for the unveiling of life-size statutes of her while her citizens are dying.
If that was not enough, her regime would waste more of our needed
tax dollars to invite her grandson still in high in Alaska to Liberia as
keynote speaker at a national oil conference. Shortly thereafter---and
without formally commenting on the ravaging Ebola that was killing
mostly poor Liberians---Ellen took off again in June for the United
States to attend yet another grandson's graduation from high school
in Florida, and to attend the birthday party on New York's Long Island
of her older sister Jenny' s husband, Estrada Bernard's 81st birthday;
money wasted but could have gone toward fghting Ebola.
Ellen did not wake up from her Ebola-induced political coma till August,
fve months after the frst Ebola deaths and after the deaths from Ebola
of two Liberians from the ranks of the tiny and privileged Americo-
Liberian elite class, Mr. Patrick Sawyer who exported Ebola to Nigeria
and Dr. Samuel Brisbane, Director of the US-built government operated
hospital, not ft to even treat your dog there. It is worth mentioning that
President Sirleaf, in nearly nine years as President, has not had her
blood pressure checked at any Liberian government funded hospital.
She travels to the United States each for the best in medical care paid
for with our Liberian tax dollars; hence, the woeful conditions of the
Liberia's healthcare system.
It is therefore ironic that Ellen, after twice disputing Ebola infections
and deaths projections by the WHO, US-CDC and MSF doctors, is now
telling CNN that Duncan's export of Ebola to the US is "unpardonable
and he would be prosecuted" for intentional lying about not having any
physical contact with any Ebola infected person in Liberia. What do
you expect for him to say? He felt his best chances of beating Ebola
would be in America, especially since the lady he helped was rejected
due to lack of hospital beds to care for Ebola patients. He knew the
authorities would not check to see if he lied. He took his chance at
the expense of innocent Americans and now he is bei g treated in an
American hospital, his sole purpose for lying. And this culture of lies
permeates every fabric of Liberian society including in government and
in religion.
Equally so, Ellen's failed leadership on the outset of the Ebola virus
in Liberia is "unpardonable" and she deserves to resign. Her action
or inaction contributed to the export of Ebola by Sawyer and Duncan
and we Liberians should force her out by staging nonviolent peaceful
protests till she steps down. And then we can prosecute her for corruption
and for confessing to fnancing the Liberian 14-year genocidal civil war
that killed 250, 000 Liberians.
Jerry Wehtee Wion,
Journalist and Political Commentator,
Washington, DC, USA
LIBERIAN GOVT. TO BLAME
FOR EBOLA WIDESPREAD
Page 6 |
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014

F
RONT
PAGE
EBOLA
HENRY COSTA, A PASSENGER ON EBOLA-SCARED UNITED FLIGHT
RECALLS FRIGHTENED SCENE AS LIBERIAN FALLS SICK
I FROZE FOR A MOMENT
I felt scared for the frst time since ebola struck Liberia. I spoke with this guy, he was so nice to me, his little one aged 5 or 6 was so lively and asking so many questions.
All of that sent shocks down my core when I eventually saw him being escorted off the plane as the sick patient; I froze for a moment. Finally we were let out, but then again
we had to be briefy quarantined in the terminal, we flled out forms with contact info, and the CDC folks came and lectured us for a while and then we were given Ebola
literature and we left. Henry Costa, Passenger on United Airlines 998 which was quarantined briefy after a Liberian man vomited on the fight
Monrovia
M
r. Henry Costa,
the host of the
popular Costa
Morning Show
in 102.7 FM who was a
passenger on United Airlines
998, a Boeing 777 from
Brussels to Newark on which
a sick passenger traveling from
Brussels to Newark Liberty
International Airport was taken
to a hospital in New Jersey
on Saturday amid concern
that he could have the Ebola
virus, says the passenger, an
unnamed Liberia, probably had
a case of nausea.
Speaking to FrontPageAfrica
Sunday, Costa said the mood
on the fight was terrifying at
frst as many were unsure what
to make of the situation.
I felt scared for the frst time
since ebola struck Liberia. I
spoke with this guy, he was so
nice to me, his little one aged
5 or 6 was so lively and asking
so many questions. All of that
sent shocks down my core
when I eventually saw him
being escorted off the plane
as the sick patient; I froze for
a moment. Finally we were let
out, but then again we had to
be briefy quarantined in the
terminal, we flled out forms
with contact info, and the CDC
folks came and lectured us for
a while and then we were given
Ebola literature and we left.
The man, whose name was
not released, was traveling
with his daughter on the fight
which left Brussels at about
10 a.m. local time Saturday
with 255 passengers and 14
crew members on board,
according to United Airlines.
His daughter was also taken
to the hospital where it was
subsequently reported that
he had an unrelated illness,
hospital offcials said.
Recalled Costa: We all
left Liberia together on the
Brussels fight from Monrovia.
We departed Brussels at 10
am local time and arrived at
Newark Liberty Airport at
12:05 noon local time.
U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
offcials responded to the plane
when it landed shortly after
noon and took the passenger, a
35-year-old man, to University
Hospital in Newark as a
precaution, said Erica Dumas,
a spokeswoman for the Port
Authority of New York and
New Jersey, which operates
the airport, quoted by the
Associated Press.
The Associated Press quoting
hospital offcials, reported that
that the passengers symptoms
were consistent with another,
minor treatable condition
unrelated to Ebola. Both the
man and his daughter, who
showed no symptoms, were
released and would continue to
be monitored, the hospital said.
The man was discharged from
the hospitals emergency room
feeling well after a full
medical evaluation revealed
no evidence or concern for
Ebola, the C.D.C. said.
Offcials from the C.D.C.
and the Port Authority Police
Department had allowed the
other passengers to leave the
plane at about 1:50 p.m., Ms.
Dumas said. They then had to
pass through customs.


Monrovia
H
uman Rights Activist and former Liberia Minister of
Labor; and Public Works has suggested that he may be
opened to offering his legal representation to Mr. Thomas
Eric Duncan, the man accused of transporting the deadly
Ebola virus to the United States of America.
Woods, responding to inquiries by some Liberians during his recent
visit to Atlanta where he was invited to speak at a forum organized
by the Carter Center and the Emory Universitys schoolsof Ethics and
International Development Studies, said: I will respond positively
to any request for legal representation of Mr. Thomas Duncan if the
Government of Liberia decides to prosecute him.
Premature at this stage
Attorney Woods told the anxious crowd of Liberians and Americans
that it would be premature at this stage to discuss the innocence or
guilt of Mr. Duncan as to whether Duncan knowingly and deliberately
planned to mislead authorities; when he answered no to questions
whether he had contact with Ebola patients, noting that he would rather
at this time focus on proper legal representation, and Mr. Duncans
rights to free and fair trial and the guarantees of due process. This is
also not an attempt to justify any action of Mr. Duncan.
At the appropriate time and when necessary we will review all of the
factual circumstances and deal with the legal issues; not sentiments,
emotions and brinkmanship, Woods declared.
The human rights lawyer also expressed the hope that the governments
pronouncement of its intention to prosecute the ailing Duncan, if he
survives and returns to Liberiais not just another move to pander to
the International Community and particularly the US Government.
Woods said he hopes that by this new found desire and willingness to
prosecute, that the Liberian Government is now ready to end impunity
and proceed to demonstrate respect for the rule of law and address
previous cases of neglect.
Woeful Ebola Response
He also described the governments response to the Ebola epidemic
as woeful, inadequate, and disjointed; emphasizing that in the event
that the government proceeds with this case, we will assemble the
best legal team to put the Liberian government on trial, for failing the
people of Liberia, rather than Mr. Duncan, a victim of institutional
neglect.
We know too well the trail of the countless display of wholesale
impunity, complicity, neglect and abuses that have occurred recently
and over the years under the watchful eyes of this Government. The
list is endless.
Woods noted, I have said repeatedly that we continue to commit
moral sin and ethical transgression against the poor and weak. It is
the poor, weak and powerless that are vulnerable to the caprices of
our governments. We ignore their needs and demands, we reward
their abusers, turn a blind eye to the theft and abuse that deprive them
of basic social services including health care, yet we are anxious to
punish them, even before we gather all the facts. This must stop!
Woods noted that the current situation in Liberia is primarily a
health emergency and primacy must be given to the health expert
to deal with such situation. What has been the response to assure
Liberians and the world that we are serious? Have we conducted the
relevant testing, contact tracing, isolated those who came in contact
with Mr. Duncan and invoke health regulations. We must announce
measures that will re assure our population and give them hope rather
than rush to judgment. This is the mistake we continue to make by
overzealousness and ego desires.
Woods said he hopes the Liberian Government will answer
these critical questions before pronouncing or proceeding with a
prosecution.
In another development, Atty. Woods has maintained that Ebola is a
Global tragedy and requires urgent and decisive global action, noting,
It has no border, sees no race, color or religion. It is a ferocious
enemy seeking to devour the human race and it can only be stopped
by the collective action of everyone.
Woods then reiterated his appeal for a more sustainable engagement
to eradicate the virus, emphasizing a number of actions including the
need to:
Design and develop a contemporary comprehensive health plan and
strategy
Upgrade Liberias antiquated health system
Review, realign and account for donors assistance
Increase treatment centers, access and ensure quick testing and
diagnosis
Provide the population with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)
so they can be able to care for relatives, clean and disinfect their
environments and protect themselves as they await the intervention
of healthcare workers
Set up mobile clinicsprovide more ambulances to transport patients
to health centers
design a strategy to de-stigmatize the virus and people afficted by
the disease
Address the needs of child and adult survivors and orphans of the
virus.
I WILL RESPOND POSITIVELY
WOODS Open to Assisting Thomas Eric Duncan
With Legal case for Transporting Ebola to America
Establish regional and national infectious disease Institutions in the
region that will predict and respond quickly to this situation in the
future
Review and develop a new consensus on our national political and
governance system overall
He has commended the international community for its support
but urged urgency. He also praised President Obama for pledging
whatever federal resources were necessary to treat Mr. Duncan and
ensure that the virus will not spread.
In a related development, Attorney Woods is stressing the need to
celebrate and acknowledge local initiatives by citizens, civil society
organizations, religious institutions and the work of Drs. Brown and
Logan. These are our national heroes and the fght against this virus
will have to be sustained by their tirelessly commitment and sacrifce.
He paid tribute to all who have fallen victim to the virus especially
our health workers, families, relatives and caregivers.
Meanwhile Attorney Woods is concluding his tour of the United
States and is continuing to Europe to launch a series of campaigns to
raise support for Liberia. Woods said following his trip to Europe he
will be returning to Liberia to continue working with his colleagues,
NGOs and the Government in the fght against the deadly virus.
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014 Page 7
RESTRICTING EBOLA COVERAGE
Liberia Adapts New Reporting Policy
Monrovia -
J
ournalists wanting to take
photographs, or conduct
interviews and video
recordings at an Ebola
healthcare facility will now
be required to secure written
permission from the Ministry
of Health and Social Welfare,
Assistant Health Minister and
head of the Ebola incident
management team Tolbert
Nyenswah has disclosed.
Addressing journalists Thursday
at the Ministry of Information
Culture Affairs and Tourism,
Minister Nyenswah said the
new media access policy seeks
to protect the privacy of patients
and healthcare workers and to
protect the health and safety of
both Liberians and international
journalists.
According to him the policy
recognizes the importance of
increasing local, national and
international understanding of the
status of the healthcare system
in Liberia and also identifes the
patients care as the overriding
priority for every healthcare
facility.
The policy covers all interviews
written or recorded on video and
audio tapes that occur within the
grounds of a health care facility
or areas outside the parameter of a
healthcare facility to be restricted,
Minster Nyenswah noted.
Said Min. Nyenswah: This policy
also covers communication from
healthcare facility employees to
any news or commercial media
representative. The policy outlines
procedures for news organizations
to secure approval to take videos
or still photography or conduct
interviews at the healthcare
facility during the period of the
national Ebola response.
The Liberian Health offcial noted
that although the Government of
Liberia supports public awareness
of efforts to stop the Ebola
epidemic due to the extensive
amount of infection and the
extremely contagious nature of
Ebola, safety of those who are
well and care for those who are ill
must be Liberias top priority.
News interviews, flming,
recoding, photography, maybe
conducted only with written
approval from the Ministry
of Health and Social Welfare.
Authorities to approve such
written request may delegate to
county health offcers in the feld
or the county in which the facility
is located. And we will give this
to the Ministry of Information
to make sure that this is given
to foreign journalists coming in
the country and local press so
that we respect the dignity of our
patients. Weve note with great
concerns that photographs have
been taken in treatment centers
while patient are going in and
being attended to by doctors and
will take photographs of those
patients, put them on either the
international wire or local wires.
Thats evading the privacy, the
autonomy and respect and dignity
of patients, he said.
Relatives of Ebola victim Thomas
Eric Duncan who were put under
observation by CDC after they
visited him on the day he was
taken to hospital are still waiting
for an answer about what they
should do 24 hours after they
begged them for help.
Aaron Yah, 43, and wife Youngor
Jallah, 35, yesterday told of their
ordeal in isolation and revealed
that they had not received direct
orders to stay indoors.
Today MailOnline returned to the
family's small apartment to fnd a
family without answers, without
power following violent electrical
storms that brought down lines
and running low on food, water
and diapers for their youngest
child.



F
RONT
PAGE
NEWS EXTRA
HEALTH WORKERS
BATTLING EBOLA STIGMA

Bong-
A
stones throw from
the Leprosy Center
in Suakoka, on top
of a hill, sits the
Bong County Ebola Treatment
Unit, which is managed by the
International Medical Corps.
The ETU uses many preventive
measures to keep its health
workers and people visiting the
center safe from the virus.
Entering the unit, you are
required to wash your hands and
have your boots sprayed with a
0.5 chlorine mixture.
Less than fve steps from the
main entrance that is used to
make your way to the low risk
area, you are required to go
through the same procedure,
and while entering any offces, a
footbath is a must.
Health workers are seen in
suffocating protective suits,
which include gloves, boots,
a face mask, and goggles. It is
required that is worn as they
enter the high-risk area to treat
the sick and save the dying Ebola
patients.
Even with all of these safety
measures in place and despite the
fact that these health workers are
risking their own lives to save
others, communities where they
reside are shunning and rejecting
them, instead of regarding them
as heroes.
Jorgbor Guwor, 53 and a father
of fve, oversees the cleaning
and disinfection of materials
recycled from the high-risk zone
at the IMC ETU.
"We wash the boots, aprons,
and gloves, Guwor said.Not
everything coming from inside
there [the Ebola high-risk zone]
is wash, except the apron, gloves
and boot.
Guwor said some family
members and friends are afraid
of them because of the jobs they
took at the Treatment Unit.
"The public should not stigmatize
us for what we are doing, because
if nobody volunteers, who will
fght Ebola? he asked. Those
who are rejecting us if they get
infested who will treat them?"
As a supervisor, Guwor receives
complaints related to stigma
from his colleagues on a daily
basis.
Guwor, narrating his colleagues
ordeals said that people told
them that health workers are
collecting the Ebola virus to
spread it in their communities.
He further said that leaders in
a town named Sinyea called a
PRANK CALLS HIT
EBOLA CALL CENTER
meeting asking health workers
to quit their jobs or leave the
community.
Recently, in Guinea eight
members of a team trying to
raise awareness about Ebola
were killed by villagers using
machetes.
Sam Kolleh, 44, a resident and
landlord in Monrovia, said he
thinks people who are working
in the ETUs should not mix with
the rest of the community.
"I am not saying this because I
do not appreciate the work they
are doing, he explained. What
all of us are doing is to stop the
spread of the virus.
Kolleh recommended that people
who are working in the ETU
should take up a contract for
two months, stay on a camp, and
return to their community after
being monitor for 21 days.
"There is a high possibility
that these health workers could
infest their community, he
cautioned.We have to see this
thing from all sides.
IMC head of communication
Stuart Sia said that the Treatment
Center run by the IMC is one of
the "safest" places in the country.
"I want them [the public] to
know that this ETU is part of
the safest place in the country,
he said. We are taking so many
preventive measures, washing
our hands frequently, and
footbath," Sia said.
Sia added that misinformation is
responsible for the community
action against health workers,
adding that he sees the health
workers as heroes.
"The more people understand the
actual fact, they will see it that
way, he emphasized. Where
there is no information there is
always fear."
Dieudonnee Eric, a Chadian
health worker who heads
infection control at the IMC
Treatment Unit, said he fears of
being stigmatize if he returns to
his home country.
"You know where I'm coming
from, there is a military regime,
so I don't know what they will do
when I return, he explained. I
may spend my leave in Guinea
because I know people there."
Eric said it is time that other
African nations support the
countries affected by the
outbreak.
If no one do it, and if everybody
is afraid, who will solve this
problem? Eric asked
Liberians should stop
stigmatizing health workers who
are on the frontline in fghting
Ebola, he added.
"They should not stigmatize
them, they should encourage
them. The danger is more outside
there then in here.
The Liberian government has
warned landlords and house
owners to stop evicting health
workers working at Ebola
treatment units.
Deputy Information Minister for
Public Affairs Isaac Jackson said,
the government will not take
kindly such act adding that it
has the propensity to promote the
spread of the virus.
Minister Jackson warns that
government will take strong
action against anybody caught
in such act adding that it
contravenes Chapter 13 and
14.6 of the Public Health Law of
Liberia.
This act on the part of landlords
to ask tenants to leave their
homes because they are working
at ETUs is totally unacceptable
and unpatriotic and government
will not take this lightly,
Jackson added.
It is believe that the Ebola virus
disease epidemic that is having
its toll on West Africa and is
causing stigma for health workers
and its survivors started from a
2 year old boy in Guinea who
died in the village of Meliandou,
Gueckedou in Guinea.
Al-Varney Rogerss alrogers2008@gmail.com 0886304498
Stephen D. Kollie, stephenkollie13@gmail.com 0776329124
GOVERNMENT VOWS TO BLOCK SIM
CARDS OF EBOLA HOTLINE JOKERS
A
mid huge awareness about the deadly Ebola viruswith
the setting up of a specifc Ebola hotline (4455),
many individuals appears not to be using the hotline
for Ebola cases as the National Ebola Response Call
center has been serious hit by many prank calls.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday, Deputy Information
Minister for Public Affairs Isaac Jackson told journalists that the
government has been notifed that the National Ebola Response
Call Center continues to receive dozens of prank calls on a daily
basis from unscrupulous callers within the public domain.
There are those who without any respect for the level of work
that is being done at the Ebola response call center who are in
this unscrupulous habit of calling the people there and try to pass
joke. We have the listings of the numbers and surprisingly there
are even adults, people with strong voice are being calling the call
center and trying to pass a joke when in fact we have serious cases
for the call center to be responding to. Minister Jackson said.
He noted that the action by some citizens to continue passing joke
calls to the Ebola call center is impeding the work of employees at
the call center by obstructing the free fow of serious emergency
calls thus, the Government will not hesitate to go one step further
by asking the GSM companies to block the numbers of the prank
callers.
Said Minister Jackson: People who have serious critical issues
are being hindered by you placing in prank calls. People calling
they joking and diverting attention. Let put it the Liberian way.
You take the call center number the 4455 you calling and asking
how your doing over there. Stop it.If you have nothing serious
to do dont call the 4455 number and waste the people time. The
government will not hesitate to taking this matter with the GSM
companies responsible to block your numbers. I got the numbers
here. We are warning you in a very serious tone. If you dont
desist, if the call center reports to us again that they received calls
that are not serious minded we will defnitely move to the GSM
companies. If you using Lonestar number we will go to Lonestar.
If you using Novafone, we will go to Novafone and if you using
Cellcom we will go to Cellcom and we will block your number.
Page 8 |
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014
T
he spread of the Ebola virus is certainly having multiple negative
impacts on the lives of the Liberian people, their way of life,
their love for one another in their families and communities, their
economy and their politics. The Ebola virus may cause the indefnite
postponement of the 2014 mid-term senatorial election and this situation bears
the potential for confusion and confict if the issue of postponement is not
exhaustively thought through and discussed publicly.
This article is about the negative impact of the Ebola virus on an important
upcoming political process, the 2014 mid-term Senatorial Election. It is
intended for a lively, but informed debate for the purpose of sustaining the
peace by an orderly discourse, in order to avoid unnecessary confusion and
confict based on ignorance or lack of information or hasty conclusion. In
this respect, this article is a contribution to the peace-building and confict
prevention process. It would be a useful exercise for those who have views
counter to those expressed in this article, preferably lawyers,to come forward
with re-joinders in order to provide an opportunity for the Liberian people to
have a clearer understanding of the issue under discussion as an avenue for
the people to be develop a national consensus in dealing with this important
national issue.
There are two prevailing views about the up-coming mid-term senatorial
election. One view is that the election should be held on October 14, this
year and the new Senators installed into offce on the Second Monday in
January 2015, consistent with the Constitution of Liberia. The proponents of
this view maintain that if this does not happen, then Liberia will experience
a constitutional crisis, as the Liberian Senate will not be fully constituted
to carry out its constitutional duties. The other view is that the senatorial
election should be postponed indefnitely, until the spread of the Ebola virus is
brought under control, or stopped or until the government of Liberia develops
the capacity to stop the spread of the virus and Liberia is declared an Ebola
free country, like Nigeria and Senegal. Those who hold this view argue that
the holding of elections in Liberia this year is not possible because all of the
activities associated with the process of holding election run counter to the
advice of the experts, against the spread of the Ebola virus.
The contention of those who are seeking a postponement of the senatorial
election is that the advice carried in the media in Liberia is that individuals
should not touch any person who has symptoms of Ebola, or should not
come in contact with the body fuid of such person. Saliva and sweat are two
body fuids that people come in contact with easily when they fnd themselves
in crowded places, such as training sessions, campaign rallies, debate
sessions, polling stations, assembly for the announcement of election results
and celebrations or protest demonstrations after elections. Therefore, the
proponents of the postponement of the up-coming senatorial election hold the
view that to conduct election while the death rate due to the spread of Ebola
is increasing all over the country, with the experts predicting more deaths
at an exponential rate, in the coming months, if not much is done, will be a
serious threat to the lives of the Liberian people, thereby making the election
an unnecessary risk. This author supports the view that election should be
postponed because Liberia is undeniably the country most negatively affected
by the spread of Ebola in the Mano River Sub-region. The United Nations has
declared this outbreak of the Ebola virus, a threat to international security.
Estimates by world renown virologist have put the estimates of possible
infections by the Ebola virus variously at , twenty thousand persons, four
hundred thousand persons and one million four hundred thousand persons in
the affected countries. Deaths from Ebola in nearly two thousand or more, the
highest among the Ebola affected countries and the highest in world history.
This is a very serious development that makes the issue of the holding of
mid-term senatorial election a luxury. This article will delve into the legal
implication of postponing the holding of the up-coming mid-term senatorial
election in Liberia.
Does the postponement of the up-coming senatorial election present a potential
for a constitutional crisis in Liberia? The answer to this question is a big NO!
Before explaining this answer, it is important to give some clarifcations on
the composition and terms of offce of members of the Liberian Senate. The
Constitution of Liberia provides, Each County shall elect two Senators
and each Senator shall have one vote in the Senate (Article 45 of the
Constitution of Liberia). The Constitution then went further to categorize
the senators; and it did so in the following manner: the Senators shall be
divided into two categories as the result of the votes cast in each County. The
Senator with the higher votes cast shall be Senator of the frst category; and
the senator with the lower votes cast shall be senator of the second category;
provided that no two Senators of the same County shall be placed in the same
category. The seats of the Senators of the frst category shall be vacated at
the expiration of the ninth year. In the interest of legislative continuity, the
Senators of the second category shall serve a frst term of six years only after
the frst elections. Thereafter, all Senators shall be elected to serve a term of
nine years.(Article 46 of the Constitution of Liberia) This means that in 2005,
the senatorial candidates of each county who obtained the highest number of
votes became a Senator of the frst category and the Senatorial candidates
with the next higher number of votes became Senator of the second category.
Generally, Liberians refer to the Senators of the frst category as Senior
Senators and those of the second category Junior Senators.
Given this background, it is important to note that in the 2011 General and
Presidential Elections, only the Junior Senators participated as candidates,
because their term of offce was for six years, which expired on the Second
Monday in January 2012. The Senators who were elected in 2011 and seated
on the Second Monday in January, 2012 shall remain in offce for nine years
ending on the Second Mondayin January, 2022. Their successors shall be
elected in October, 2021 and be seated on the Second Monday in January
2022. The up-coming senatorial election is for those who were categorized
as Senators of the frst category or Senior Senators on the Second Monday
in January 2006. The next group of Senators to be elected in the up-coming
elections shall serve for nine years ending on the Second Monday in January,
2025. Their successorsshall be elected in 2024 and seated on the second
Monday in January 2025. This means that in 2017, there will be no senatorial
election. The election in 2017 shall be for the President and members of the
House of Representatives.
What are the unique functions of the Senate and how does it make decisions?
The Liberian Senate has four basic functions that it performs exclusive of the
House of Representatives. The frst one is to give consent to the nominees of
the President for appointment into public offces.(article 54 of the Constitution
of Liberia) The second function of the Senate is to serve as a court for
impeachment proceedings.(Article 43 of the Constitution of Liberia). The
third is the election and removal of the President Pro Tempore and offcers
of the Senate. In order to impeach any person, two thirds of the membership
of the Senate must concur. (ibid). The percentage of votes required by the
Senate to give consent to the appointment of a presidential nominee is not
stated in the constitution. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that it is
simple majority of the members present. The Constitution does not state the
percentage of votes required for the election of the President Pro Tempore
and offcers of the Senate. But it provides that the removal of the President
Pro Tempore and offcers of the Senate shall be by two thirds majority of the
members of the Senate. (See article 47 of the Constitution of Liberia). It could,
therefore, be assumed that the votes required for the election of the President
Pro Tempore is simple majority. The assumption that it could mean simple
majority if supported by Senate Rule 14 which provides, The President Pro
Tempore shall be elected by a simple majority of the duly seated Senators...
The fourth function that the Senate performs by itself is the adoption of its own
rules and the expulsion of a member for cause. The votes required for this is
two thirds of the membership of the Senate. (Article 38 of the Constitution of
Liberia). All other functions of the Senate are performed with the concurrence
of the House of Representatives, either by simple majority or by two thirds
majority depending on the issue. Article 33 of the Constitution provides, A
simple majority of each House shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business, but a lower number may adjourn from day to day and compel
attendance of absent members.
What is simple majority? According the Blacks Law Dictionary, a
simple majority is a numerical majority of those actually voting. Absent
members, members who are present, but do not vote, blanks, and abstentions
are disregarded. (Blacks Law Dictionary 9th ed.) This means what the
Constitution of Liberia is saying is that the number of Senators required for
the transaction of business is the majority of the Senators actually voting.
This majority could be of thirty Senators or of ffteen Senators or any number
between the two numbers. If a simple majority of each House means a simple
majority of all the members, then according to the Blacks law Dictionary, it
means, a majority of all the actual members, disregarding vacancies; also
termed constitutional majority; majority of the entire membership; majority of
the membership. In this case, it means a majority of the entire members of the
Senate. According to the Constitution of Liberia this means thirty Senators.But
is this what the Constitution of Liberia means when it says, A simple majority
of each House shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business?
Before proceeding any further it is important to look at other concepts of
majority that should be looked at in an attempt to understand the number of
Senators the Constitution of Liberia require for the transaction of business.
The frst is the concept of absolute majority. Absolute majority is a majority
of all those who are entitled to vote in a particular election, regardless of how
many voters actually cast ballots.) Blacks Law Dictionary, 9th ed.) This
would be a vote of a majority out of thirty Senators. This certainly is not
simple majority. The second concept of majority that should be considered
is the concept of super majority. Super majority is a fxed proportion greater
than half (often two-thirds or a percentage greater than ffty percent). (Blacks
Law Dictionary 9th ed.) This is certainly not what the Constitution requires
for the transaction of business by the Senate. A majority in parliamentary
law could mean all members or some subset, such as all members present or
all members voting on a particular question.( Blacks Law Dictionary 9th
ed.) However, the Constitution of Liberia simply states, A simple majority of
each House shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. It does
not say a simple majority of members present or members voting, etc. For the
purpose of this discourse, since it is for public consumption, it is important
to defne the term quorum in legislative term. According to Blacks Law
Dictionary, quorum is the minimum number of members (usually a majority
of all the members) who must be present for a deliberative assembly to legally
transact business. (Blacks Law Dictionary, 9th ed.)
In order to understand what the Constitution of Liberian means for the
Liberian Senate when it says, A simple majority of each House shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, it is important to look
at the procedural rules that govern the Senate in its operation as a legislative
body. Rule Seven of the Liberian Senate is the relevant rule for the topic under
discussion. Rule Seven of the Senate Rules provides, A simple majority of the
Senators who have been duly seated shall constitute a quorum for transaction
of business and a two third (2/3) of said quorum shall be binding
The qualifying words here that distinguishes Senate Rule 7 from Article 33
of the Constitution are, Senators who have been duly seated (seeTHE
LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE: STANDING RULES OF THE LIBERIAN
SENATE, 2009). The word seated means to place somebody or yourself in
a chair or other seat (Encarta Websters Dictionary of English Language).
This could mean those Senators who are present and seated at the call of any
meeting of the Senate, if one relies on the meaning of seated as to place
yourself in a chair or other seat. It could also mean the offcial taking of seats
by Senators at the commencement of their work as Senators. The Blacks Law
Dictionary defnes the word duly to mean, In a proper manner; in accordance
with legal requirements. In the former case a simple majority of the number
of Senators present could constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
In the latter case, the quorum for the transaction of business is the simple
majority of the members who were seated on the frst day of offcial business
or the entire membership of the Liberian Senate.
The fact that Rule 7 of the Senate rules says that a simple majority of those
seated could form a quorum for the transaction of business, suggests that there
could be a situation whereby Senators are not present and sitting in their seats
at the call of a meeting and in that case Senate deliberations are limited to
those present and sitting in their seats, or there could be a situation whereby
some Senators are elected but not yet sworn into offce ( as the case may be
following a mid-term election) thereby restricting deliberations of the Senate
only to those Senators who have been sworn into offce; or there could be a
situation whereby some Senators are unseated with some remaining seated,
thereby limiting deliberations of the Senate to those who remain seated. In
other words seated members of the Senate could be the full membership in
accordance with the Constitution including those of both category A and those
of category B or a lesser number of each category. The words seated members
could also be restricted to only members of one category of the Senate, if
the other category is not seated. What should be underscored is that Rule 7
provides for a fraction of the Senate to transact the business of the Senate
and that fraction is the duly seated members. The other fraction is the none
seated members. This fraction is not qualifed to participate in the transaction
of business of the Senate. In other words, the framers of the rule contemplated
a situation whereby there could be seated members and non-seated members.
Without this logical conclusion, the word seated would be meaningless. If this
was not what the framers of Rule 7 meant, then the rule could have just said
members of the Senate, without the use of the word seated.
The question is whether a simple majority of ffteen members of the Senate
can transact business, where there are only ffteen duly seated members of the
Senate? The answer to this question is in the affrmative. The Constitution
contains a clause that provides for continuity of the work of the Senate, where
ffteen members of the Senate are not seated or are out of offce due to the
expiration of their term. It conceived of the possibility of a delay in the holding
of an election which could then cause a delay in the seating of new members of
the Senate, by providing the qualifying wordslegislative continuity in article
46 of the Constitution. Article 46 of the Constitution of Liberia provides,
In the interest of legislative continuity, the Senators of the second category
shall serve a frst term of six years only after the frst elections In other
words legislative continuity is the purpose for the Constitution creating two
categories of the Liberian Senate and staggering their terms of offce. Also, it
can be concluded that this provision was meant to prevent a break in the work
of the Senate caused by a senatorial election.
Given that the same clause is not contained anywhere in the Constitution
of Liberia when it comes to the House of Representatives, there can be no
other logical way of thinking about this clause of the Constitution, other
than to conclude that it was meant to allow for ffteen Senators to always be
present for performing the functions of the Senate. Therefore, there can be
no crisis, if senatorial elections are delayed, unless such delay continues for
six consecutive years. It is only a delay to have senatorial elections for six
years from now on that could lead to the senate being totally vacant, thereby
presenting a constitutional crisis as there would be no member of the Senate,
because the term of every current member of the Senate would have expired.
Since the House of Representatives alone cannot perform the functions of the
Legislature, then, the absence of all members of the Senate in the Legislature
due to a delay in the holding of senatorial election for a period of six years
would defnitely lead to a constitutional crisis.
So it should be clear to everyone reading this article that both the Constitution
of Liberia by placing emphasis on legislative continuity and Rule 7 of
the Standing Rules of the Liberian Senate, by placing emphasis on seated
members of the Senate, provided room for a fraction of the Liberian Senate
to transact the business of the Senate. Hoping that the argument that ffteen
members of the Senate can transact the business of the Liberian Senate in now
clear and understood by the readers of this article, the remaining issue is that
requires discussion is what would be the status of the ffteen members of the
Liberian Senate who should be standing for the mid-term election, if the said
election is delayed beyond the Second Monday in January, 2015, the time for
the legislature to assemble for the commencement of their duties for the year.
What happens to the ffteen members of the Senate, whose seats are up for
election this year, if elections are delayed until their current term of offce
expires on the Second Monday of January, 2015? There is no precedent for
such a situation in the legislative history of Liberia. Therefore, it is important
to look to the Constitution of Liberia for an answer. The Constitution contains
no provision for what should be done in the case of a delay or the impossibility
of holding election on time. It only provides what should be done in the case of
a vacancy for an elected position, if such position becomes vacant as a result of
resignation, removal, or impeachment. In the case of the President, a vacancy
is addressed by relying on the succession clause of the Constitution of Liberia.
In the case of a member of the legislature, a vacancy is addressed by the
holding of by-election in ninety days. But there is no provision for what
happens if a legislative election is delayed and the term of a legislator expires.
Can the legislature pass a joint resolution to postpone the time for the holding
of an election? The answer is No. There is no provision of the Constitution
that gives the legislature this authority. Can the President postpone the holding
of an election? The answer is a qualifed Yes, taken into consideration the
extraordinary power of the President during a state of emergency. The reason
is that while the Constitution does not clearly provide for the President of
Liberia to postpone an election, during the existence of a state of emergency,
properly proclaimed, the President has the authority during such period to
suspend certain constitutional rights. She has the right to suspend the right
of free movement, the right of free assembly and other rights in her effort
to address the problem for which a state of emergency exists. The Election
Commission can then schedule election when a state emergency is lifted. So,
while the Constitution does not provide for a postponement of election by the
President, it provides for suspension of rights, safe for the right to the writ of
habeas corpus.
Can the term of offce of the ffteen Senators whose term of offce expires
in January 2015 be extended? The answer is NO. The reason is that the
Constitution does not provide for the extension of a term of offce of an elected
offcial by any means other than succeeding himself by wining of another
legislative election. Neither the President nor the Legislature has that authority
under the Constitution of Liberia to extend a term of a member or members of
any division of the legislature. The President of Liberia may extend a regular
session of the legislature beyond the date of adjournment or call a special or
extraordinary session of that body to discuss or act upon matters of national
emergency and concern.( see article 32 of the Constitution of Liberia). This
extension does not cover the term of offce. The extension of a term of offce
can only be done by a constitutional amendment. However, the Constitution
of Liberia prohibits any constitutional amendment during the existence of a
state of emergency. It provides at Article 87 as follows: no constitutional
amendment shall be promulgated during a state of emergency. Therefore, the
proper thing that should happen is that at the end of the term of offce of
the ffteen Senators whose seats are up for election, the said Senators should
vacate their seats as there would be no constitutional or statutory justifcation
for them to hold their seats indefnitely until the mid-term senatorial election
is held. By the Second Monday in January, 2015, these Senators, the Senior
Senators would have served their full nine year term. They must, as a matter of
law, therefore, vacate their seats at that time. They have a right to run for those
seats again and they may win, but they have no legal right or justifcation for
holding those seats beyond their term of offce.
Some members of the public have been concerned about what should happen
to the salaries and benefts of the Senators whose seats would be vacant
beginning on the Second Monday in January, 2015, if elections are not held
before that time. Since the government is scrambling for money to deal with
the Ebola virus, it would be in the national interest to re-direct the salaries
and benefts of those Senators whose seats would be vacant to combating the
Ebola virus.
In the light of what have been said in this article, all Liberians should focus
their attention on striving hard to stop the spread of Ebola in Liberia because
this virus has the potential of drastically reducing the population of Liberia
and negatively impacting everything in the country. All other issues of national
importance are, in the mind of this author, secondary in the face of the very
serious threat posed by Ebola. There is no legal basis for the fear that the
postponement of the senatorial election will create a constitutional crisis.
ALL LIBERIANS MUST FIRST UNITE TO SAVE LIBERIA FROM
EBOLA. ALL OTHER ISSUES INCLUDING THE MID-TERM
SENATORIAL ELECT MUST BE CONSIDERED SECONDARY
UNTIL EBOLA IS DEFEATED. THERE CAN BE NO LIBERIA
WITHOUT LIBERIANS. THEREFORE, LETS FIRST STOP EBOLA
FROM LIBERIANS.
GONGLOE MAKES THE CASE
AN ARGUMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT
OF THE MID-TERM SENATORIAL ELECTION

Tiawan Saye Gongloe, tsgongloe2011@gmail.com, Contributing Writer
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014 Page 9
Monrovia
W
hen the government of
Liberia through Binyah
Kesselly, Chair of the
Board of the Liberia Airport
Authority(LAA) announced that it would
be bringing charges against Thomas Eric
Duncan, the man blamed for transporting
the deadly Ebola Virus to the United States
of America, Liberians both at home and
in the Diaspora were divided. While some
have pointed the blame on Duncan for being
less than forthcoming about his contact
with an Ebola patient prior to his departure
from Liberia. Others say the government is
equally to blame for not having a suitable
health system and adequate response team
to cater to the pregnant woman, Marthaline
Williams, from whom, Duncan is alleged to
have contracted the virus.
Now comes the state of Texas, declaring that
it too is contemplating bring charges against
Duncan who is still clinging on to life at a
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
The Dallas County District Attorney's
Offce according to US media reports says
it is looking into whether charges should be
brought against Duncan.
"We are looking into whether or not Duncan
knowingly and intentionally exposed the
public to a deadly virus, making this a
criminal matter for Dallas County," said a
spokesperson.
Charges in the case would be similar to those
brought against an individual who knew he
or she was HIV positive and intentionally
had unprotected sex with others, the Dallas
DA's offce quoted by the Associated
Press. Duncan, came to the U.S. on a fight
departing Liberia on September 19 and
arrived in Dallas on Sept. 20.
Duncan helped carry Williams who according
to family sources was six to seven months
pregnant and unable to walk. Duncan is said
to have helped the family, which happens
to own the apartment he was staying at in
Monrovia carry the sick Williams who was
bleeding into a taxi and accompanied them
to the clinic and upon rejection he and others
brought her home. Duncan is also said to have
helped carry the sick woman into her house,
which is on the far end from his apartment.
Williams brother Sunnyboy, the woman who
helped care for her while she was sick Marie
Wreh and an aunt have all died after coming
in contact with the same woman.
Duncan lie stems from his answers on a
health questionnaire given him at the Roberts
International Airport before boarding the
Brussels Airline fight to Brussels then a
United Airlines Flight to Washington Dulles
before heading for Dallas, Texas.
The US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has already revealed in a
teleconference Thursday that they will be
investigating whether Duncan lied on the
RIA questionnaire.
Duncan checked no to all questions asked
concerning any contact with an Ebola stricken
person, though he had helped someone who
later died.
But since Williams was never tested for
Ebola as the family buried her quickly with
the help of members of the community, it
would be diffcult to say whether Duncan
actually knew the woman died as a result of
Ebola, which he is now infected with.
Weve been interacting because none of us
in the yard knew. We have all been visiting
each other and no one knows that they have
the virus, said Nora Gleyah. Really, it is
proven it is Ebola because all those who went
near the body have started getting sick and
they are dying.
Gleyah says when the pregnant woman died
there was no Ebola test done on the body and
the family with the help of some community
members quickly buried her.
They went and got some kind of quick death
certifcate and did the burial, Ebola people
never came. This is nothing small, she says.
Pushing for prosecution
While Patrick Sawyer was the frst Liberian
to transport the Ebola virus to Nigeria with
the latter being Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan, it
seems the RIA is taking a further step to deter
people from risking the lives of other citizens.
Maritime Commissioner Beyah Kesselly
Boss said the LAA is in consultation with
the Ministry of Justice to seek the possibility
of prosecuting Mr. Duncan for what he calls
false declaration.
Said Mr. Kessely: There are couples of things
we need to make abundantly clear. At the
airport, we have a health care questionnaire
that we developed in collaboration with the
international SOS group and with the center
for disease control.
It has actually been revised a number of
times where there is a declaration of all of
the activities you have done within the last
21 days. After we take your temperature
your name and everything else we put on
top of the form you have to fll in and you
have to use the honor system. It is virtually
impossible for the government of Liberia and
any of you sitting in this room or listening
to my voice to follow somebody every single
day and know whether or not they come in
contact with any individual who has Ebola.
We ask you, have you come in contact with
anyone who has had any of the symptoms?
Its a whole list of questions. To all of these
questions Mr. Duncan answered no.
He asserted that while the government wishes
Mr. Duncan a speedy recovery, the Minister
of Justice is of the opinion that he can be
prosecuted and the ailing Liberian will face
justice should he return to Liberia.
Knowingly making false declaration is not
a joke. We ask you these things because we
dont want a police state where everybody
is put under a hundred percent quarantine.
Where we can follow you every minute of
the day to monitor every movement that you
make. We expect people to do the honorable
thing but we also want to unequivocally
state that if you leaving the country you are
screened there separate times, he said.
Liberias Assistant Minister for Preventive
and Curative Services Tolbert Nyenswah
said Duncan was a driver for Safeway Cargo,
a subsidiary of FedEx and lives in the 72nd
Community.
Minister Nyenswah told reporters Thursday
that Duncan worked with Safeway Cargo for
a year and two months and that his last day at
work was on September 4, 2014.
LIBERIA-TEXAS TWO STEP:
THE CASE AGAINST THOMAS DUNCAN
F
RONT
PAGE
EBOLA
With both Liberia and the U.S. State of Texas Weighing charges against man
who took Ebola virus to America, will it hold up in the court of law?
RELAPSE?
American 'cured' of Ebola back in isolation after just two
weeks: Fears for doctor as he is readmitted to hospital
suffering from a persistent cough and fever
T
he third US patient to
be treated for Ebola
on American soil has
been isolated again
in hospital after suffering a
persistent cough and fever.
Dr Rick Sacra, 51, who
contracted the deadly virus
while working in Liberia was
readmitted to UMass Memorial
Medical Center in Worcester,
Massachusetts, two weeks
after he was cleared.
He was treated at the University
of Nebraska Medical Center
for the infection last month and
was released.
Doctors are said to be
performing tests on him to
make sure Ebola has not
returned, however they claim
he has not relapsed - also
stressing that the public should
not be concerned.
Medical Director Dr Phil Smith
told WCVB: 'Even though the
likelihood of Dr. Sacra having
a relapse of Ebola is extremely
low, doctors will run tests to be
100 percent sure.
'Because of his recent battle with
the Ebola virus, his immune
system is compromised. The
symptoms he has are indicative
of a respiratory illness and are
not those of someone suffering
from Ebola,' he added.
The hospital confrmed they
had a patient in isolation,
adding that they had a 'travel
history to and from West
Africa', but confrmed it was
not an Ebola case.
Peggy Thrappas said in a
statement: 'We are working
closely with the Centers
for Disease Control and the
Massachusetts Department of
Public Health, and carefully
following specifc plans and
guidelines for the management
of patients with suspected
Ebola.'
At the end of September,
following his release from
hospital, Dr Sacra told
reporters he wanted to return
to the disease-ravaged areas to
help fght the outbreak.
Monrovia-
T
he Shia Muslim community in Liberia over the weekend
dedicated a mosque and school building in the Brewerville
community of Jah Tondo outside Monrovia.
The mosque and schoolAhlul-Bayte (AS) Mosque and
School or Family of the Holy Prophet Mohammed Mosque and
Schoolis dedicated to unity among all faiths, as well as Liberians
in general.
The mosque and school project was sponsored by a Muslim foundation
dedicated to the Shia doctrine, the World Assembly of Ahlul-Bayte
in London, led by a British Muslim, Seyeed Mohammed Musawi.
An American frm, Comfort Aid International, also contributed
immensely to the project.
The project cost more than US$400,000.
Speaking at a dedicatory prayer service on Saturday, the head of
the Ahlul-Bayte (AS) Foundation, Sheikh Askary Kromah said the
sponsors of the project were willing to initiate similar projects across
the country but only if Muslims held together.
Sheikh Kromah said though the mosque and school were built to
promote Islamic education in Liberia, such objective could not be
obtained amid disunity.
We have to stop pointing fngers to one another. That cannot make
us to forge ahead. We need to come together to move ahead, Sheikh
Kromah stressed.
Let all of us do what he or she wants to do, but we should do that
with the understanding that we are all one people, he said.
Sheikh Kromah said that the school would be open to all, including
non-Muslims, adding that it will begin as an elementary school with
the hope of becoming a senior high school in the future.
He said sponsors of the project had committed themselves to providing
scholarship program that will be open to everyone, regardless of their
religion and tribe.
Construction work was done by the KNZ Construction Firm, with its
Chief Executive Offcer Zein Jaffal underwriting a signifcant portion
of the construction himself.
There were also contributions from the Nyomah Construction
Company, a contractor dealing in tiles and a local wood dealer,
Abuboakai Kromah.
Mr. Jaffal of KNZ said his construction frm had decided to come in
when he noticed that the then proposed project was being done in
good faith and sincerity.
The budget for the school was small and could not complete the
entire project, so we said we will add what will be short in the budget.
As we were talking to Sheikh Askary [Kromah] we saw that he
had a good vision for the area because he wanted to promote Islam
and Liberia in general, Mr. Jaffal said while on a tour of the school
facility.
Mr. Jaffal added that his frm was willing to assist in the setting up
of the school and scholarship to children whose parents would not
afford.
The new mosque is the frst Shia mosque in Liberia.
MUSLIMS DEDICATE MOSQUE,
SCHOOL IN BREWERVILLE
FINANCE MINISTER KONNEH TO MAKE
CASE FOR MORE EBOLA AID TO LIBERIA
Washington -
A
small Liberia delegation headed by the Minister of Finance and
Development Planning, Hon. Amara M. Konneh will present the
countrys case for more fnancial resources to continue the fght against
the spread of deadly Ebola virus, as well as fnance Liberia Economic
Stabilization and Recovery Plan at the upcoming Annual Meetings of the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which convene in Washington
DC on October 10-12, 2014.
A dispatch issued by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning says
Minister Konneh will be accompanied by Dr. Mounir Siaplay, Deputy Minister
for Economic Management, Mr. Bernard Jappah, Public Financial Management
Reforms Coordinator, and Sidiki Trawally, Director of Media Services.
Minister Konneh and team will be joined by the Governor of the Central Bank
of Liberia, Dr. J. Mill Jones and Deputy Governor Boima Kamara, as he tells
the Liberian story with the objective of securing needed resources to address the
current Ebola crisis, fund the Governments fscal defcit (including extra spending
pressures in the wake of anticipated budget shortfall as well as funding supports for
the post-Ebola recovery efforts) and induce macro-economic stability.
Moreover, Minister Konneh will represent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on an
Ebola Roundtable, which will include West African leaders, fnance ministers, the
President of the World Bank and Managing Director of the IMF, multilateral and
bilateral partners, as well as other business leaders and philanthropic organizations.
This high level event is expected to generate more publicity on the Ebola situation
in Liberia, while mobilizing funding to mitigate the fscal gap and to continue the
fnancing of pipeline and current projects, as enshrined in the post-Ebola Recovery
Plan.
The 2014 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank Group (WBG) will bring together central bankers, ministers of fnance and
development, private sector executives and academics to discuss issues of global
concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic
development and aid effectiveness.
Seminars, regional briefngs, press conferences and other events focused on the
global economy, international development and the world's fnancial system will be
held. About 13,000 people are expected to attend this year's meetings.
Page 10 |
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014
IN BRIEF
SOMALI, AFRICAN
TROOPS RECAPTURE KEY
PORT FROM SHEBAB
Mogadishu (AFP) -
S
omali troops
backed by African
peacekeepers on
Sunday recaptured the
last major port in Somalia held
by the Shebab, removing a
key source of revenue for the
Islamist militia.
The move was another blow
for Al-Qaeda's main affliate in
Africa and came just a month
after the death of their leader
Ahmed Abdi Godane in a US
air and drone strike.
The African Union's AMISOM
force, which draws 22,000
soldiers from six nations, said
Barawe, 200 kilometres (120
miles) southwest of Mogadishu,
fell without "much resistance
from the terrorist group."
"The terrorists used the port
there to import arms as well
as receive foreign fghters into
their ranks," an AMISOM
statement said.
F
RONT
PAGE
WORLD NEWS
BRAZILIANS VOTING IN
NAIL-BITER ELECTION
FOR PRESIDENT
UKRAINE MILITARY SAYS
SEPARATISTS VIOLATE
MONTH-OLD CEASEFIRE
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -
V
oters across Brazil
were casting ballots
Sunday in the most
unpredictable
presidential election in decades
and the frst since the end of an
economic boom underpinning
the leftist Workers' Party's 12-
year rule.
As President Dilma Rousseff
seeks a second term, voters
are weighing whether the
socioeconomic gains of the
last decade are enough to reject
the candidacies of a popular
environmentalist and a pro-
business social democrat, who
both promise to jump-start the
economy after four years of
lackluster growth.
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine
(Reuters) -
U
kraine's military
accused Russian-
backed separatists
of again violating a
month-old ceasefre on Sunday,
saying their forces came under
attack in several parts of the
east including the airport at the
big city of Donetsk.
Two Ukrainian service staff
were killed in the past 24
hours and six others were
wounded, military spokesman
Volodymyr Polyovy told a
news conference in the capital
Kiev, adding: "The terrorists
are violating the terms of the
ceasefre."
AFRAID OF POLICE CRACKDOWN
HONG KONG (Reuters) -
P
ro-democracy
protesters remained in a
tense stalemate with the
Hong Kong government
late on Sunday after authorities
warned they were determined to
get the Asian fnancial hub back
to work after more than a week
of unrest.
Some protesters left the Mong
Kok area of the city, pulling
back from the scene of recent
clashes with those who back the
pro-Beijing government. But
many hundreds more remained,
disputing reports on social media
that their leaders had called for
them to leave.
"We're afraid there may be a
police crackdown, so we came
here to support. The more people
we have, the harder it is for the
police to clear," said Lester
Leung, 25, who said he was
ready to stay on the streets all
night.
Fearing a crackdown as city
leaders have called for the streets
to be cleared so businesses,
schools and civil servants
could resume on Monday, other
protesters who have paralyzed
parts of the former British
colony with mass sit-ins also
pulled back from outside Hong
Kong Chief Executive Leung
Chun-ying's offce.
By late Sunday evening, Reuters
reporters estimated around
4,000 protesters had gathered in
Admiralty, the main area they
have occupied over the past week
at the heart of the government
district - far fewer than rallied
there the previous day.
Over the past week, tens of
thousands of protesters have
demanded that Leung step down
and that China allow them the
right to vote for a leader of their
choice in 2017 elections.
Facing separatist unrest in far-
fung Tibet and Xinjiang, Beijing
is fearful that calls for democracy
in Hong Kong could spread to the
mainland. The Communist Party
leadership has dismissed the
protests as illegal, but appears
to have left it to Leung and his
government to fnd a solution.
"NO RETREAT"
In Mong Kok, a gritty, working
class neighborhood where
scuffes broke out between
protesters and supporters of the
government over the weekend,
prompting police to use pepper
spray and batons, some in the
pro-democracy camp mixed
defance with pragmatism.
"We want everyone to leave
because we don't want to see
any more bloody conficts ...
we will come back again if the
government doesn't respond (to
calls for direct talks)," said Tang
Sin-tung, a 16-year-old high
school student.
While some packed up and left,
several hundred supporters stood
their ground, shouting "Mong
Kok, Mong Kok, never retreat,"
watched by as many police.
Many residents have criticized
ineffective police handling of
the recent unrest in Mong Kok,
a traditional stronghold of Hong
Kong's notorious organized crime
gangs, or Triads. Police have had
to defend their tactics and denied
allegations of any collaboration
between the security forces and
gang members - some of whom
were arrested after altercations
with protesters.
"We've been pepper-sprayed.
We've been tear-gassed. We've
seen Triads. Now we're not
afraid of anything," said Kit
Lee, 41, who was among those
remaining in the narrow streets
of the neighborhood, one of the
most densely populated on the
planet.
ECONOMY FEARS
Under pressure from the
government, and from
businesses, shop owners and
taxi drivers, the protest groups
had said they would dismantle
barricades to key government
buildings to allow civil servants
to get to work on Monday.
The student activists, established
protest groups and many ordinary
Hong Kong residents present
Beijing with one of its biggest
political challenges since it
crushed pro-democracy protests
in and around Tiananmen Square
in 1989.
But they remained defant in
saying they would not call
off their action. At a news
conference late on Sunday,
student leaders said there was no
agreement yet with government
offcials for any future dialogue
to try and end the deadlock.
"It's clear there is still discrepancy
between the expectations
from both parties towards the
dialogue," said Lester Shum,
vice secretary of the Hong Kong
Federation of Students. "If the
government resorts to clearing
the site or using force, there will
be no way for dialogue."
The protests have disrupted
local businesses and helped
wipe close to US$50 billion off
the value of shares on the Hong
Kong stock exchange. Financial
Secretary John Tsang wrote in
a blog that Hong Kong was at a
critical moment and its "fnancial
foundations and core values have
inevitably been shaken."
Economists at ANZ predicted
the political deadlock would
eventually hit business sentiment
and consumer confdence in the
city, which is also a gateway for
many international investors to
mainland China.
KURDS BATTLE ISLAMIST MILITANTS
CLOSING IN ON SYRIAN TOWN
MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters)
-
I
slamist militants attacking a
Syrian border town fought
some of their heaviest battles
so far with Kurdish forces on
Sunday, a local offcial said, and
fve people were wounded inside
Turkey by a projectile fred across
the frontier.
Islamic State, an al Qaeda
offshoot, is trying to seize the
predominantly Kurdish border
town of Kobani and has ramped
up its offensive in recent days
despite being targeted by U.S.-
led coalition air strikes aimed at
halting its progress.
On Sunday its forces battled
Kurdish fghters for control
of Mistanour, a strategic hill
overlooking the town, and intense
shelling and heavy machine gun
fre were audible around Kobani,
known as Ayn al-Arab in Arabic.
"The situation in Kobani has been
bad in the past three days and
today is the worst," Idris Nassan
said by telephone.
"The clashes are very heavy,
there is bomb shelling, they are
trying hard to get inside the city
of Kobani. The YPG is responding
strongly," he said, referring to
Kurdish forces.
He said the Islamic State fghters
were only one kilometer (half a
mile) away to the south east of the
town.
Just across the border from
Kobani, at least fve people were
wounded in a Turkish village
close to the Mursitpinar crossing
when a projectile from the fghting
slammed into a house, witnesses
said.
Turkish territory has repeatedly
been hit by stray fre since the
Kobani fghting erupted more than
two weeks ago and Turkey has
vowed to defend its borders. But
up until now it has been reluctant
to intervene against Islamic State.
Witnesses said the fve victims,
all from the same family, did not
appear to be critically wounded.
On Saturday a Turkish special
forces offcer was also lightly
wounded by shrapnel, the media
and local sources reported.
A translator with the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party (PYD)
inside Kobani said Islamic State
forces were hitting Mistanor hill
with tank and mortar fre as they
tried to seize high ground from
which they could dominate the
streets below.
Kurdish forces had so far checked
the advance, Parwer Mohammed
Ali told Reuters, adding that
there had been fresh airstrikes on
Islamic State positions overnight.
"They struck three or four times
in the vicinity of Mistanour hill,"
he said.
The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights,
HONG KONG DEMOCRACY PROTESTERS START TO PULL BACK
which monitors the confict, said
at least 11 Kurdish fghters and
16 Islamic State insurgents were
killed in the overnight clashes.
IRAQI TOWN RECAPTURED
The United States and its Western
and Arab allies have carried out
air strikes against Islamic State
positions in Syria and neighboring
Iraq, where the Sunni Islamist
group swept through huge areas of
Sunni Muslim northern provinces
in June.
Iraqi security offcials and
witnesses said on Sunday that
Islamic State fghters seized back
half of Dhuluiya, 70 km (45 miles)
north of Baghdad, just a day after
Iraqi military forces recaptured
the town on the banks of the river
Tigris.
Despite the U.S.-led military
intervention, a military stalemate
exists in Iraq, with territory
regularly switching hands between
the Iraqi government and Islamic
State.
In Syria, Islamic State launched its
new offensive to capture Kobani
two weeks ago. It has seized
hundreds of villages around the
town, forcing 180,000 people to
fee into Turkey.
Families have taken up residence
in muddy felds, abandoned shops,
parks and mosques, adding to
Turkey's mounting humanitarian
crisis, which has seen refugee
numbers in the whole country
swell to 1.5 million since the
Syrian war began.
Frontpage
Monday, October 6, 2014 Page 11
Sports
SPORTS
DI MARIA: LEAVING
REAL MADRID FOR
MANCHESTER UNITED A
STEP UP FOR MY CAREER
JUVENTUS SUFFER
BARZAGLI SETBACK
A
ngel Di Maria
says that leaving
Real Madrid for
Manchester United
this summer has been a boost to
his career.
The Argentina international
winger had been pushed down
the pecking order at the Santiago
Bernabeu before the Red Devils
swooped in with a British-record
77 million bid.
Di Maria has settled in superbly
to Old Trafford, scoring his third
Premier League goal in Sundays
2-1 win over Everton, and he is
convinced that the transfer was
the right decision for him.
Speaking before Sundays
match, he told MUTV: "Leaving
a club like Real and coming to as
big a club as Manchester United
makes you grow as a player
and helps you progress in your
career.
"It was a very important moment
and I'm really happy here.
"With every day that goes by,
I feel much more relaxed and
settled here. I've got a house and
my family are happy.
"Since the day I arrived, people
have shown real warmth towards
me at every corner kick or free
kick, or even during open play,
every time I have the ball I feel
they're right behind me. That
always makes you feel even
happier.
"Let's hope things go well for me
so I can be here for many years
to come."
J
uventus defender Andrea
Barzagli will be out for
at least a month after it
was confrmed he has
suffered a stress fracture of his
right heel.
The 2006 World Cup-winner
has yet to feature this season
after sustaining the problem
ahead of the new campaign.
Head coach Massimiliano
Allegri has been patient with
the defender's recovery, but
Sunday's news comes as a
further setback.
In a brief statement released
on their offcial website, Juve
confrmed that Barzagli had
seen a specialist and was
suffering from a stress fracture.
Barzagli will now suspend his
planned recovery programme
and will continue treatment and
specifc training for the next 30
days.
Juventus take on Roma at home
on Sunday before a break of
almost two weeks due to the
international fxtures.

GREAT' DE GEA WON THE GAME FOR
MANCHESTER UNITED - VAN GAAL
M
anchester United manager Louis van Gaal
lauded David de Gea after the goalkeeper's
late heroics helped his side to cling onto a
2-1 Premier League win over Everton on
Sunday.
The Spaniard kept out Leighton Baines's frst-half penalty
at Old Trafford before producing a string of stunning
saves in the dying moments as the Red Devils held on to
secure a second successive victory for the frst time under
Van Gaal.
Radamel Falcao scored the all-important goal, his 62nd-
minute strike coming after Steven Naismith had cancelled
out Angel Di Maria's opener.
But it was De Gea drawing plaudits from Van Gaal, who
told BT Sport: "When you save a penalty and make three
magnifcent saves in the dying minutes, you are great. We
won the game because of that."
Di Maria's performance was impressive, too, with the
Argentine continuing his stunning form since joining
from Real Madrid in August.
United boss Van Gaal added in his post-match media
conference: "When you set up and score goals, what more
can you ask?
"When you do that every week - and he does - we have to
be very pleased."
Van Gaal knows there is more to come from his players,
however, continuing: "I have told the players we are
not playing well but we are fourth in the table. What is
coming when we play well?"
The Dutchman also confrmed that Luke Shaw is unlikely
to add to his ongoing injury problems, suggesting that the
left-back - withdrawn after 70 minutes - was suffering
from a "dead knee".
MOURINHO: ARSENAL SHOULD
HAVE HAD THREE RED CARDS
C
helsea boss Jose
Mourinho was
left unconcerned
by a touchline
altercation between himself
and Arsene Wenger during
his side's victory over Arsenal
and said the Gunners should
have had three men sent off.
The managerial rivals clashed
during the first half of the
Blues' 2-0 win at Stamford
Bridge in the Premier League,
with Wenger laying his hands
on the Portuguese's chest.
The spat was sparked by
Gary Cahill's forceful
challenge on Alexis Sanchez,
which Wenger felt deserved
a red card. Referee Martin
Atkinson showed only a
caution to the England
international defender and
the official then called over
the managers following the
fracas in an attempt to calm
tempers.
The pair did not shake hands
at full-time and Mourinho,
who is yet to lose to Wenger
in 12 previous meetings
between the pair, seemed
unfazed by the incident.
"For me it's over but the
technical area is very clear,"
he told Sky Sports.
www.frontpageafricaonline.com
FrontPage
PRICE L$40 VOL 8 NO.692 MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2014
Spot News
HAZARD THE STAR
IN CHELSEA STROLL
E
den Hazard has been having a fne season,
just not as fne as Cesc Fabregas and Diego
Costa. The Belgian was the star of the show
for Chelsea last season but the two summer
signings have taken the heat off him during the current
campaign.
Against Arsenal, though, he was the headline maker
once again; creating and scoring the opening goal
before the familiar double act rounded things off.
Goal charts his afternoon against the Gunners...
So often this season Hazard has been, if not relegated,
then reduced to a supporting role at Chelsea. It is, of
course, an excellent supporting role, featuring world
class dribbles, goals, and moments of brilliance, but
with Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa hogging the
headlines, Hazard has been doing most of his work in
the shadows.
His change of pace, as he displayed when forcing
Seamus Coleman into an own goal in the 6-3 win at
Everton in August, is one of the most impressive facets
of his game, and it provided the match's most decisive
frst-half moment.
From a standing position, he burst past Santi Cazorla
and Calum Chambers in the blink of an eye, before
luring a lunging Laurent Koscielny into a trip which
earned Chelsea a penalty and the France defender a
yellow card.
He made no mistake from the spot, showing his class
and impudence by sending Wojciech Szczesny the
wrong way with a cool penalty after a glimpse to the
opposite corner.
Before the clash with Arsenal the Belgian had both
attempted and completed the most dribbles in the
VISIT UNCLE ZEH'S LAUNDRY & DRY CLEANING SERVICE ON CROWN
HILL, BROAD STREET WHERE THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST
Premier League ths season, with 35
of 53 successful (66%). Besdies the
penalty incident, he came into his
own in this regard around the hour
mark when he jinked around Arsenal
players for fun in different areas of
the pitch.
In all, he managed fve successful
dribbles on Sunday afternoon and
was also fouled fve times.
Similarly to that Coleman own goal
at Goodison Park, Mathieu Flamini
was almost coaxed into the same
trap after Hazard had dribbled to the
by-line and produced a low cross.
Flamini diverted it goalwards, only
for Szczesny to turn it onto the post.
But Hazard was also careful in his
play. Just before the fve-minute
spell of intermittent dribbling he
twice passed up the opportunity to
search out Andre Schurrle, who was
keen to get in behind the Arsenal
defence, with a probing through ball,
instead electing to go square and keep
possession.
After all, this was not the kind of
superior performance Mourinho's
teams have so often enjoyed against
Arsenal and they would not surrender
the ball easily. Fabregas and Costa,
the two stars of the season so far, who
have been responsible for many of the
moments that have allowed the Blues
to pull away from their opponents,
had been quiet for the most part, while
Schurrle could not replicate his best
performances in front of Germany
national coach Jogi Low.
The World Cup winner was
withdrawn for Jon Obi Mikel with
20 minutes remaining as Mourinho
moved to shore up his team and grind
out victory, leaving his side to seek
out whatever opportunities they could
muster.
Hazard, quickly, was presented with
the chance to make it 2-0 when he
burst forward to meet Costa's cut-
back in the area, but blazed over from
a tight angle.
No matter, Costa and Fabregas
eventually teamed up to maximum
effect to eventually fnish the Gunners
off.
This was, though, a victory forged by
Eden Hazard.
CHELSEA 2; ARSENAL 0