Burials continue despite ‘cancelled’ Christmas in Sierra Leone
Ebola Diary: After a week in West Africa, Sarah Boseley concludes that not enough is yet known about the virus, except that it must be eradicated.
A large group of men, women and children, all in their best clothes, is gathered in the yard of a house in Wellington, an Ebola-hit western area of Freetown. The dresses and headscarves are bright but the faces are sombre.
Alie Kamara, the owner of the house, died this morning and lies inside. He will be buried within a few hours. The manner of his burial is difficult for this community, just as it would be for friends and relatives in any town anywhere in the world.
They watch in silence as several vehicles belonging to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) draw up. Mustapha Rogers, the “ben com” – the beneficiaries communication officer who will explain events to those who loved or respected Kamara – steps forward and asks for the chief. She is Yabom Wara Kamara-Wokolo, and she answers Rogers’ questions about the manner of the death and the number of family members who live in the house.