As the fate of the General Auditing Report on the Ebola Trust Fund remains swept under the carpet…the thousands of cremated Ebola dead still remain in a morgue at Disco Hill?
It was a rather mournful and memorable day on the 7th of March, 2015 when this government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took a decision apparently in consultation with partners to transport the Ashes of the thousands of Loved Ones, Relatives and Friends who had succumbed to the deadly Ebola virus disease in 2014.
The Liberian government had earlier adopted an Indian burial style of cremation at the time the Ebola ravage was spreading almost more than the speed of light.
The daily death toll, though sickening, became almost normal. Liberians became used to seeing several pick-ups loaded with Ebola dead plying the streets and corners of Monrovia and its environs.
The government and people of Liberia in their state of confusion and ignorance about dealing with what was usually referred to as the “human enemy” were advised by health experts, mainly international, regarding the burial of Ebola dead.
So in addition to cremating the Ebola dead, a new burial site was acquired along the Robertsport International Airport Highway for the burial of everybody who died as a result of Ebola.
The Chiefs and Elders together with the Zoes of Liberia were not very comfortable with the cultural clash of cremating the dead. With a soft, but stern pressure on their government, the Chiefs, Elders and Zoes helped to secure the hundreds of acres of land to return to status quo, burial with graves.
Our direction in this article is strictly pictorial of the sixteen plastic barrels containing the ASHES of Loved Ones, Friends and Relatives that were transported from the March 1986 established and built Indian Crematorium in Marchall, Margibi County to Disco Hill, the new burial site.
Our pictorial article is meant to resurrect the discussion if there was any following the March 7, 2015 talk at Disco Hill that the ASHES would have been kept in a built morgue at Disco Hill until the Liberian Legislature takes a decision on the form and manner of burial of the ASHES.
Given the “poor and shattered” state of Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s information machinery, we remain very doubtful as to whether any attempts were made to inform the Liberian People what happened.
Moreover, the Legislature now submerged into the ongoing Sable Mining bribery scandal investigation will be totally absent-minded if not blind-folded to put on its thinking cap to ever think that it had to play its law-making role regarding the fate of our Precious Loved Ones and Relatives still lying in state at Disco Hill.
Our sincere urge is for the Liberian people to pound on the doors of this government mainly the Legislature to take a decision on the ASHES of our Loved Ones and Relatives who were stripped off their lives by Ebola.
While it is deeply rooted and concentrated on claiming power for another six years we think the Liberian people should give it a hard but matured distraction to publicly state what happened or will ever happen to the ASHES of the our Loved Ones and Relatives. We can’t afford to live with business as usual “sweeping” things under the carpet or “burning” them.
As we now bring on our pictorial, we have explicit confidence in the Liberian People to act without delay. Civil Society groups and organizations must take keen interest in this and mobilize the people to get a redress. Gone should be the days of operating in “secrecy”!
A hint to the wise is quite sufficient! A stitch in time saves nine!
Ray Funk, Contributing Writer
In My Little Corner