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Liberian woman escapes Ebola outbreak, quarantines self in Q-C
John Schultz, QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO
Jennifer Philips sits on the couch with her father, Barhyeau Philips,
at their home in Rock Island on Monday. She arrived Saturday from Liberia.
October 13, 2014 12:26 pm • By
Brian Wellner
http://qctimes.com/news/local/liber...cle_5797dff1-0e5a-520e-bc0d-3f83e6af075f.html
Jennifer Philips has been in America only three days, and she's already
calling it home.
The 21-year-old left Liberia last week and with it childhood memories of
civil war and, more recently, horrific images of dead bodies in the street
from the worst ever outbreak of Ebola.
Her father, Barhyeau Philips, welcomed her Saturday at the Quad-City
International Airport and brought her to his Rock Island home.
"I'm here to live," she told the Quad-City Times on Monday.
After waiting four years for a visa, Jennifer's journey began Friday at the
airport in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. From there she traveled to
Brussels, New York and Chicago before flying into the Quad-Cities.
A lit-up New York skyline was her first image of the United States.
She flew into JFK International Airport, recalled it was at night and said
a security person approached her, referred to her by name and said
another person wanted to see her. Switching back and forth between
English and her native language, Krahn, she described the second as
looking like a health care worker. The worker put an "instrument" to her
ear and checked if she had a fever.
"He said I was OK to go," she said.
Workers at JFK began body temperature screenings Saturday of
passengers from West Africa. Four other major airports, including
Chicago's O'Hare, are expected to begin later this week.
Barhyeau Philips didn't know his daughter would be able to leave Liberia
until he received a phone call from her the day before she flew out.
"I was skeptical," he said. "There was talk of a travel ban."
The 67-year-old said being reunited with his daughter makes him feel
"so happy." Besides a brief visit to Liberia in 2013, he hadn't seen her
since 2004, when they were living in a refugee camp in neighboring
Ivory Coast. They had escaped war-torn Liberia a year before that.
"I'm happy to be with my parents," she said.
The family is imposing its own quarantine, though they're sure she
doesn't have the disease. According to her father, Jennifer will stay
inside the house for 21 days, the established quarantine period.
"We're going to monitor her for 21 days," he said. "When we're sure
she's clear of Ebola, she's free to go anywhere."
Barhyeau Philips knows at least three Liberians who died from Ebola.
His cousin, Ovoroy Gweah, died in August after he offered to take a sick
woman to the hospital.
Alexander Nyamah, the ex-husband of Philips' wife, was a physician
assistant when he contracted the disease a month ago.
Nyamah's 21-year-old son, Cephus, died last week. Cephus caught the
disease from his dying father, who he had to dress to get him into an
ambulance.
Philips said it took these tragedies to open his eyes to Ebola.
"I never heard that word before," he said.
The father of nine children worries about his other adult children living
in Liberia.
"You stay in one place," he said. "You don't shake hands. You don't visit
people. You don't hug. You don't know who's affected."
The Ebola death rate has exceeded 4,000, with about half in Liberia. The
neighboring West African countries of Sierra Leone and Guinea also
have been hit hard by the disease.
A church leader from Sierra Leone made a plea for prayers Sunday at
Heritage Wesleyan Church, Rock Island, according to one of its
congregants, Amy Rowell, who is director of World Relief Moline. A
Liberian immigrant also called her at work asking for prayers.
"He's very concerned," Rowell said of the call. "He asked for prayers for
his country, and prayers for people here who may have family back
home."
About 200 Liberian immigrants call the Quad-Cities home. World Relief
assisted the families as they settled here.
Philips, as president of the Quad-Cities Liberian Association, says he's in
touch with other families living here who have lost loved ones to Ebola.
"I'm not at peace," he said.
Fear of catching Ebola has become part of daily life in Liberia.
Tenneh Goeh, who lives in Rock Island, is in touch with her teenage son
in her hometown of Zwedru, which is an 18-hour bus trip from Monrovia.
According to her son, homes are put under quarantine when a person is
suspected of having Ebola, and no one is allowed to walk outside without
wearing a mask and something that looks like a rain coat.
"I worry about him and my family everyday," Goeh said.
She has been sending her son money to buy bleach, a disinfectant
known to kill the Ebola virus. She said though the outdoor markets
remain open, many hardware and grocery stores have closed.
Residents in the capital are encouraged to stay home and limit trips just
to the market or pharmacy. Philips said it has been difficult for some of
his children to find work.
"They're not safe," Philips said. "The whole country is not safe."
Left battered from years of civil war, Liberia appeared no different to
Philips when he traveled there in 2013. While visiting family in the
capital, he noticed only one improvement after 10 years.
"There were no gun sounds," he said.
Buildings laid in ruins, homes were left damaged, and streets were never
repaired. Philips said there was also little or no running water and
electricity in much of the country.
The poor conditions were ripe for Ebola, he said.
"The American government takes care of its citizens," Philips said. "Even
the homeless man eats everyday. Not in Liberia. The poor care makes
Ebola worse."
Jennifer Philips may return to Liberia one day, but not until she becomes
a medical doctor.
"It was my dream," she said.
