Behind the Eclipse

by Pramudith D. Rupasinghe

  My little boys came to my mind. ‘They might have wept like this when Princess and Aminatta were being taken away by the ambulance, or they might not have had a clue about it,’ I thought.

  ‘Woman died on the way.’ When I heard what the nurse on board said, I looked at the little girl. She was as old as Princess when I saw her for the last time. I felt an inexplicable feeling which was far beyond mere sympathy of a human being or empathy of a paramedical professional. Even though I did not feel anything about the dead body, as witnessing people die had become an everyday experience in the ETU to which many of us were rather immune than indifferent.

  One of my female colleges, from the psychosocial support team and I attended the girl as the only hope was her. And we knew for sure she would be under observation as she might already have been during her incubation period. The girl hardly spoke English. But she spoke fluent Krio that was the language spoken across Bo-waterside border which was Sierra-Leone. I tried broken Krio and asked where she was from.

  ‘Ma papa Sierra Leone, Mama Liberian,’ she barely said in a brittle voice.

  ‘Mama where?’

  ‘Mama Lofa,’ said she.

  ‘Talk kissi?’ She nodded when I asked her.

  Ebola had already wrested her family apart. First, her father had died four months ago which was followed by the tragic deaths of her brothers and sisters leaving her with her mother. But she was also gone, taken by the same demonic force. Probably because she was from Lofa, her story took my memory back to the time of the Bush-curse that I believed nothing but Ebola. Just like within the larger Mande group to which both Loma and Kissi people belonged to, we used two different names ‘Loma’ and ‘Toma’ for Lomas, we called different names for the same disease. As Dr. Harris said, the mere absence of scientific evidence about the existence of Ebola in affected countries couldn’t be considered as evidence to come to a concrete conclusion that Ebola had never existed here while all favourable conditions for the disease did exist in West Africa.

  Apart from that, there are hundreds of people like me who lived in times of the Bush-curse which was completely unvaried from Ebola almost in every aspect are still living in the region. They are living pieces of evidence for Ebola-like outbreaks in old Kissi villages in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

  After the essential emotional support, we referred the girl to the observation ward where she was supposed to stay for 21 days in quarantine.

  ‘Ma mama o,’

  ‘Ma mama give me ma mama o,’

  ‘Ma mama show me mama ma mama,’

  ‘Allah, Allah, o Allah, send my mother to me o,’ she started to ask for her mother whose body had already been sent to the burial team. As she became uncontrollable, Dr. Bernard and nurses discussed to give her a chance to see her mother since seeing the deceased might support her to vent and to calm down. But we first made sure that she was in the safe zone and under the custody of medical staff who were also equipped with protective gears.

  It was almost four in the afternoon. Burial teams were getting ready to dispatch the body of the woman which was already in a body bag. We took the girl to a healthy distance for her to see the face of the mother who was dead. Everyone made sure that the girl did not have a chance to touch the body.

  As the face was uncovered, I looked at the mother who had closed her eyes leaving her daughter in utter despondency.

  ‘Kumbaaaaa… You! No…,’ I suddenly became amaurotic and numb. I was seized by a spell of panic that stopped my heart, held my breath making all my sensory organs dysfunctional and cutting me off completely from the outside world but with a cinematic panorama of every single moment Kumba and I shared down the life line.

  When I found myself stretching in a bed in the staff sick-room, I had already crossed the ecliptic line. Behind the Eclipse, there was light where stood my boys and the daughter of Kumba.

  ‘END’

  EPILOGUE

  George is now working in a clinic in Paynesville. On Sundays, he is volunteering at a missionary school in his community. He doesn’t still know what to say whenever the boys ask about their mother. ‘I often say she is serving God beyond the rainbow, and George II waves at the clouds and calls Mama whenever I yell at him for something,’ he said during a telephone conversation.

  It looks like the daughter of Kumba—Yaema had filled the gap caused by the death of Princess. On Sundays, two boys go to church with their father while Yaema is following her Koran studies at home.

  When I revisited George in March 2016, he said.

  ‘I want my story to be heard by the entire world that the life is a battle which one has to fight even when in the jaws of defeat, and one can`t be selfish to give it up as it is for those whom we love and care for.’

  His smile was welcoming, and his eyes were filled with determination.

  ‘These smiles are the reason for everything.’ He embraced his three children.

  ‘God bless you!’ He said when I was about to go.

  ‘Sir, do not disclose my real name but my story!’ He added.

  ‘Yes, I will not,’ I promised.

  ‘Now, Ludo time.’ George II sounded demanding.

  ‘After my studies,’ I heard the voice of Yaema.

  GLOSSARY

  ETU – Ebola treatment unit- Separate temporary hospitals where the ebola parents where treated.

  CFA – he currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Sénégal and Togo.

  PPE – personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as ‘PPE’, is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses.

  Monrovia – the capital city of the West African country of Liberia.

  Liberia – officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coastLofa- a county in the northernmost portion of Liberia.

  Yomou – a town located in southeastern Guinea.

  Macenta – a town in southeastern Guinea, founded by the Toma/Loma people.

  Conakry – the capital and largest city of Guinea.

  Côte-d`ivoire – officially named the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located in West Africa.

  Bong – a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia.

  Tubmanburg – also known as Bomi and formerly known as Vaitown, is the capital of Bomi County in Liberia.

  Monserrado – a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia

  Kissi – an ethnic group living in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

  Loma – a Mande ethnic group living primarily in the mountainous, sparsely populated border region between Guinea and Liberia.

  Kpelle – the largest ethnic group in Liberia. They are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea.

  Krahn – an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast.

  Palava hut – an small round mud hut roofed with strew and dry leaves.

  Poro – a men’s secret society and initiation ceremony for boys in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mande people.

  The Bush-curse – the name that the Kissi people used for Ebola.

  Lassa fever – an acute and often fatal viral disease, with fever, occurring chiefly in West Africa.

  Cornbread – a type of bread made from cornmeal and typically leavened without yeast.

  Maafe – a groundnut stew, is a stew or sauce common to much of West Africa.

  Tapalapa bread – a traditional bread, mainly in Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea.

  Ebola capsule – a completely sealed plastic container used to transport patients infected with Ebola virus.

  Duala Market – an open market in the downtown of Monrovia, Liberia.

  Red-light market
– in an open market in Peyneseville, Monrovia Liberia.

  Klay – the last township of Monserrado county towards Bomi county, Liberia.

  Samuel Doe – a Liberian politician who served as the leader of Liberia from 1980 to 1990.

  Charles Taylor – a former Liberian politician who was the 22nd President of Liberia, serving from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003.

  The Creator – who is the ultimate power according to the Kissi belief system.

  Oldman – the given name of grandfather of narrator.

  Donka Hospital – a publicly owned hospital in Conakry, Guinea.

  JFK Hospital – John F. Kennedy Hospital -the national medical center of Liberia, located in the Sinkor district of Monrovia.

  Congo-town – a locality in Monserrado, Liberia.

  Yellow-machine – taxi in Liberian slang.

  O – a sound that is widely used at the end of sentences in West African pidgin English.

  Moto – motorbike taxi which is a common means of transportation in Liberia, Sierra-Leone and Guinea.

  Small-small – a common expression in Liberian english that stands for little, not much or not many.

  Celcom – an Israeli tele-communication service provider which is the most popular among 4G users in Liberia.

  Lonestar – a Liberian owned telecommunication service provider that has the largest network coverage in the country.

  Jigi-jigi – a common expression in Liberian English that refers either to sexual intercourse or women

  Woman and man business – a common expression in Liberian English for any sort of sexual activities.

  Krio – the lingua franca and the de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

  Ludo – a board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to die rolls.

  Circum-Pacific belt – The Pacific Ring of Fire—a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

  The Pepper Coast – the name given by European traders to a coastal area of western Africa, between Cape Mesurado and Cape Palmas. It encloses the present republic of Liberia.

  LBDI – the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment.

  Ma-Begin – little boy or girl in Liberian English which is literary means ‘beginner’.

  Tabu – a place with a very small population in the region of Bas-Sassandra, Ivory Coast -West Africa.

  Nimba – a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia.

  Give belly – make someone pregnant- Liberian English.

  Loose belly – abort or to have a miscarriage- Liberian English.

  Get belly – get pregnant- Liberian English

  Liberty or Liberian Dollar – the dollar-currency code LRD has been the currency of Liberia since 1943. It was also the country’s currency between 1847 and 1907.

  Club-beer – the most popular local brewed beer in Liberia.

  Begin or Bigin – child —Liberian English

  Azonto – a dance and music genre from Ghana. The dance is known to have originated from a traditional dance called Kpanlogo.

  Dumboy – a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling and pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava.

  Pepper-goat soup – a spicy light soup cooked with goat meat commonly served with fufu or Dumboy

  REVIEWS

  A must read for humanitarian workers…

  Rupasinghe has painted a realistic picture of Liberia and has been able to connect the past to the current reality comprehensively. The story flows effortlessly from instants to instants. The reader is able to visualise various scenes described meticulously by the author. It helps understand the roots and traditions that led to what happened during the Ebola outbreak. It is almost impossible for humanitarian workers to make a sustainable change in a context without understanding what constitutes the current reality and what elements led its evolution. This book does exactly that, helps an outsider to appreciate the local culture and how traditions are intermingled in the lives of the people. For me personally, two types of texts were most powerful, those that talked about how abuse of young women is a normal part of the culture and the experiences working with the confirmed Ebola patients. On page 366 he says, ‘working in the confirmed ward was just like neutralising explosives…’ These examples help the reader to empathise with the first responders during Ebola epidemic and at the same time prepares those who might respond to a similar epidemic in future. All in all, a well-written book that takes the reader on a truthful journey and helps them grow as human beings!

  Anjana Dayal de Prewitt

  Author of Gudia. A Defiant Doll

  UN Mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica

  Associate Director Psychosocial Support and Protection- Save The Children USA

  United Sates of America.

  One of the most spectacular stories ever written…

  ‘Behind the Eclipse. The Unheard from the West African Ebola Crisis…’ by Pramudith D. Rupasinghe. Partridge India, 2016.

  The novel under review, ‘Behind the Eclipse. The Unheard from the West African Ebola Crisis…’, is another Pramudith D. Rupasinghe’ book on eternal philosophical issues of life and death, and a place of a person in the world, this time through the prism of Ebola epidemic in Liberia.

  The novel is based on a real-life story of a Liberian man who caught Ebola disease but managed to survive. The story, told on the survivor’s behalf, is presented in the usual author’s style combining elegance, outer simplicity and internal depth of thought with masterly carved words and phrases.

  The book is really fascinating: once started, it’s almost impossible to interrupt the reading until you reach the last page.

  The astounding author’s competence of West Africa allows him to depict Ebola-related tragedy against a broad historical and geographical background. The book amazes a reader with an unbelievably deep knowledge and understanding of the Liberian history, geography, its people mentality, culture, traditions, etc. The truthfulness of the picture of the every day’s Liberian life is deepened even by some ‘politically incorrect’ statements of the characters. It is the West African colouring that helps a reader better understand the main essence of the book (skillfully placed at the very end): ‘…the life is a battle which one has to fight even when in the jaws of defeat…’

  The novel “Behind the Eclipse…’ is a brilliant book which can be strongly recommended for all those who want to start understanding Africa and its people.

  Dr. Oleksiy Telychkin

  Kharkov National University

  UN Senior Police Advisor (Rtd.); Colonel of Police (Rtd.)

  Ukraine

  Untold story of an unsung hero; Eclipsed no more!

  ‘Behind the Eclipse’ is the intriguing story of a Liberian man battling his life as a young tribal boy named ‘Tamba’ (later known as ‘George’) who ultimately survives the deadly Ebola crisis in West Africa. It is a gripping tale of love, passion, courage and sacrifice as he narrates the stigmatisation and the phycological trauma of the deadly Ebola epidemic on the lives of the health workers, volunteers, victims and their families. The author brilliantly captures the life of the tribal community in Liberia as he unravels in his own inimitable style, the age-old rituals, polygamy, beliefs in witch craft, indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions. Making use of the author’s first-hand experience of living and working amongst these communities across Africa, he paints a vivid picture in the minds of the reader exposing the stark realities of the tribal community. The natural flow of this epic story spiced with interesting comparisons drawn from real life, and attractive phrases keep the reader spell-bound and in awe from the start to the end. To me, ‘Tamba�
� s story is the ‘untold’ story of many an ‘unsung’ hero in the humanitarian world whose selfless sacrifice and boundless courage often fails to grab headlines. Epidemics, crises and emergencies like Ebola did happen in the past, happens today and will happen in the future. However, ‘Behind the Eclipse’ reminds us of the spirit of ‘humanitarianism’ which epitomises the very essence of humanity that exists within us even today in the form of extraordinary people like Tamba!

  Surein J S Peiris (LLB, MAIR- Colombo)

  Attorney at law

  Regional Coordinator: National Society Development – Africa

  International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies

  Kenya

  A moving account of a deadly outbreak by an incredible craftsman….

  There are times when you open a book wth no expectations, but after you read a few pages it becomes book unputdownable, this just shows the master craftsmanship of an immensely gifted writer. Behind the Eclipse, churns you from within, at times teaches you and encourages you. The story of Tamba as told by the author motivates you while revealing the ugly side of a Deadly Virus. It highlights the gruesomeness of Ebola outbreak of 2013-2016. We might have heard stories of the survivors, but this book shows us what actually happened and how people from different parts joined hands to abolish this deadly virus once and for all. The book reaches you the ages old moral- We can face any problem with right attitude.

  The style of writing engrosses you from the beginning, and at times you could easily relate yourself to the thoughts of the protagonist. Every word is woven very meticulously. This book should be a must-read for all the people who have faced the horrible outburst of Ebola, heard about it or even wonder what might have happened during that time.