(ANS - Rome)- "If I left this place, it would be a betrayal of the people" said Rene Gonzalez, an Augustinian missionary in an interview with the ABC network. Fr Gonzalez works in the village of Kamabai in the north of Sierra Leone.  An article on 21 October published testimonies from him and several other missionaries - like Fr Antonio Gutierrez, SDB - who continue to pursue their mission among those affected by Ebola. Here are some excerpts from the article.

Since the Ebola outbreak struck West Africa with one of the worst health crises in history, about 9,200 people have been infected and 4,500 have died. Among the dead were two Spanish missionaries, Miguel Pajares and Manuel Garcia Viejo. Although several weeks have passed since their deaths, the repatriation of these two missionaries continues to create a controversy that seems to forget the reality of the matter: none of them is there for religious tourism. They are risking their lives to prevent the further spread of the epidemic.

In Sierra Leone there have been 3,410 cases and 1,200 deaths. "The atmosphere is tense and scary. We feel a great sense of helplessness," says Rene Gonzalez, a native of Olmedo (Valladolid, Spain). Still working with him in Sierra Leone are three other Spanish missionaries: the Salesian Antonio Gutiérrez who is working in the city of Bo; Luis Perez, a Xaverian working in Makeni; and José Luis Garayoa, a confrere of René González in Kamabai.

But Ebola is not limited to Sierra Leone. In Liberia, the country currently most affected, there were 4,262 cases and 2,484 deaths. In this country, though there are several Spanish priests working there permanently, the local situation prevents the arrival of new ones. Similarly, in the neighbouring Republic of Guinea (where the outbreak started) there are three Salesians from Spain: José Ramón Guinea, in Kankan; Rafael Sabé in Siguiri, and Emilio Hernando, in the capital, Conakry. Some of them are part of a prevention committee working to educate the population in order to prevent further infection. They also care for more than 300 children orphaned by the virus.

"The hospital where the patients are is already full," said Fr Hernando, who has been in Africa for more than three decades. "Why am I still here? - for the simple reason that we cannot abandon the people."

The article, written by Eduardo S. Molano, correspondent of the ABC newspaper in Accra, is available on the website of the Salesians in Spain.

Published  28/10/2014