(ANS - Rome)- "Ground Zero Ebola," a new book by journalist and photographer Sergio Ramazzotti, has just reached the bookshops.  It is a detailed account of his trip to Liberia in September 2014 – at the height of the Ebola emergency - during which he enjoyed the hospitality and support of the local Salesian communities.

When he was still a boy Sergio Ramazzotti read about the plague in Manzoni’s  I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed). Little did he think that one day he would be immersed in a similar catastrophe. But in Monrovia he saw the dead left lying in the streets and the city besieged by an invisible and ruthless enemy. He worked with a team of "Monatti", volunteers who risked their lives to collect the corpses. He spoke with the few survivors of the virus and recorded their incredible testimonies. He entered the quarantine hospitals where medical staff work in extremely difficult conditions - even touching an infected person by mistake can mean death. One thing is certain: without the daily sacrifice of these humble and unknown heroes, Ebola would now be out of control.

From all those experiences the author has created a book, published by Piemme, in which he says among other things: "I'd rather talk about the people who have been part of this, those who get their hands dirty and then in the evening try to clean them, trying all the time not to be afraid (...).  These are people who compel you to take off your hat and bow down before them. I am talking of the Salesians, of Fr Sony Pottenplackal, Fr Lionel Xavier, Fr Nicholas Ciarapica and others that I got to know when I was their guest, and of the many others who like them carry a cross around their neck and sometimes also on their shoulders ...”.

Sergio Ramazzotti, born in Milan, is the author of hundreds of reports that have appeared in the major newspapers worldwide, a writer, photographer, author of documentaries - including "Good Morning Afghanistan" - and co-founder of the Parallelozero agency.

Published 13/01/2014