--- description: TIME's Africa bureau chief talks about the situation in West Africa title: Ebola in Liberia: A First Person Account From the Ground image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32225005f817b706/6986a642810bbb9526c93b70/453926200.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [ebola](/tag/ebola/) ## ebola Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Ebola is Changing Liberia: A First Person Account From the Ground  by [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 1, 2014 2:01 PM CUT  MONROVIA, LIBERIA - AUGUST 21: A West Point slum resident looks from behind closed gates on the second day of the government's Ebola quarantine on their neighborhood on August 21, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The government delivered bags of rice, beans and cooking oil to residents, who are forbidden from leaving the seaside slum, due to the Ebola outbreak in their community. More than 1,200 people have died due to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) MONROVIA, LIBERIA - AUGUST 21: A West Point slum resident looks from behind closed gates on the second day of the government's Ebola quarantine on their neighborhood on August 21, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The government delivered bags of rice, beans and cooking oil to residents, who are forbidden from leaving the seaside slum, due to the Ebola outbreak in their community. More than 1,200 people have died due to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)John Moore—Getty Images  by [Francesca Trianni](/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 1, 2014 2:01 PM CUT Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak that has killed nearly 3,000 people in the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. TIME’s Africa bureau chief, Aryn Baker, is on the ground in the West African city. She has reported on [musicians](http://time.com/3433636/liberias-ministry-of-sound/ "undefined") who educate crowds on the infectious disease, the stigma [dead body management teams](http://time.com/3429927/ebola-liberia-body-collectors/ "undefined") face, the United States’ responsibility [to assist Liberia](http://time.com/3394122/us-ebola-aid-focuses-on-liberia-not-other-affected-countries/ "undefined"), among other stories. In the video above, Baker discusses everyday life in the densely packed seaside city of Monrovia, where the stench of chlorine and the sight of thermometers and rubber boots have become commonplace as locals attempt to stem the Ebola outbreak. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3450519/ebola-liberia-first-person/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3450519/ebola-liberia-first-person/"},"headline":"How Ebola is Changing Liberia: A First Person Account From the Ground","datePublished":"2014-10-01T14:01:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:30:14.133Z","description":"TIME's Africa bureau chief talks about the situation in West Africa","url":"https://time.com/3450519/ebola-liberia-first-person/","keywords":["ebola","Infectious Disease","Liberia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32225005f817b706/6986a642810bbb9526c93b70/453926200.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Francesca Trianni","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32225005f817b706/6986a642810bbb9526c93b70/453926200.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Liberia Battles Spreading Ebola Epidemic","caption":"Liberia Battles Spreading Ebola Epidemic","creditText":"John Moore—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3450519/ebola-liberia-first-person/","name":"How Ebola is Changing Liberia: A First Person Account From the Ground"}}]}] ```