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The patients arrive, at first fearful of the people in spacesuits whose faces they cannot see. They wait for test results, for the next medical rounds, for symptoms to appear or retreat. They watch for who recovers to sit in the courtyard shade and who does not. They pray.

The workers offer medicine, meals, cookies and comfort. They try to make patients smile. Very, very carefully, they start IVs. They spray chlorine, over and over, and they dig graves. They pray.

These are the people of one Ebola clinic in rural Liberia. Run by the American charity International Medical Corps, the clinic rose in September out of a tropical forest. It now employs more than 170 workers, a mix of locals and foreigners, some of them volunteers. There are laborers trying to make money for their families, university students helping because Ebola has shut down their schools, and American doctors who, after years of studying outbreaks, are seeing Ebola’s ravages in person for the first time. A mobile laboratory operated by the United States Navy has set up shop at a shuttered university. Now, test results come back in a matter of hours instead of several days.

Some of the workers will stay a few more weeks, or until the end of the year. Many of the Liberians vow to remain until the disease is gone, when they can go back to their old jobs or resume their former lives. They work toward a time after Ebola.

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People are waiting on these tests. We know that time is of the essence for them, because somebody’s going to stay overnight in a suspected ward if we don’t get things done as fast as we can.Lt. Cmdr. Ben Espinosa, 44, microbiologistLt. Cmdr. Ben Espinosa, 44, microbiologist from Frederick, Md. Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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When I go in, we chat with them, ask how they’re doing, how they are feeling, whether they are in pain. They need love. They need reassurance. For those that believe in God, you have to tell them to have faith in God. Eat well. Take a lot of water. You can talk softly, rub their back, hold their hand. You want to take off the mask so that they see that you’re feeling what they’re going through. But you can’t.Pares Momanyi, 30, nursing supervisorPares Momanyi, 30, nursing supervisor from Nyamira County, Kenya Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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When this Ebola broke out, people were afraid to come here and work. But I thought, 'If we Liberians sit back and say we’re not going to work, then how will the other people feel that came across the sea to help us?' I’m here to serve this country, and I’m here as long as Ebola is in this country. If I die, my country will have the record of me.Tamba Shello, 26, gate security guardTamba Shello, 26, gate security guard Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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When I come into work, I pray to the almighty God that I should not be ill, that I should be strong and work. I feel a little scared. When I get there, I know how to move. I don’t touch any object in the high-risk area. I am very careful about how I work. When I am around a patient, I don’t touch them.Moses Tarkulah, 29, sprayerMoses Tarkulah, 29, sprayer Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I like going over to the patients and interacting with them, giving them hope. When I am home, I feel that I am not doing the right thing. So some of the days I am off, I will come back and say hi to the patients — just to give them that courage that there is still life for them, that they can come out.J. Sam T. G. Siakor, 30, water, sanitation and hygiene supervisorJ. Sam T. G. Siakor, 30, water, sanitation and hygiene supervisor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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In some communities we visit, they say I want to kill the patient. Sometimes they ask me to even drink the oral rehydration solution. It’s not poison! I have to drink it before I give it to the patient. They will ask me to give the patient a mask, because I am wearing a mask, so the patient too should wear a mask.Mabel W. Musa, 27, ambulance nurseMabel W. Musa, 27, ambulance nurse Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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Every day when I come into work, first thing, I pray. At first, I was so afraid. But now I’ve decided that being afraid will not help. All you have to do is just be more careful of everything.Sophie Jarpa, 25, safety officerSophie Jarpa, 25, safety officer Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I have dreams in the middle of the night, waking up in the Ebola ward as a patient. I’ve had dreams where I’m in the ward without any gear, just standing there in my pants and shirt. But I like getting up in the morning, and I like coming here. I think we’re actually making a difference for these people.Steven Hatch, 45, physicianSteven Hatch, 45, physician from Boston Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I came here to look for a job to help my family. Some were afraid to come here, and I took the chance. I focus on my work. I can’t feel nothing when I’m working.Otis Bah, 41, gravediggerOtis Bah, 41, gravedigger Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I got up in the morning, I prayed. In the evening, I prayed. At dinner, I prayed. Prayed to get well. Yesterday they said, 'You, you’re free.' I danced, I jumped.George Beyan, 34, Ebola survivorGeorge Beyan, 34, Ebola survivor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I lost one of my nephews. At the time, to be very frank, we did not believe that Ebola existed, so we were doing things with that ignorance. He did not even go to a
medical center. I took this job to join the process of fighting Ebola in Liberia. I feel happy rendering my services to my own people. And I feel happy when they are becoming cured from this Ebola unit. I feel proud.
Daniel Korha, 36, laundry workerDaniel Korha, 36, laundry worker
Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I saw dead bodies all the time. I became afraid. I had all the symptoms. After nine days, I started responding, little by little. I would walk in the morning. I made friends. I took care of the children.Mami Bienda, 39, Ebola survivorMami Bienda, 39, Ebola survivor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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When they said the clinic is coming, I decided to come and work and find a job. I feel bad. All this time, people dying, every day, burying all day. It’s very wrong.Jean P. Dolo, 44, gravediggerJean P. Dolo, 44, gravedigger Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I came here to fight for survival. You see your friends are going down, down, down. You observe people being buried on a daily basis. If you don’t have heart, you lose hope. But however bad is the situation we were in, God was able to carry me through. Over the three weeks, I encouraged myself by exercising. I jogged around. I read the Bible. I prayed. And that’s how I was coming up, little by little, until now.Genesis Sackie, 30, Ebola survivorGenesis Sackie, 30, Ebola survivor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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Every day, people die of this sickness called Ebola. It hurts me a lot. Sometimes when I go in and see a patient lying there, I encourage them. I say, you have to pray, give yourself strength. Don’t look up at us because we’re carrying a body. You got to get it off your mind. I tell them the sickness can happen to everybody. It is not your fault.Albert Nimely, 18, burial supervisor and hygienistAlbert Nimely, 18, burial supervisor and hygienist Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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When I came, I was very weak. I was feeling miserable. I took my medication and always listened to the bosses, the bigger people that were there. That got me encouraged.Junior Samuel, 8, Ebola survivorJunior Samuel, 8, Ebola survivor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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I’m the guy who kills the virus. When it comes to our lab, it comes to me first. It’s my job to inactivate it. And if I mess up, I endanger my guys. So I can never be wrong, ever. There are people who don’t recover, but there are people who do. I can watch people get better in test results, even though I’ve never met them, never seen them.Lt. James Regeimbal Jr., 36, microbiologistLt. James Regeimbal Jr., 36, microbiologist from Maryland Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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First, I was a waste handler, for one month. And then I was promoted to the laundry as supervisor. I feel good. I found passion in the job. I want to save the lives of my people. I worry about my health, but by God’s grace, God is protecting me.Yarmah J. Cooper, 30, laundry supervisorYarmah J. Cooper, 30, laundry supervisor Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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My mother was afraid for me to come to the Ebola center. She was panicked. I said, 'Mommy, if we all sit back and no one volunteers to fight Ebola, what would it be like in Liberia? We’re going to die from the virus. You can die from Ebola, I can die from Ebola, my sister can die from Ebola, and even my daddy. It is better that we volunteer ourselves to be trained and combat the virus.' She got convinced, and she allowed me. But all the time, she tells me I should be careful.James McGill Kiamue, 23, sprayerJames McGill Kiamue, 23, sprayer Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times
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From the outside, it’s really, really scary. And with the P.P.E., you are very hot. But when I got used to it, I took it in my way. I’m used to working with a smile. When you do a job that you like, you have to do it with a smile. It’s the only way to succeed.Eric Dieudonne, 32, water, sanitation and hygiene coordinatorEric Dieudonne, 32, water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator from Moundou, Chad Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Daniel Berehulak is a photographer on assignment for The New York Times. Interviews have been condensed, and in some cases edited from Liberian English.