Former HS Photographer Talks About his Experience in Liberia

By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Tuesday, September 09, 2014 11:21 AM

While on assignment in Liberia, John Moore wore protective gear to protect himself from getting the Ebola virus.

John Moore, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who now works for Getty Images, recently returned from Liberia where he documented the Ebola epidemic. In high school, Moore was an award-wining photographer, taking home just about every ILPC photo medal. In college, he shot for the Daily Texan, the University of Texas at Austin newspaper, and the Leaguer.
After returning from Liberia, Moore spoke with Jeanne Acton about his experiences in that country.

Moore will be a featured speaker at the ILPC Spring Convention held April 18-19 at UT-Austin. At the convention, he will present a session with his photos from Liberia.

How long were you in Liberia and why did you choose to go there? Was it your idea or Getty Images' idea?

I was in Liberia for 12 days and stayed in the country’s capital Monrovia. I had first spoken to my editors about the Ebola epidemic earlier in the year, before it had spread to five West Africa countries. At that time it seemed that it would be difficult to get access, so we decided to wait. In August, I read that the World Health Organization was calling the epidemic in Monrovia “catastrophic,” and that got my attention. I researched the story, spoke with a couple journalists who had covered the epidemic and came to the conclusion that if I bought the right protective clothing and was careful, I could go to Liberia and photograph with a manageable level of risk. I put together a proposal for my bosses, got approval, ordered anti-contamination clothing online and booked my 14-hour flight from New York City to Africa.

What did you hope to accomplish there?

Although I had seen some strong photos of the epidemic from Sierra Leone, I had not seen much from Liberia, so I thought I could shed some much-needed light on a tragedy that was affecting thousands of people.

Did you ever feel like you were in danger of catching the virus? What did you do to prevent yourself from getting the virus?

I have worked in conflict zones like Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and others, where I had to accept a level of risk. This risk, however, was biological, so instead of a flack jacket and helmet, I brought anti-contamination suits, including coveralls, boxes of latex gloves, masks, and boot covers, all disposable and for one-time use only. I also had brought rubber boots and goggles. I wore these outfits in certain areas, like isolation wards for people suspected of having Ebola and also when I went inside homes with burial teams as they collected the bodies of victims. It’s important to remember that Ebola is not airborne, but is, rather, transmitted by bodily fluids. It’s scary because it has no proven cure and is fatal more than 50 percent of the time.
That said, it’s not a mysterious disease – we know how it’s transmitted and you can take precautions to keep from being infected.

Why is it important for journalists to cover such areas/topics?

As a photojournalist, I think it’s important to figure out ways to do the hard stories. Not all hard stories are as dangerous as this one, but I consider it my job to find a way to do them, and as safely as possible. I hope that my photos brought some international attention to the epidemic and that aid organizations will receive more money, staffing and aid to help stop the spread of the disease and help people suffering from the virus.

It seems like the world is getting a more and more dangerous to be a journalist. Are you ever scared when you travel to these war-torn countries?

In addition to the risk of infection, there was some level of danger while working in the West Point township where I spent much of my time photographing. It’s basically a slum, where more than 75,000 people live in very crowded and unsanitary conditions. Many of the men who live there were former combatants, many of them child soldiers in Liberia’s civil war, which ended in 2003. It was a tough crowd. The way I mitigated the danger to me there was by working with a community organizer named John, who was respected in that community. With him, I could walk everywhere in West Point and not worry about getting robbed. On one day I photographed a mob scene, when a crowd overran and ransacked an isolation center for suspected Ebola patients. They were angry that the government had opened the center in their neighborhood, and many believed the epidemic was actually a hoax. I had John and a burly friend of his by my side the whole time, to deter any violence against me. In mob scenes it’s important to stay calm and move slowly, no running around. At one point, I could feel the crowd becoming more aggressive, so we quietly slipped away.

Were there other journalists there with you? Did you have help from Liberians when you got to the country?

I employed a local radio journalist named Raymond to work for me as what we call a “fixer.” A fixer does many things – translates, gets me access into difficult places, gets me safely out of jams, etc. In this case, he owned a 4X4, so he was also my driver. He had worked previously for other visiting journalists including CNN. Every night we would discuss our plan for the next day and then adjust it as news developed. He would pick me up every morning at the Cape Hotel where I had a room with a nice ocean view. At the entrance of the hotel was a bucket of chlorine water where you would wash every time you went inside.

I mostly worked alone with my fixer or with the community organizer. After I had been there some days, a team from NPR (National Public Radio) arrived and their photographer (for NPR online) is a good friend, so he went out with me a couple days while he got his feet. Towards the end of my assignment, another friend came, photographing for the New York Times, and we went out a few times together for news events. Still, in general, I was working alone. Usually on news stories of this size there are many other journalists there, but not on this one. I think that most news organizations were just a little too freaked by the nature of the risk to send in their own people, although they had been staffing war zones for years. For me, it was just a different type of risk that required another set of safely precautions.

Is this a career you would still recommend to a high school journalist?

Well, it’s not for everybody, but after doing this now for more than 20 years professionally, I still think it’s important. Not every photo changes the world, but some do, and sometimes even for the better.

What image or moment sticks with you from Liberia?

There are many images that stick with me from that trip. The scene where the mob pulled out a terrified and screaming young girl from an Ebola ward - that’s one I’ll remember. I also photographed a sick boy named Saah Exco, 7, who had been unsheltered and was dying out on the street. On one occasion inside the isolation center a very sick man stumbled and collapsed in front of me, slamming his head on the concrete floor as his wife watched in horror.

Would you go back?

It really depends on how this story develops in the next few months. Health organizations have predicted this epidemic will get much worse before it gets better, infecting up to 20,000 people, more than half of which will die. I think coverage of this story is important, so let’s see.