Sorry- I've been a little delayed in getting things posted! We have wireless internet connections on the ship, but they've been down, so it makes it a little difficult. This picture is of homes in the downtown area.
To sum up the last few days...
My role as therapist is continuing to go well. I have treated many patients in the ward usually beginning 1-2 days after their surgeries. There are not too many supplies onboard, but luckily I brought some splinting material and have made due. I will also be treating crew members 25% of the time. As always, the second you tell people you are a physio (which is the word for physical therapist in every other country but ours) they want advice on one ailment or another!
We went into town yesterday to the market, where you can buy clothes, food, wooden items, and more junk than you can imagine. It looks like a giant yard sale without the price tags. You get good prices if you are Liberian, but somehow prices triple for white skin.
As for this picture, its really common to see razor wire like this surrounding the walls that house the embassies, the homes of ex-pats, and many businesses and ports.

Walking around town is the best way to get a glimpse of what life might have been like 3 years ago when they were in the middle of civil war. We watched a film about it on Friday night called the Uncivil War, which was 2 Brits account of what it was like on the side of the LURD's who were the rebels who wanted Charles Taylor out of office. The fighting, senseless killing, and starvation that ensued was unbelievable. They interviewed one woman from Doctors without Borders during that time and during the interview stray bullets were flying by and they had to move on down the road to continue the interview. Everywhere we walked around town, you can still see grenade-destroyed homes and bullet holes in the sides of the bridges and cars. These pictures are of a bombed-out building and bus taken last year.

There are many non-government organizations (NGO's) within the city trying to help them rebuild and set up new government and health care. The United Nations has more people here than any other country in the world at present- like 15,000 workers

The city itself doesn't have electricity with the exception of those who run on generators
The ship runs on 2 generators and we have 4 if one breaks down. Most Liberians can't afford to live in an area where there are generators, so they use kerosene lanterns for light in the evenings. Unsafe use of the lanterns or accidents are what cause the majority of the burns that we see here. However, some of the burn contracture releases done in this outreach- at least 5 of my patients- are from acid burns. When a Liberian is seeking revenge against another, rather than beat them, shoot them, or damage their property, often they just dump acid on their faces or bodies. It is unimaginably disfiguring and debilitating. And very very sad.
The new president- Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has pledged to make many changes here and the Liberians are very excited about her potential.
More later! Thanks for reading!