( CNN ) -- On Wednesday , angry residents of West Point , one of the poorest slums of Liberia , clashed with police when they discovered that the government has quarantined the entire area in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola . This comes on the heels of another incident at West Point a few days ago , when people attacked an Ebola clinic , releasing patients and taking bedding and other items . When the international community heard about the incident , it could not understand such reckless behavior in the face of a deadly outbreak . But living here in Liberia , we understand . Through my work as a peace activist during the wars of the 1990s and early 2000s , and now as an organizer with communities throughout Liberia , I know how skeptical Liberians feel toward the government and international aid , given prior bad experiences . The majority of citizens do not trust the government , which they view as corrupt , so they could not believe the whole story about Ebola when it started being told . A friend of mine said , for example , `` Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ( president of Liberia ) and her minister of health want to pocket money , so they have come up with a new tactics to collect money and share . '' As the months went by , many radio talk show hosts led discussions about Ebola . People from all walks of life in Liberia still denied the existence of Ebola , including many at the waterside , one of the biggest markets in Monrovia , the capital . When I spoke about Ebola , people accused me of working for the government , which was bad enough . But when I showed them my work ID , I made the matter even worse . They said that I work for an American non-governmental organization , and we all are supporters of Ma Ellen and ca n't see the wrong she is doing . Now , too late , everyone is talking about the invisible enemy -- the one you can not see . I remember during the war days in Liberia , you could get news of where the enemies were coming from and take cover either in the bushes or some other hiding place . But the Ebola virus is different . I have extended family members who have died from the virus or been quarantined for observation and testing . It is overwhelming to hear of people whom you have spoken to in the past six weeks , who are now dead from a disease that could have been prevented . 9 things to know about Ebola . Liberians are social and community-oriented . We greet people with handshakes and hugs , eat together using one bowl , sleep together in one bed and bathe dead bodies to honor them . Some people are trying to put aside these cultural practices to save lives . I have noticed that a few people have started to wear gloves and long-sleeve shirts . Many businesses and homes have buckets with water and bleach for people entering and coming out to wash their hands . A colleague of mine called and told me about a health administrator whose mother had contracted the Ebola virus . The administrator took his mother to the hospital in Tubmanburg , capital of Bomi County , where my colleague works as a nurse and social worker for people living with HIV/AIDS . My colleague told me that the administrator was in complete denial that his mother had contracted the virus . He broke all the rules that the hospital had put in place : no visitors for people who have shown signs and symptoms of Ebola . Every day , he brought a new family member to visit his sick mother . In the end , his mother died , he died , and so did all seven family members he brought to the hospital to visit . Another day has come , and I got a call from a friend who is a social worker in one of the closed government hospitals in western Liberia . She said families that have been quarantined in some communities do not have basic food supplies and other items they need . Even though they are not showing symptoms at the moment , they go out to fetch water and food . They go to faraway markets and hand-pump water and do not tell others that they have been quarantined for fear of stigma . Another colleague says she took food and water to an Ebola quarantine , but she was turned down and told that no food or drinks were allowed . Ebola facility in Liberia attacked ; patients flee . People are scared for a reason : Liberia 's infrastructure can not cope with Ebola . With poor health facilities and a low number of health workers , it 's obvious that the government needed help months ago . Heath centers are filled with suspected and actual Ebola cases . But the call centers , set up for people wanting help treating Ebola victims , do not answer . This has led to people dumping dead bodies on the streets . Some patients who showed symptoms were abandoned or fled to unknown locations . Tracing people who have come in contact with sick Ebola patients is a huge task for the Ministry of Health . It has become very difficult to trace people who have moved from one community to another , making it tougher to contain the spread of the virus . The Ebola crisis is making many people think about what kind of health policies we have in place . Do we need to develop new ones ? Every part of Liberia has been affected : the economy , politics , social and religious life . The economy seems to be dying slowly . Employees from large companies have left Liberia , as have staff members of international non-governmental organizations . The biggest iron ore company in Liberia has sent its experts out of the country . After a decade of international aid to Liberia and the emergence of a democratic government , what are we left with ? Liberia is not strong as it could be . Liberia is suffering during this terrible Ebola outbreak . We need help .
On Sunday , protesters clashed with police over mass quarantine in Liberia . Cerue ##la : We are angry and scared ; infrastructure is struggling . She and some of her extended family members have died from the Ebola disease . la : Liberia is suffering during this terrible disease outbreak and needs help .