Portraits of resilience: West Africa's Ebola survivors

Thousands have died, but that's not the whole story. A look at the faces of those who have lived.

Ebola survivor
(Image credit: (John Moore/Getty Images))
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The numbers are sobering: More than 10,000 infected so far. At least 5,000 dead. A 70 percent mortality rate.

The Ebola outbreak that has crippled three West African countries over the last six months is not selective. It has stolen the lives of young and old, rich and poor. But what is easy to forget as the devastating stories unfold at a faster and faster clip, is that a positive diagnosis is not an unequivocal death sentence.

Below, images of Liberians who battled the Ebola virus and survived. Their stories are diverse — some lost entire families, others escaped relatively unscathed — but the thread of resilience runs through them all.

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Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

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