Yesterday, the book written by Brother Justino Izquierdo, who was director of St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Monrovia for 40 years, and his co-authors Brother Ramón Castejón and Dr. Fernando Rivilla, was presented at a very emotional event in Madrid. This event paid tribute to the missionaries and all those who collaborated with the center during the armed conflict, as well as remembering the victims and the mark they left on those who survived.
The presentation took place in the auditorium of the San Rafael-Nebrija University Center, and featured numerous guests and interventions by personalities connected with the history of the Hospital in Monrovia during the period described, between 1990 and 1996. This book is captured after arduous compilation and documentation work. Brother Justino, visibly moved, stated, "This is not about journalism, but about life. These pages are full of life, and even today I find it hard to read them."
Among the people who spoke, due to their connection with Liberia and the mission of the Hospitaller Order in the African country, were Brother Amador Fernández (Provincial Superior of Castilla), Sister María Luisa Górriz (Missionary of the Immaculate Conception), Brother Ramón Castejón (co-author and designer of the book), Dr. Fernando Rivilla (co-author of the book), Brother José María Viadero (director of Juan Ciudad ONGD), Julián del Olmo (director of the TVE Program Pueblo de Dios) and Adriana Castro (Head of Communications at Juan Ciudad ONGD), who moderated the event.
Furthermore, among the audience were many people who were also anonymous protagonists of the events narrated in the book, such as Brother Benjamín Cornago, who was in charge of radio communications from Santurce to the Monrovia Hospital, and who played a pivotal role in those years.
As Brother Justino describes in the book, "My purpose is not to present facts relating to the war crisis in Monrovia, Liberia. My intention is to share the experiences of missionaries who decided to stand by their people, accompanying them in fear, pain, and uncertainty during the various episodes of a war in which they were unwillingly a part."
St. Joseph Catholic Hospital in Monrovia was founded by the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God in 1967, and three years later, they established the New Kru Town Health Center, also in the capital, to serve the population in a country that still has very limited healthcare resources.
In addition to remembering the years of conflict, the Brothers, Sisters, and collaborators who also died in the Ebola epidemic were also very much in mind, which represented another severe blow for the affected countries, as well as for the San Juan de Dios hospitals and health centers that serve their residents.
According to witnesses present at the event, the hospital remained open during Liberia's two civil wars for 14 years at the end of the 20th century, treating all the wounded without distinction, regardless of their side when it came to combatants.
However, there was a period of time from 1996 onwards when the Brothers were warned that the Hospital was going to be bombed, so they had to evacuate it, along with the MIC Sisters and the patients who were there, returning as soon as they could to reopen the health services and rebuild the center.
You can read more information in the news published by Religión Digital:
Text: Adriana Castro, Head of Communications at JCONGD.
Photos: Noelia Sánchez, Head of Communications for the Province of Castilla, and Adriana Castro.
