Many ran for their lives.
We stayed to protect lives.
Freetown,
Sierra Leone, Africa
I had just arrived in Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, on July 1, 2014, as an account manager. It is a
beautiful seaside city,
and I was keen to explore it. But this was
the silence before the storm.
What pandemic?
The Ebola pandemic had broken out in West Africa. At first
everyone thought it was too far away to worry about it.
By end of the same month, Ebola infections appeared in
Freetown.
Ebola is real
Schools, entertainment venues and businesses were
shut down. Across the city, signs with the message
“Ebola is Real” appeared everywhere. A quiet fear
hung over the population.
"Why are you still here?"
Many foreign engineers from competitor ICT services had already
left, replacing onsite services with remote support. As the city
was under lockdown, the mobile business for our carrier customers
nearly tripled. We needed to ensure service continuity and
reliability even under extreme loads.
We still need to be fed
In view of safety, we had the option to leave the country.
But our chef and I decided to stay. Over the next few months,
Huawei managers would still fly in to provide on-site support
whenever the customers called for it. Eventually, the
pandemic passed as well, and so did our fears.
Whether it’s disasters, pandemics or unexpected circumstances, it’s down to the courage of each and every one of
our people who ensure continuity and reliability of service through digital connectivity. Eric Long is just
one of the many Huawei employees who aren’t afraid of staying on to work with clients in difficult situations,
even when others are running away. Our customers always come first, even when under extraordinary pressure.
