The fear and hopelessness behind the deadly attack on Ebola workers in Guinea

When the Ebola outbreak made a resurgencein Guinea in early August,after earlier showing signs of stabilizing, Moise Mamy knew what he needed to do.

The Guinean pastor had already been traveling from remote village to remote village three times a week to spread awareness about preventing and containing the deadly virus. But as the outbreak flared up again, Mamy and a team of workers from the non-governmental organization Eau de la Vie (Water of Life)began going to the villages five times a week.

The instruction they provided was simple, focusing on washing and water purification practices. But Mamy was convinced that more visits to the isolated areas to was necessary to bring an end to the deadly epidemic.

It was exhausting work, and the team often encountered resistance, Mamy told others; but, he said, it needed to be done.

"This Ebola is a menace that can overrun the country," Mamywarned recently in an e-mail to the leader of a U.S.aid organization.

On Tuesday, Mamy and his team took a truck that was already damaged by rocks that had been thrown at them during visits to other remote villages and drove to Wome, in the forested, southeastern part of Guinea.

This time, they enlisted local officials to help ease the tensions and fear that run rampantin thatpart of thecountry, which is near where the deadly outbreak began.

"The meeting started off well; the traditional chiefs welcomed the delegation with 10 kola nuts as a traditional greeting," said a resident who was present at the meeting, a man identified as "Yves" told the Guardian. But a group of young people arrived, Yves said, and they began throwing stones.

Then, some members of Mamy's team were dragged away.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

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The fear and hopelessness behind the deadly attack on Ebola workers in Guinea