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View Full Version : How West African News Outlets Are Covering the Ebola Outbreak




tangent4ronpaul
09-17-2014, 11:53 AM
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/08/how-west-african-news-outlets-are-covering-ebola.html
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/ebola-stories-west-african-newspapers.html

There is much more. I just thought these were the most interesting and informative. Click through!

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In Sierra Leone, Awoko newspaper reported on Ebola-related price-gouging:

Before the outbreak of Ebola, [a] small size plastic bucket which was sold for Le 10,000 or Le 15, 000. [It is] now sold at Le 40,000 (forty thousand Leones) with fitted tap head.
 The medium sized bucket that was Le 20,000 (twenty thousand Leones) now goes for Le 75,000 (seventy-five thousand Leones) and the larger size previously sold for Le 40,000 (forty thousand Leones) is now sold for Le 80,000 (eighty thousand Leones) with fitted tap head.
 A chlorine tablet which was sold at Le 1,000 (one thousand Leones) is now sold at Le 1, 500 for a tablet but because of the soaring demand for this product has caused its scarcity in the market.


People are worried about what they consider "unwarranted" and "inconsiderate" [behavior] of the traders of this country.
 "At the time when it is expected that people should show compassion and care for one another, a set of people are exploiting the situation to enrich themselves from the fears and concerns of the majority. This is wicked!" one woman civil servant told this reporter.

iberia's New Dawn newspaper obtained surveillance footage of a visibly ill Sawyer as he waited to board a flight at the Monrovia airport:

His behavior, among other passengers waiting at the boarding gate was strange. His face bore a sad countenance like someone who was troubled, as he sat alone avoiding body contacts with everyone who came close by him.

His strange behavior and frequent movement up and down as he [awaited] his ASky flight had prompted the security camera operator to focus on him. In the video, Patrick could be seen avoiding physical contacts with airport employees and other passengers during the check in process.

After checking in, Patrick briefings left the terminal, but he would soon be shown sitting in an isolated area by himself at the boarding gate or waiting room. The video footage also shows the late Patrick lying flat on his stomach on the floor in the corridor of the airport a sign of someone in excruciating pain.

This writer, who also watched the video footage of Patrick at the Spriggs Payne Airport said the late Patrick was seen preventing people from touching him. The recording shows him snubbing an Immigration officer who was seen moving straight toward him in a friendly gesture for a handshake as he boarded the flight.

Liberian Capitol Building shuts down after suspected Ebola death

The Liberian Senate and House of Representatives have suspended all activities for 48 hours to disinfect the Capitol Building after Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Captain James Morlu, who is usually stationed at the door to the chamber, died suddenly. Front Page Africa reports:

According to sources at the capitol, Morlu had been sick for two weeks after burying one of his relatives who is suspected to have died from Ebola. The news comes just days after it was reported that the deadly Ebola virus hit close to the Presidency where a senior Member of the President Office wife died from Ebola. In a statement issued by the press bureau of the House, it stated that the house leadership took the decision based on medical advice to allow the disinfection of the building due to a probable case of Ebola.

Liberians are wary of U.S. plan to deploy 3,000 military personnel to combat Ebola

The reaction to the announcement this week that the U.S. is ramping up its effort to fight Ebola was mixed in Monrovia. While some welcomed the additional aid, others were upset that the U.S. is sending soldiers to West Africa. (As the Washington Post explains, the military is building treatment centers and working to get health workers and medical supplies into affected areas). Per Front Page Africa:

But many weary Liberians say they would rather a non-military intervention in the country.Varney Sherman is a young Liberian said that the US intervention is belated and wants more help to the medical centers in Liberia, rather than a military intervention. “We don’t need guns to protect us for now. What we need now is drugs; we need a vaccine to curtail the spread of this virus,” said Sherman.

Continued Sherman: “So it is unfortunate to hear that America is sending over three thousand troops (men); as though we are fighting dissidents or rebels; we need experts, scientists, to come and scrutinize the situation. What we are fighting is microorganism; a biological warfare is what has been waged against the people of Liberia.”

Opinion: How does Liberia's Ebola crisis compare to 9/11?

With the number of Ebola deaths about to surpass the number of people killed on 9/11, Makanfi Kamara questioned several Liberians on whether there are similarities in how the tragedies affected U.S. and West African culture. She writes in Liberia's Daily Observer:

The Ebola virus has not only caused tragedy and changed the lives of people affected, but it has also drastically affected our life style. Liberians are so used to greeting each other by touch – a hand shake here, an embrace there, even a kiss. Where we used to share cups, bowls and spoons; beds, clothes and shoes; we now think thrice about potential threats of infection from our closest friends and relatives. Instead, we wash hands religiously at every door post, keep a distance beyond arm’s length and sometimes bow to greet each other like the Chinese. Some women have even put their male partners “on dryer” – a moratorium on sexual activity until the Ebola Season is over. And many men have admitted that, fearing for their own lives, they have decided to “abide by the rules of the game” – fidelity.

There are also direct and indirect psychological effects: where members of households and families are infected with Ebola, the dichotomy of care vs. neglect persists, because of the fear of infection being transmitted. Where armed government forces go shooting at unarmed people contesting an imposed quarantine; or where family revenue streams get dried up because of epidemic-preventive regulations imposed by government or private employers; it gets really disturbing and forces people to find new ways to adapt to the situation. Then, there is the sight of dead bodies lying all over, in the streets; and the depression of thinking you could be next and the stigma it leaves you with.

This one is a comment:

We blew it. And all along, the aircraft that could have helped doctors clamp down on this have either sat idle or not been effectively utilized; in military and civil air cargo and tactical airlift circles, this is an indisputable and widely understood fact:
Weeks ago, within hours of an executive order, we could have placed tons of supplies deep into affected areas, simply by sourcing directly from hardware stores and retail distribution centers. Pallets filled with basic materials such as sheet plastic, sprayers, generators, UV lamps for sterilization, bleach, chlorine, clean water, hoses, water filters, hoses, fittings, folding tables, bedding, scrubs, gloves, masks, boots, eyeshields, could have been supplied with GPS guided parachute cargo systems or precision low altitude air drop.
Then as now, the material support needed in the field sits unused. In the hot zone, we could have rapidly placed vital supplies directly with engaged NGOs and aid workers and met their needs on time, on target and ahead of the curve. We instead fell behind and can only play catch up ball while each new case offers Ebola more opportunities to deliver a more lethal and communicable strain. At what point do we take the obvious first steps and prioritize interdicting Ebola before it gallops further afield?
CDC, WHO, UN and the White House have allowed thousands more deaths and a far, far wider spread of Ebola simply by defaulting to traditional denialism followed by reluctant acknowledgement, and finally now, a race to claim credit for what will take weeks to implement.
We could have launched an effective response within hours of a trip to a typical Wal Mart or hardware store, medical supply outlet or federal logistics center. It's a problem allowed to grow large enough to become a headline issue, a crisis looking for spokesmen and soundbites that politicians are now happy to supply
What exactly is our continuing excuse? No amount of political eye gouging and partisan posturing is going to move the needle on this; right now, the only question that matters is how many more will die while we speak of grand gestures while still missing the smallest response.
Ebola's spread could have, should have, been a non event-now, it's a study in bungled crisis management, and all agree it's not something we'd want to try out in our own health care system. How much bureaucracy qualifies as urgency?
Would you want the same if your house was on fire?

-t