THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN SIERRA LEONE

Author: Prince Foday

Country Overview

The outbreak of Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has brought mix-feeling among the people. The virus started its raid from the Eastern region of the nation.  The Department of health was alerted about the virus but press release showed that there were no cases of anyone infected. There was a lukewarm attitude on part of the health department and Government to take preventive measures to contain the virus at the identified point of invasion. The approach to the problem is continuing to yield a negative outcome of the increasing spread of the virus.  How would you take someone infected by Ebola virus in a town in Kailahun District to Kenema for treatment? More still, is the sensitisation approach and the peoples’ lost trust in the health care system.  Most people are having the feeling that reporting an ill-health, even when unrelated, would be branded as an Ebola infection. The epidemic is brewing different interpretations from the people. Among the interpretations is the unenthusiastic response by President Ernest Bai Koroma on the outbreak of the virus in the Eastern region merely because it is not his political stronghold, apart from other issues raised on witchcraft, national curse, terrorism and institutional virus manufacturing and solution creation for a profit motive. The President is figured as someone that is not promoting national unity and having bias national leadership approach, the intervening approach to Ebola virus is a case by a school of thought.

Blowing the Bubble from the Global Baobab Tree

The Ebola epidemic is posing a great threat to human existence. When it started in the far-east of Sierra Leone, the government was alerted about it but the issue was swept under the carpet. The government only became sensitive about it upon the deaths of some people and a medical Doctor, Dr Shiek Khan. The emergence of epidemic led to different explanations among the people. It triggered the past feeling of late President Momoh’s handling of the civil war because it started from a region that is not his All Peoples’ Congress (APC) led political party stronghold. The approach to the war triggered the peoples’ mind from the southern and eastern regions that it is a continuing plot to reduce their population. Information reached the intelligence desk about a potential rebel attack on Sierra Leone and the ongoing latent business dealings between the border protecting soldiers of Sierra Leone and Liberia but no action was taken by the APC Momoh led government to take action to curb the deviation of border protecting personnel in protecting the nation from the eastern part of Sierra Leone that is sharing border with Liberia, instead they were left to operate on their peril that led to the vulnerability and rebel attack from Liberia. The situation triggered a suspicion that the said Momoh led government may have orchestrated the move to reduce the voting population of southern and eastern provinces. Whether this is true or not a reasonable proportion of them held such inner-view.  The outbreak of the Ebola virus from the eastern part of Sierra Leone ignited the memories of the past about the same ploy to reduce the population of the southern and eastern regions. The George Soros sponsored bioweapons laboratory added fuel to the suspicion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrkhA_kXo68&feature=share

). Further suspicion from some people was gathered from this thread (http://birdflu666.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/sierra-leone-orders-us-bioweapons-lab-at-centre-of-ebola-outbreak-to-be-relocated-tulane-university-to-stop-ebola-testing/

 ). There are schools of thought holding the view that the claim that the virus is spread by Monkeys, Bats and bushmeat in general is a gimmick, particularly where no one had suffered from such virus in the past from the identified sources of the virus. For decade ago, some people have been eating Monkeys, sharing mangoes and other fruits with Bats and eating bush meat, yet still, we had no suspected cases of Ebola infections. It is even claimed that George Soros sponsored Bioweapons Laboratory had been undertaking dodgy activities like testing products on Monkeys, bats and other bush meats, and even vulnerable Sierra Leoneans. This reminds me of my visit to Cottage Hospital in the Eastern part of Freetown where I saw many poor and vulnerable members of society queuing to sell their blood in order to have a plate of Cookery per day and solve their personal problems. It could be possible that the George Soros Lab had used the poor and vulnerable to test his product, particularly for a Country where investors (genuine and non-genuine) are at liberty to do anything as long as a percentage of the investment is going to the master’s private purse.  Even more, is the fact that most Sierra Leoneans have been pushed to the end of not having a square meal per day or required calories per day, an issue that is a contributing factor to the killing of our peoples’ immune system. Other interpretations gathered regarding the lukewarm attitude on the part of the health department and government is that they wanted the Ebola virus to spread in order to exploit domestic and foreign assistance, and to find a way of endorsing President Koroma’s third term. Furthermore, is the feeling that the government is playing around national Ebola infection statistics in order to attract more funds, which is felt by those who are nationally alert that a larger proportion of the funds may likely be diverted to private pockets, particularly for a country known to estimated use 80% or more of funds on administration and 20% or less on the target group, the 80% or more for Administration being shared between private pockets and administration.

Commendation and the Threat of Global Terrorism

I have to commend the relentless efforts from the international community for their intervention in helping us solve the Ebola plague in my country and other affected nations. It is good we have such needed support from them in this challenging time. The increasing action and concern from outside is clear evidence to ongoing efforts in the spirit of globalisation. We are all humans, regardless of where we accidentally find ourselves. The truth is that the Ebola virus is posing a challenge to mankind and we all have to fight it to the point of complete eradication. Thanks to the international community for being by our side any time we are in problem. As they are helping us fight the Ebola epidemic, we also have to be on their side in fighting terrorism plaguing the international community. Terrorism is posing a threat to human peaceful co-existence and it is clear now we have such evil threats around us. Sometime back, Kenya experienced a massive terror attack on a shopping mall that led to the deaths of locals and foreign nations. Britain, the United States of America and other developed nations have had the taste of terrorism and still continue to have such threat hanging around their nations. Terrorism is a global problem and such an evil act is now very severe and hanging around nations in a global society. If we could reflect the past, information reached the intelligent desk of Sierra Leone on a potential attack by the terror cell, “Al Shabab”, for the country sending troops to fight terror in Somalia. This terror cells from documentaries I had watched have clandestine tools to destabilise nations found to be fighting against them. They can manufacture explosives, virus and other lethal weapons to create mayhem on mankind. It is time for terror cells to evaluate their actions, like the negative impact of terrorism on mankind, to which, we all belong. The Supreme Being responsible for our presence on planet earth loves peace and any act by those that use religion and otherwise as a trump card to cause mayhem on mankind is against God’s call for human peaceful co-existence, peace being the point of convergence for all forms of religion in the world.

Personal Opinion and Caution

It is time for us all to rethink our actions and focus on peaceful means of presenting and acting on our grievances. Conflicts are natural and there are local and international institutions meant to arbitrate conflicts. The only caution is the need for our society to transform their system from white-wash justice and democratic system to the true meaning of justice and democracy.  The Ebola virus is real and killing our people. It is time for us all be vigilant against terror and the battle against the Ebola virus. Before the Ebola virus, I recommended that our President and governance open “Day Care Centres” for feeding the people, but we have a President and governance system that only cares about amassing wealth rather than addressing the burning concern of the people. I am writing this piece and presenting the gathered information because I have a genuine love for my country and the people and this is not politically driven, as I still remain to be on the fence when it comes to the politics of Sierra Leone. I and many others are victims of bad governance, and this should not be the case, looking at the God-given wealth of our nation. When I look at the Country I am living in currently (United Kingdom), I see that true passion of the governance for their people. The United Kingdom is a nation where there is a stage set for all to grow if you want to grow; even the lazy and vulnerable are given the support they deserve. Looking at the God-given gift of my country, there is no excuse not to do the same thing for a small population (approximately six million). We are hale from a country where the country is so rich for the bulk of our people to continue to suffer. There is the norm of the rich not sharing the riches with the poor and even wanting more at the expense of the people. 

Author:

Prince Foday

Reporter, Human Rights