Wednesday, October 22, 2014

'I am a Liberian, not a virus': West Africans hit back against Ebola stigma...

“You’re from Liberia, so you have a disease”. When Shoana Solomon’s nine-year-old daughter came home from her American school and told her mother what her classmates were saying, Solomon knew there was trouble ahead.

Solomon, a photographer and TV presenter, moved her daughter to the US from a school in Liberia’s capital Monrovia in September. Despite coming from an Ebola zone, she says she was not subjected to any particular scrutiny upon arrival on American soil.

But as fear about Ebola mounts, Liberians in the US are increasingly finding themselves in a difficult position. With stigma and paranoia on the rise, Solomon has launched a campaign aimed at encouraging others to treat Liberians normally.

“The day after that happened to my daughter, I made a Facebook post,” Solomon told the Guardian. “I said, oh my goodness, my daughter’s being stigmatised. I said: Get ready.” Full story...

Related posts:
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  2. Ron Paul: Ebola panic is much more dangerous than the disease itself...
  3. Nursing staff in Spain resign from their posts to avoid treating Ebola cases...
  4. Ebola patient escapes medical centre, spreads panic in Monrovia
  5. Is it Ebola or is it psychological warfare?

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