When the rise in cases of Ebola started to be reported earlier this year, many people didn’t pay too much attention. The issue of Ebola was an “African” issue and only those in Africa were being affected. Many of the articles I read on Ebola pointed out the history of the virus in Africa, specifically noting that Ebola has been around since the 1970’s. The rural villages in poor countries that were affected often saw fatalities as a result from the virus, but those numbers paled in comparison to what we’ve witnessed in 2014.
Thousands began dying of Ebola in countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria. The most severely affected countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea have very weak health systems, lacking many resources, having only recently emerged from long periods of conflict and instability. The combined population of all 5 countries is approximately 210 million people. Of those, approximately 10,000 people have been infected and 5,000 have died. This percentage doesn’t come close to the number of people who have died or will die of malnourishment and starvation this year. Or the amount of people who have died or will die as a result of war this year.
When reports of North Americans becoming infected began to surface, that’s when the population as a whole realized that Ebola was no longer an African problem. Quite quickly, teams were on the hunt for a vaccine while the panic set in. Ebola showed up in America and people lost their shit. The media had and continues to have a fucking hay day reporting a virus that has been around for almost 50 years as if it were just discovered.
I sat back and watched people post naïve and ignorant shit on social media. Since Ebola stemmed from Africa, of course race was now mixed in with opinions. It’s amazing how people will make the most outrageous assumptions out of fear and misunderstanding. I attempted to make a point one day that we need not to panic with the stats I have mentioned above only to have some woman retaliate with, “fine, when Ebola comes to Canada and starts killing everyone, the infected can stay with you at your home.” Right, cause that makes any sense at all. We live in a 1st world country. If we are naïve enough to think that those don’t have protocol in place for such an event, then maybe we deserve a catastrophe as a wake-up call. We so easily take for granted what the family members and friends of the victims of Ebola wished they could have. Perhaps if they had some of the new-age technology or resources we are lucky our country has, then their deceased loved ones may still be alive today.
Now, it seems we have come full circle. The pendulum has swung from downright panic to mockery. There’s a photo floating around Instagram of a “sexy hazmat suit” for a Halloween costume. Satirical news outlets are all over making Ebola a joke. A radio host joked about going as Ebola for Halloween on Sirius XM. I get that these people are poking fun at the ridiculous panic that has ensued, as they are trying to dispel the fear through comedy. I don’t have a problem with that. But, I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I didn’t have a problem!
My problem lies in the fact that 5,000 people have still died from the virus and it is very likely that number will only increase. That’s 5000 people who have friends, family, wives, husbands, children, grandchildren, people who cared for them deeply. When people choose to make fun of Ebola, it must be clear what their intentions are and who their audience is. It is cold-hearted and disrespectful for us, the ones living in countries where we do have immediate medical care, medicines, quarantine facilities, prevention methods, to joke around about Ebola as if we are invincible. We are not invincible, we are privileged.
We often forget or overlook what others realities may be like as we are so far removed from say, the state of a country in Africa. Not only that, but our assumptions about countries in Africa alone play into our ability to joke about deadly viruses. It’s wrong for us to minimize the fact that thousands have died and will continue to die. While the people of affected countries cry for help as they bury their dead, we closely watch the news to hear of the newest way our country is protecting us by preventing the spread of Ebola to even coming here.
It is our duty as the first-world population to keep in mind that a death anywhere in the world, regardless of race, class, gender, or religion, is still a death. One that must be mourned. While we can mock those who allow their fear to control them, we should not mock the reality of a deadly virus that has killed. I’m not one for playing into fear-mongering and that is not my intention with this blog. Instead, I want to pay my respects to those who have been directly affected by Ebola who may take offense to us North Americans making light of the situation.
The Personal Is Political 