Word that more than 360,000 people across the world signed an online petition to save the life of a dog, owned by a Spanish nurse who was recently diagnosed with Ebola, puts the priorities of many people into very clear perspective.
The dog, named Excalibur, was killed by authorities who were fearful that he could possibly spread the virus, although he was never tested for it. That part of the story doesn’t make sense.
But the fact that that so many people could get worked up over one dog, while showing indifference to thousands of people who have lost their lives to the Ebola epidemic, is deeply disturbing. The outbreak is showing no sign of slowing down.
It appears that many people in Europe and North America do not care a whit about the poor people of West Africa who are dying of this terrible disease.
Some protesters even gathered outside the Madrid apartment of the nurse, calling police who came to get the dog “assassins.” Are they suggesting that one dog’s life, whether the dog should have been killed or not, is more valuable than the almost 4,000 lives lost to this disease this year?
Do they care at all about the children who have lost their parents, and the health care system in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which has lost many of its workers? Bear in mind that the doctor to patient ratio in these countries, before Ebola struck, was one of the worst in the world. In Sierra Leone, it was three doctors per 100,000 people.
I’m more interested in this story than some Westerners, because we visited Sierra Leone last December. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, but people at the time we visited were optimistic as the economy was improving and the country was finally getting beyond a horrible civil war, which killed and maimed thousands, destroyed infrastructure and caused investors to flee. Jobs remain scarce, and there is rampant poverty, but the people we met were almost all optimists, and treated us very well.
My daughter has been travelling to Sierra Leone since 2008, and has set up a foundation there to assist young people in gaining university educations, as well as encouraging them to mentor others and run health education programs. Her foundation, The People’s Foundation of Sierra Leone, has received donations from interested North Americans (some from this community), and through Langley Central Rotary Club. Several Langley Rotary clubs have been instrumental in helping her get the word out about the foundation.
While the Ebola situation in Sierra Leone isn’t quite as bad as it is in neighbouring Liberia, the hardest-hit country, it is nonetheless terrible. Schools are closed. Food is scarce and more expensive than usual. It is almost impossible to get any health treatment, as the few resources available are being used in the fight against Ebola.
Many foreigners and wealthy Sierra Leoneans have fled the country, and the consequence is that mostly poor people are left behind. Given the almost complete lack of sanitation and other basic services in the capital, Freetown, it is virtually impossible to stop the spread of the disease.
Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), which many know as Doctors Without Borders, virtually stood alone in trying to combat this disease until very recently. The national government has helped somewhat, mainly by quarantining certain areas of the country and doing house-to-house checks to see if there were unreported Ebola victims, but the government is weak and poorly-funded. Corruption is also an ongoing problem.
I heard last week that a container of medical supplies was held up at the docks in Freetown for a month — almost certainly because a bribe was not forthcoming.
Maybe it is the complexities of getting meaningful help to people in West Africa that causes so many to ignore their plight.
I love dogs as much as anyone and am saddened that Excalibur lost his life. However, I am even more saddened that so many wealthy people (and that includes almost everyone in the First World) are so indifferent to the fate of our fellow human beings.
Those who really want to make a difference in fighting Ebola should consider making a donation to MSF. Its online address is http://www.msf.ca.