We are isolating persons infected and affected by the Ebola crisis, but not along the lines the medical and public health sectors are promoting as a strategic response to the outbreak. Rather, America’s response to the recent Ebola outbreak throughout much of its deadly march across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has been largely one of “out of sight, out of mind.”
Though fairly visible to Americans through media sources, the Ebola crisis had not been seen or acknowledged by many of us in ways resulting in large-scale, systematic action. Perhaps this can be traced to compassion fatigue or a general sense of helplessness in the face of so many tragedies occurring around the globe.
But American inattention to this crisis also stems from a long-standing isolationist emphasis within U.S. foreign policy and frequently within American culture in general, where too often we view problems beyond our borders as largely outside our realm of responsibility—unless of course those problems happen to jeopardize our political and economic interests abroad or our security here at home. With the announcement on September 30 of a confirmed case of Ebola in Texas and with the death of that patient, Oct. 8, and the announcement of the infection of a nurse involved in the treatment of that patient, the crisis has now been brought dramatically closer to home. President Obama referred to Ebola in a September 25 U.N. speech as a regional security threat, but it grows clearer with each day that Ebola’s reach is decidedly more than regional.
Moreover, the reasons the epidemic should concern us go well beyond security matters – especially to the extent we believe the U.S. stands for more in the world than simply its own strategic and security interests. For many, the U.S. is also defined by humanitarian interests and moral imperatives inspired by the noblest instincts within American faith and civic traditions. The global obligations and opportunities deriving from American power and privilege have been articulated by many representing those sectors, none perhaps more eloquently than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In King’s 1967 book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, he describes the interrelatedness of persons and nations in terms of a “world house in which we all have to live together… a family…who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.” In that same passage comes one of his more well-known phrases: “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
Although the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was formally acknowledged in March of this year, it was not until late-September that significant U.S. governmental and private sector resources were deployed in response to the crisis in West Africa. This included a U.S. governmental deployment to West Africa of several thousand military personnel tasked with enhancing medical response capacities through logistical support and construction of treatment and training facilities. The Obama Administration has also committed more than $100 million via USAID and potentially $500 million more through Pentagon channels, and it has asked Congress to provide additional monies. Meanwhile, in late-September the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it is contributing $50 million to fighting the West African outbreak.
All of the resources targeted at West Africa to halt the spread of the virus are to be commended. But as the numbers of persons infected with the virus grow exponentially (the Center for Disease Control projects as many as 1.4 million persons potentially infected by January) resource allocations may not be nearly enough to keep pace with economic costs of responding to the outbreak. Early-September calculations of the cost for combating the virus were in the $600 million range, which may or may not be projections anticipating the September jump in infections from 3,500 confirmed cases in early-September to almost 7,500 cases by early-October (based on World Health Organization figures).
Currently, five new cases are occurring every hour in Sierra Leone according to the organization Save the Children and the number is expected to increase to 10 new cases per hour within the next three weeks. In light of the escalating levels of infection and the more than 4,000 confirmed deaths, questions have emerged from many directions about what could have or should have been done by the world community (especially through America’s global leadership) to have better contained the outbreak.
In a morbid way, the seemingly unrelenting spread of the Ebola virus reinforces King’s observations about people never again living apart and about all being affected in some way by what happens to any one of us. Even if Americans felt little solidarity with West Africans in the previous months of the Ebola crisis, the confirmation of infections among the American populace might make us more willing to see this as a global crisis where isolationist instincts have to give way to a full-fledged U.S. response. Hopefully, we will indeed respond to the urgency of this crisis with what will be equally urgent levels of compassion and resource mobilization—not simply because Ebola has reached our shores, but because whoever is touched by this calamity is tied to every one of us through a common humanity.
R. Drew Smith, PhD. is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and is co-convener of the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race. He first traveled to Sierra Leone and Liberia in 1984 as an Operation Crossroads Africa group leader and has remained active in faith-based community development activities in the two countries.
– Source: http://www.afro.com/ebola-and-the-problem-of-our-isolation/#sthash.Z02Iw3Lx.dpuf
"""Tunawatenganisha watu walioambukizwa na walioathiriwa na mgogoro wa Ebola, lakini sio kwa njia ambayo sekta za matibabu na afya ya umma zinaendeleza kama majibu ya kimkakati kwa janga hilo." "Kwa kweli, majibu ya Marekani kwa mlipuko wa hivi karibuni wa Ebola katika sehemu kubwa ya maandamano yake ya mauti katika Liberia, Guinea na Sierra Leone imekuwa kwa kiasi kikubwa moja ya ""nje ya macho, nje ya akili"" Ingawa inaonekana kwa Wamarekani kupitia vyanzo vya vyombo vya habari, mgogoro wa Ebola haukuonekana au kutambuliwa na wengi wetu kwa njia ya kusababisha hatua kubwa, utaratibu." Labda hii inaweza kufuatiliwa kwa uchovu wa huruma au hisia ya jumla ya kutokuwa na msaada mbele ya msiba mwingi unaotokea ulimwenguni kote. Lakini kutojali kwa Marekani kwa mgogoro huu pia kunatokana na msisitizo wa muda mrefu wa kujitenga ndani ya sera ya kigeni ya Marekani na mara nyingi ndani ya utamaduni wa Marekani kwa ujumla, ambapo mara nyingi sana tunaona matatizo nje ya mipaka yetu kama mbali zaidi nje ya uwanja wetu wa wajibu - isipokuwa, bila shaka, matatizo hayo yanatokea kuhatarisha maslahi yetu ya kisiasa na kiuchumi nje au usalama wetu hapa nyumbani. Baada ya kutangazwa kwa kesi ya Ebola huko Texas mnamo Septemba 30, na kifo cha mgonjwa huyo mnamo Oktoba 8, na kutangazwa kwa maambukizi ya muuguzi aliyehusika katika matibabu ya mgonjwa huyo, mgogoro huo sasa umesababisha athari kubwa. Rais Obama ametaja ugonjwa wa Ebola katika hotuba yake ya Septemba 25 katika Umoja wa Mataifa kama tishio la usalama wa mkoa, lakini inakuwa wazi zaidi kila siku kwamba Ebola inafikia zaidi ya mkoa. "Aidha, sababu za janga hilo zinapaswa kutuhangaisha zinaendelea zaidi ya masuala ya usalama, hasa kwa kiwango tunachoamini Marekani inasimama kwa zaidi ya maslahi yake ya kimkakati na usalama.""" Kwa wengi, Marekani pia hufafanuliwa na maslahi ya kibinadamu na mahitaji ya maadili yaliyoongozwa na misukumo ya kipekee ndani ya imani ya Marekani na mila za kiraia. """Mabavu na fursa za kimataifa zinazotokana na nguvu na upendeleo wa Marekani zimetajwa na wengi wanaowakilisha sekta hizo, labda hakuna mmoja zaidi ya Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." "Katika kitabu chake cha 1967 ""Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,"" King alielezea uhusiano wa watu na mataifa katika suala la ""nyumba ya dunia ambayo sisi sote tunapaswa kuishi pamoja, familia ambayo, kwa sababu hatuwezi kuishi tena mbali, lazima kujifunza kwa njia fulani kuishi pamoja kwa amani.""Kila kitu kinachomathiri moja kwa moja huathiri wote kwa njia isiyo ya moja kwa moja." Serikali ya Marekani imepeleka maelfu ya wanajeshi Afrika Magharibi ili kuimarisha uwezo wa matibabu kwa kuandaa vifaa na kujenga vituo vya matibabu na mafunzo. Serikali ya Obama imetoa zaidi ya dola milioni 100 kupitia USAID na uwezekano wa dola milioni 500 zaidi kupitia njia za Pentagon, na imeomba Bunge kutoa fedha za ziada. Mwezi Septemba, shirika la Bill na Melinda Gates Foundation lilitangaza kuwa limetoa dola milioni 50 kwa ajili ya kupambana na ugonjwa huo. """Vifaa vyote vilivyotumiwa katika Afrika Magharibi kuzuia kuenea kwa virusi vinastahili kupongezwa." Lakini kwa kuwa idadi ya watu walioambukizwa virusi vya corona inaongezeka kwa kasi (Kituo cha Kudhibiti Magonjwa kinatarajia kuwa watu milioni 1.4 watakuwa wameambukizwa kufikia Januari), ugawaji wa rasilimali huenda usiwe wa kutosha kushikilia kasi ya gharama za kiuchumi za kukabiliana na mlipuko. Takwimu za mapema Septemba za gharama za kupambana na virusi vilikuwa katika safu ya $ 600 milioni, ambayo inaweza au haiwezi kuwa makadirio ya kutarajia kuruka kwa maambukizi ya Septemba kutoka kesi 3,500 zilizothibitishwa mapema Septemba hadi karibu kesi 7,500 mapema Oktoba (kwa msingi wa takwimu za Shirika la Afya Ulimwenguni). Kwa sasa, kila saa kuna visa vitano vipya vya ugonjwa wa korona nchini Sierra Leone, kulingana na shirika la Save the Children, na inatarajiwa kuwa idadi hiyo itaongezeka hadi visa 10 vipya kwa saa katika wiki tatu zijazo. Kwa kuzingatia viwango vinavyoongezeka vya maambukizi na vifo zaidi ya 4,000 vilivyothibitishwa, maswali yameibuka kutoka pande nyingi kuhusu kile ambacho jamii ya ulimwengu (haswa kupitia uongozi wa kimataifa wa Amerika) ingeweza au inapaswa kufanya ili kuzuia janga hilo. Kwa njia ya kuogofya, kuenea kwa virusi vya Ebola kunathibitisha uchunguzi wa King kuhusu watu ambao hawawezi kuishi mbali tena na kuhusu wote kuathiriwa kwa njia fulani na kile kinachotokea kwa yeyote kati yetu. "Hata kama Wamarekani walijisikia mshikamano kidogo na Waafrika Magharibi katika miezi ya awali ya mgogoro wa Ebola, uthibitisho wa maambukizo kati ya watu wa Marekani unaweza kutufanya kuwa tayari kuona hili kama mgogoro wa kimataifa ambapo instincts isolationist lazima kutoa njia ya majibu kamili ya Marekani. """ """Tunatarajia kwamba kwa kweli tutaitikia dharura ya mgogoro huu kwa kiwango cha haraka cha huruma na kuhamasisha rasilimali - sio kwa sababu tu Ebola imefika pwani zetu, lakini kwa sababu yeyote anayeguswa na msiba huu ameunganishwa na kila mmoja wetu kupitia ubinadamu wa kawaida." R. Drew Smith, PhD. "Patchwell ni profesa wa Pittsburgh Theological Seminary na mwenyekiti wa ""Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race.""" Aliwasili Sierra Leone na Liberia mwaka 1984 kama kiongozi wa kikundi cha Operation Crossroads Africa na amebaki akifanya kazi katika shughuli za maendeleo ya jamii ya imani katika nchi hizo mbili. "Mwanzoni mwa wiki hii, tumeona ""Ebola and the Problem of Our Isolation"" (Ebola na tatizo la kutengwa kwetu) kwenye ukurasa wa ZW3LX.dpuf."