Right to Humanitarian Intervention.

Under The Human Rights Tree:

Right to Humanitarian Intervention: Stop Ebola by Supporting Doctors Without Borders.

                                                                                                                    

On May 30, 2015, we decided to get together at the Heartland Café, to bring awareness on Ebola and raise money to support Doctors Without Borders on their fight against the disease of Ebola in West Africa.

Ebola has been around since 1970. It appeared in the heart of Africa, Congo in 1976, in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, and the other in Yambuku, a village near the Ebola River from which the disease takes its name. Ebola learned to crawl; the world talked about it, not much was done to eradicate the disease.

In 2014, another outbreak started in Forest Guinea which is located at the southeastern part of Guinea and is characterized by its natural beauties of rain forest, mahogany, leak and ebony trees. In this region, the mount Nimbi lays as a green boa snake with rare species that exist nowhere in the world. A view, at the top of the Nimbi, offers a green carpet covering the land, a blue ribbon of fresh waters serpentine the landscape, a smiling sun and a bright, blue sky at the horizon. You will be mesmerized by the fresh air all around you, and the result of this beautiful picture is the gentle touch on nature by humans and the work of the greatest of all artists, God.

It was in this paradise on earth that a child named Emile Ouamouna, in the village of Meliandou, was attacked by a free tailed bat while his mother, sister and his grandmother were busy with their domestic duties, and his father was working the land and hoping the gods would reward his hard work. In December 2, 2013, Emile started having a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. In December 6, 2013, he died. A few days later the mother, grandmother and his sister were killed. As far as we could remember, the population of Meliandou has always lived in harmony with their surroundings, but this time, the gods were going mad. Vieux Pierre called it “The Evil Spirit”, and Doctors Without Borders called it “Ebola”.

From Guinea, Ebola learned to crawl, walk and cross artificial borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Doctors Without Borders sounded the alarm, but the Guinean, Sierra Leone and Liberian authorities, and World Health Organization, decided to ignore their calls and refused to take necessary measures to deal with the disease; consequently, Ebola learned to fly, and we witnessed cases in United States and Europe. Finally, the World Health Organization decided it was time to call for action, but on May 24, 2015, the outbreak has 27,049 reported cases resulting in 11,149 deaths.

As a result, we decided to respond to the despair of Ebola’s victims by having a fundraising event to Stop Ebola by Supporting Doctors Without Borders. People came from all around the Chicago area, and they responded by sharing their artistic skills, time and money. They supported our effort to make the world a better place, because they understood that Ebola is a threat to humanity, and we must come together to fight it. They also understood, there is one race which is the human race, and the key to our survival as race is compassion. Thank you for your compassion, we really appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Alpha Diallo                           

You could learn more:

• Ebola virus: What is it? We explain in 60 seconds- BBC News.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_itlEamvBo

• Now is the time to share humanity-World Humanitarian Day 2015.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAKbv6-Y58s

• Watch Frontline: “ Outbreak”

      www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MHBnQzhdYM

• Africa Stop Ebola

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruYQY6z3mV8