Are Liberians Responsible For the Spread of Ebola, and How Can We Contain It?
By Ava Gaddis
Article Summary
In the article, Liberians in Texas say "Don't blame us" for Ebola, it explains how Liberians in the United States are being blamed for the spread of Ebola. Many people think they should be sent back to Liberia to make sure they do not carry the disease as well. However, the Liberians are arguing that just because they are of Liberian descent, that doesn't mean they automatically have the Ebola Virus. Meanwhile, the United States government is working hard to contain the deadly virus and prevent it from sweeping the nation. One popular idea is to close the Liberian borders to ensure that nobody can leave or come into the country. During a press meeting, someone spoke up and mentioned that once the borders of Liberia are closed off, that also closes off trade and commerce for the whole country. That would be terrible for the welfare of the country, but it is being debated because it is one of our few options to keep the virus contained.
Analysis
When i read this article, I was actually very shocked to hear that people actually thought that just because people are Liberian they are responsible for bringing over Ebola. Obviously it was brought by someone from the country, but those one or two people do not speak for all Liberians. I think many people are just paranoid about the spread of the virus. I will admit, I too am a little scared that the virus could spread to our area, but I don't think all the Liberians in the US are responsible. In my opinion, the Liberians in America are not to blame for the spread of the disease. I find it horrible and upsetting how just because they are from Liberian descent people automatically assume they have Ebola, or brought it over the border. However, the spread of Ebola needs to be stopped immediately and I think that even though it would be risky for Liberia, the borders should be closed. I think that we should ship tons of goods over to the country before the borders are closed so the country will not suffer. Ebola needs to be contained as much as possible and this is the best possible way to do so.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you agree or disagree with Liberia’s borders being closed? Why or why not?
2. Do you feel that the Liberians in the US were responsible for carrying over Ebola?
3. In your opinion, what is the best way to contain Ebola?
Link to article:
https://newsela.com/articles/texas-ebola/id/5470/
I agree with what you said about needing to close off Liberia. I also agree that they need goods sent over there before it is closed off. Hopefully Ebola, doesn't spread much more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about needing to close off Liberia. I also agree that they need goods sent over there before it is closed off. Hopefully Ebola, doesn't spread much more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liberia’s borders being closed. I agree because I think it is the only way to stop it from spreading out of Africa even more. I do not think the Liberia people are responsible for Ebola. They are not responsible because they might no have been in Africa and got the disease and came back to the US. In my opinion the best way to contain Ebola is to stop air traffic from Africa.
ReplyDeleteEven though closing the border would be bad for the Liberians i think it should definitely be a possibility. I think this because we could make a way for the trade to still work with the area we would just have to check the trade and make sure the virus would not travel with the items!
ReplyDeleteP.S.- Great work on this blog! :)
I think it is unfair that people are accusing the Liberians of bringing the Ebola virus to the United States just because they are Liberian.
ReplyDeleteI believe that closing their borders was the right choice because they weren't doing much in terms of controlling it. We should only give flights to people who are proven to not be ill. We should worry about our own countries until the disease is proven to be slowing down. Until then we should take our precautions and watch what we do in terms of spreading this deadly disease.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the fact that the Liberian borders should be closed since the Ebola virus spreads very fast and if another person gets the Ebola virus from Africa and spreads it to other countries besides America then it would be even harder to get rid of the deadly disease.Great picture by the way.
ReplyDeleteI think it is completely unfair to blame Liberians for the spread of Ebola. I also think that locking down Liberia would do more harm than good for the people of Liberia. I think the best way to prevent the spread of Ebola would be to give vaccines to Liberians and to anyone who needs them regardless of how much the vaccines cost.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Liberians in America are not to blame for the spread of ebola to the U.S. I believe that closing their borders would be a decent idea but would destroy Liberia's government which is already struggling.
ReplyDelete