Internet Image
Despite the fact that World Health Organization has
declared Nigeria free of Ebola, a dangerous stigma continues to follow Nigerians
and other West Africans since the outbreak of the deadly virus. This is largely
due to by international panic that West Africans are carrying or spreading the
disease.
Saharareporters reported a story of a group of nine West
African students traveling to the Commonwealth of Dominica in the Caribbean was
barred from entry to Saint Martin, a stop en route to Dominica.
The students, who planned to study at the All Saints
Medical School in Dominica, were told that they could not enter the island to
catch the 30 minute connecting flight that would bring them to Dominica because
of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The students, four female and five male, left Lagos,
Nigeria aboard Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday, October 18th, billed to arrive
in Dominica on Sunday the 19th. Following a 22-hour flight, the
students arrived in St. Martin, yet were refused entry to the island because of
concern regarding Ebola.
This rejection came after the students showed evidence
that they tested negative for the virus. None of the nine, who came from both
Nigeria and Ghana, were ever even exposed to infected persons.
Rather than finish the journey, the students were sent
back to Nigeria, first flown to Panama, then Brazil, then Togo, then Nigeria
this past Wednesday. A trip of 22 hours ballooned into a nightmarish
five-day ordeal, with the return trip costing students N575,000. During the
period, the teenagers slept in airport lobbies unattended, without any amenities.
Neither the parents nor the school were notified of the developments.
No comments:
Post a Comment