When the western world becomes aware of a crisis that
doesn’t directly affect us, it is in our nature to take a second in counting
ourselves lucky, another five seconds to feel terribly for those it affects,
and then, completely forget about it.
Every now and again though, there is a story, or rather a crisis, which
refuses to go away. Every news programme starts with it, every pub conversation
- albeit swiftly - references it, and everyone guffaws at the fact that it
doesn’t affect us. Hooray.
It is this jovial attitude towards global tragedies, such as
the recent Ebola outbreak, that will one day prove costly for all those who
underestimate its scope. The reality
that people are dying all over the planet escapes us, because “oh it’s in
Africa” and “it’s impossible for us to catch it”. What’s strange about this is
that every major government official is not treating matters so lightly. It seems the prudent approach that health
organisations are trying to impose only reach us as background noise, some
filler for the six o' clock news that takes a back seat, whilst who’s been booted
out of X-factor rides shotgun.
Whilst, for all intents and purposes, the virus is one that
is very hard to contract, this does not somehow magically make the fourteen
thousand cases and five thousand plus deaths worldwide - some in the west –
disappear. The very fact that it is contagious should be enough to alarm us to
its potential danger, never mind the fact that there have been carriers of the
virus that have lived and breathed in our immediate airspace. Of course there
is always a delicate balancing act with things like this, so as not to cause
mass hysteria and worry - and rightly so. The problem lies with those who don’t
actively follow what’s going on but still form an uneducated, amoral viewpoint.
This kind of attitude and the virus itself juxtapose dangerously, and may lead
us towards a potential underestimation of the magnitude and severity of the
situation.
Whilst the virus seems to be under control for now, it is
the general attitude – particularly among the younger generations –that seems
to be less manageable. They seem more preoccupied with joking about it than
actually thinking about the effect it is having on thousands of people’s lives
across the globe. The Black Death seems a distant, forgotten reality. For all
its relevance in terms of how quickly these things can mutate and spread,
unfortunately it is largely irrelevant to those who weren’t directly affected.
All those who seem so assured that we have complete control of the situation that
they can tweet insensitive jokes don’t seem to understand the spontaneity and
unpredictability of the world, and are ignorant to its dangers. A more humanitarian, subjective viewpoint on
Ebola might make us really appreciate what we’ve got, and strive to protect
that.
A call for immediate action is not what I or anyone else
should expect, nor ask for. The truth is, all many of us really have the time
to do is spare a thought for others across the world who have been affected by
this horrible virus; for their families and friends. Our proximity to such a potentially
devastating pathogen should not correlate with our lack empathy; at least not
in the interconnected, media convergent modern world, where news spreads faster
than the virus itself. To treat Ebola as a joke will only encourage others to
mirror that. Even if you can’t afford to
help directly, then I implore you to at least give a damn. To donate to the
cause, please text EBOL35 with your donation amount to 70070.
