A Liberian-American woman filmed a now-viral video to challenge xenophobic attitudes in light of Ebola’s proliferation. With the slogan “I am a Liberian, not a virus,” Shoana Solomon sheds light on the recent stigmatization of people of African descent.
After Solomon’s 9-year-old daughter was told she has a disease because she is from Liberia, Solomon shared the incident on Facebook. A day later, Solomon’s niece sneezed in school and was sent home, despite having never traveled to Liberia or interacted with anyone who had visited the country in the past two years.
So Solomon, a TV presenter, decided to take action by publicly addressing misdirected discrimination. In her video, Solomon holds a sign with the campaign’s slogan and talks about her child’s experience, as well as the experiences of many others who have been ostracized.
“I am hurt and upset. We are Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, Guineans and Nigerians. We live in a region that has been devastated by a deadly disease, but we’re not all infected. It is wrong to stereotype and stigamatize an entire people. Remember, we are human beings.”
[For more go to http://billmoyers.com/2014/10/...rected-ebola-stigma/]
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