Sierra Leone caught in the eclipse of Ebola

With great Optimism, I pen down these few words. We all know the duration of an eclipse. It is but a passing phase in the life of the moon and very rare in the dynamics of the universe. I likened the span of the Ebola outbreak to an eclipse because it is a passing phase which was expected of the presence of Ebola in our land. Ours lasted longer. It was tragic, fatal and lasted too long! We had expected it to be over sooner with less lives lost … BUT… (Photo: Chadia Talib, author)

It’s good to celebrate the end of this nightmare … to anticipate not ever going through such suffering in the future and to uphold the lessons taught by a virus not seen by the human eye.

It is also good to review where we went wrong, either due to ignorance, complacency or denial.

This nation has been held hostage by a virus for 18 months, first in the history of mankind. Untold stories have been recorded and human loss has been astronomical for a nation of 6 million. We should never forget that. We should not be caught up in the euphoria of the last day and lose sight of the pain of our scarred victims and lost lives.

I will not be one celebrating any individual on his or her part in the fight against Ebola. It was and is our duty to keep our people safe and out of harm’s way. It was and is our duty to act fast in the face of calamity to save lives. That has been my call from day 1 and I remain steadfast in that belief. It was and is our duty to arrest whatever danger we find ourselves in at any given time. Collective responsibility is what keeps nations safe and strong. And we have seen that firsthand, first of its kind, in the fight against Ebola. Our people, collectively, stood the test of times never seen or heard of in our history.

Sacrifices were made by all and sundry.

Endless hours were spent by individuals, researching and looking for answers with no known knowledge of the exterminator, Ebola!

Our health workers took the hit because they were at the forefront with their limited knowledge, battling an alien virus. Alien to us in Sierra Leone. We lost good souls. We lost saviors in the fight, saving souls. We lost great minds in the medical field, leaving a vacuum gaping at us.

Most of all … we lost our people. We lost our dignity in the face of death. Our copses lost their rights to be buried as tradition demands. Families lost their rights in bidding goodbye to loved ones. Ebola humiliated us as a nation and robbed us of our privacy. Our people got caught up in a fight they did not ask for nor willing to be part of. Tragic.

I would like to celebrate them … the victims. This should be a solemn celebration not a party.

For me, our victims are the real heroes in this fight. Our fallen citizens. May the Good Lord have mercy on their poor souls and grant them eternity and console their families left behind in confusion and utter shock!

Days gone by, in ancient traditions, nations prayed to their gods when witnessing an eclipse . For a split second, the world is drowned in pitch darkness when the sun crosses the path of the moon. Our darkness lasted too long.

We prayed.

We gave offerings to our Maker.

But the darkness intensified and devastated our land.

We thank God for the end of Ebola 7/11/15 (all odd numbers).

We are hopeful never to witness this magnitude of catastrophe ever again.

We should learn from our mistakes and intensify our quest in eradicating Illiteracy from Sierra Leone. We should strive to educate our people as that was the weapon we lacked during the Ebola fight.

Let us be resolute and resilient in educating our people just as we did in fighting Ebola. It takes but a promise to achieve that.

God Bless Sierra Leone.

By Chadia Talib

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