Though the World
Health Organization applauded Nigeria for being free of Ebola earlier this
week, a dangerous stigma continues to follow Nigerians and other West Africans,
propelled by international panic that West Africans are carrying or spreading
the disease.
Just this week, a
group of nine West African students traveling to the Commonwealth of Dominica
in the Caribbean were 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.
“They treated them like deportees,” a concerned parent told
SaharaReporters. “If teenagers can be treated like this, then what are the odds
for other people?”
Attempts to reach health and immigration officials in Saint
Martin for answers were met with several different—and conflicting—responses.
Some officials said a travel ban on West African countries affected by Ebola
was in place, and some said that no such measure existed.
Most interestingly, several officials at the sole airport on the
island of St. Martin, Princess Juliana International Airport, said that no ban
on travel from Ebola-affected countries was in place. “There is no ban,” a
security officer at the airport said. “Not to my knowledge, not yet.”
The security official and others in the airport’s executive
office had no knowledge of any kind of official ban, instead referring
SaharaReporters to the island’s Office of Immigration and Ministry of Health.
Clear answers were not given by anyone in the government of St.
Martin either. Responding staff had no information at all on a possible ban or
why students from countries unaffected by Ebola, neither did the country’s
website.
An administrative assistant in the St. Martin Ministry of
Health, Maria Henry, was the only source that said that such a ban existed. “We
have a travel ban,” she said.
Regardless of whether a ban exists or not, the response of St.
Martin aiport and immigration officials to the teenage students seemed like a
gross overreaction, seeing as there are no active cases of Ebola in either
Nigeria or Ghana.
Even in the destination country, Dominica, government sources
say there is no travel ban on travel from Ebola-affected West African
countries.
“There is no ban,” an anonymous source from the Ministry of
Tourism said.
“I am worried that in a free world such as ours, certain
countries, airlines and corporations can take such actions with impunity on
law-abiding Nigerian citizens without fear of reprisal or remorse,” a parent
told SaharaReporters. “The emotional, physical and financial impact of this
event on all involved should not be left to be suffered by these children and
their parents alone.”
“Imagine the nightmare and despair of the parents as well as the
trauma these children have experienced,” another parent said.
Though the students have since returned home, parents tell
SaharaReporters that they are still working with All Saints Medical School to
determine how these students can return to start school, and if students can be
reimbursed for the return trip. Parents say they expect an answer on Monday,
yet continue to request an official explanation from officials in St. Martin.
“We demand answers and an apology,” parents said.
Culled from Sahara Reporters.
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