'I am Liberian, Not A Virus': A campaign against Ebola stereotyping and prejucide

'I am Liberian, Not A Virus': A campaign against Ebola stereotyping and prejucide
'I am Liberian, Not A Virus': A campaign against Ebola stereotyping and prejucide
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The News Minute | October 23, 2014 | 02:25 pm IST The fear of Ebola, the deadly virus that has claimed over 4500 lives in the west African nations of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, is spreading such that apparently it has lead to stigmatisation of people hailing from these countries. TV host Shoana Clarke Solomon's daughter one day returned home 'hurt' and 'upset' from her school in the US. 'You are from Liberia. So you have a disease', her classmates apparently told her. Solomon moved her daughter from Liberia to the US in September and they were not made to undergo any particular tests for the virus, reports The Guardian.  Solomon's sister's daughter, who lives in the US, was also asked to not send her daughter to school temporarily after she sneezed 'a couple of times' in class. According to The Guardian, the girl had never been to Liberia, and had not come in contact with anyone returning from Liberia for two years.Shortly after the incident with her daughter, Solomon created and uploaded a video on Facebook named 'I am a Liberian, not a virus', in an attempt to stop the stigmatisation that her people were being subjected to and to fight back against the stereotyping and prejudice. In the video she says that many people in several West African countries have been affected by the virus, but 'we are not all infected'. "It is wrong to stereotype and stigmatise an entire people", she adds. Her video has gone viral, and many have come up to support her. The #IamALiberianNotAVirus has also been making the rounds on social media; people are posting pictures of themselves along with holding a placard which reads 'I am A Liberian Not A Virus'.Wilhelmina from Myeonway Designs #IamALiberianNotAVirus #EbolaStigma pic.twitter.com/aP69efWih0— Liberian Ent Awards (@LibEntAwards) October 14, 2014#IAmALiberianNotAVirus! #Stigma hurts my sons, pleas #EndTheHate. pic.twitter.com/rtxqA2kfmn— HIV Advocate Mom (@SaveRyanWhiteD) October 19, 2014Liberian artist, Bene Vee, #IamALiberianNotAVirus #EbolaStigma #EbolaAwareness #EbolaBeGone #Ebola pic.twitter.com/cpADgIwHY5— Liberian Ent Awards (@LibEntAwards) October 15, 2014#iamaliberiannotavirus #ebolaisreal #Ebola pic.twitter.com/I1feSpsz7N— Al Johnson (@libaljohnson) October 15, 2014

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