We meet some of the citizen journalists who have been reporting on the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone since the beginning of the epidemic
In 2012 the citizen journalism training organisation, OnOurRadar ran a training programme in Sierra Leone and it’s these citizen reporters who have been sharing news about how Ebola has affected their communities all around Sierra Leone – from cities and mining towns to remote villages. Their reports were submitted using basic mobile phone technology, that’s available to them, sharing information via recorded telephone interviews, WhatsApp audio and photo functions, and SMS.
We wanted to find out more about the citizen reporters who have been sharing their reports from Sierra Leone. Here are some of their stories.
Moses Kortu, aged 25, is a student living in Koindu town, Koinadugu district, eastern Sierra Leone
I have been reporting for Radar since November 2012. I am a student, working to get access to go to university. Ebola has affected me academically and my community as well. Ebola has closed schools, no markets, no movements. Some banks were closed for over three months. Because there are no schools, I am just sitting down lonely. I am seeking somewhere else to help me further my education because we don’t have any support. Ebola has left my community vulnerable, we have a lot of widows and street children. We are calling on somebody to come to our aid to help Sierra Leoneans.”
Moses shared these two eyewitness accounts via GuardianWitness
Man under ebola quarantine dies due to hunger
A family told me that their father, Pa Tengbeh died of hunger.
"The late Pa Tengbeh was without food for the past five days because we have been in quarantine and nobody is allowed to move from one place to another. We are poor. We get food from our farm work but the government has deployed police all over, but have not provided us with any food. This led to the death of my father."
Report by Moses Kortu when Kailahun was placed under quarantine 3 weeks ago, posted by Radar due to connectivity issues.
It has caused many women to become widows and children to be orphans
Ebola is getting better in my community, Koindu but it has caused many women to become widows and children to be orphans in the community. How will these children live and have access to food, shelter and education?
Report by Moses Kortu, posted on behalf of Radar due to connectivity issues.
Agnes Moseray, aged 27, was born in Kondorma Village, Valunia Chiefdom and now lives in Bo, southern Sierra Leone
The destructive ugly virus has made me more disabled in my work than before. Since my country faced this killer, I have been limited in movement. Since I left university, I have taught for three years without salary. In such situation, I find it difficult to survive; it’s a burden on me having a son and two sisters. Being visually impaired I can’t do anything without touching; when I want to sit, stand, move and the like. My brain and fingers serve me better than my eyes. My elderly sister, who used to help me with food, medication and rent died last month in a road accident so it’s not easy for me to earn my living. In addition to that, I should have been to Uganda this year doing a presentation on social inclusion of the visually impaired, but this backfired due to this nonsense Ebola. I’ve lost a big opportunity of leaving my country for the first time to present on behalf of people with disabilities.”
Sulaiman ‘Sixty’ Camara, aged 53, is living in Mekeni, northern Sierra Leone
I am a disabled person with polio. I was born in 1961 and I’m a French teacher. Presently, I live in the Magbenteh Polio camp. I am the secretary general of the Polio Persons Development Association, Makeni and a disability-rights activist. I was rather unfortunate, I was hospitalised for quite some time after I was knocked over by a motorbike and fractured my foot, so presently I am using a wheelchair. Ebola is a killer disease. At first when Ebola was announced by the government of Sierra Leone, people were not taking it seriously but then we got another announcement by President Ernest Bai Koroma announcing a public health state of emergency. It’s been almost a year now that I have been reporting for Radar. In our country here, if you are disabled, you are neglected; you are discriminated. But through the opportunity Radar has given to me, I am regarded as one of the most important people.
People are beginning to think Ebola is a man made disease
People are beginning to think Ebola is a man made disease as only man made diseases have an end date and natural diseases do not.
The local radio show Monologue, mostly listened to by Sierra Leoneans revealed that, according to the government, Ebola will be eradicated by November. The show also said that some patients who have been admitted are not Ebola positive.
Report sent by Mohamed Camara to On Our Radar
Patrick Lahai, aged 27, is an IT professional living in Bo
Ebola has been rather unfortunate and it has had a lot of impact on me and my family. The three day lockdown in Sierra Leone was a very difficult moment for us because there was a food shortage - no proper food for disabled people to live on for the three days. But right now, me and my family are coping. I have learnt a lot about how to be a reporter; it has boosted knowledge in me. It’s really exciting reporting as a person with a disability. My wife has just had a baby. Things are hard because of the Ebola disease, we are having financial difficulties and there’s not enough food for us but we are doing fine, we are coping”.
Amjata Bayoh, aged 23, is a community health advocate at West African Medical Missions, living in Freetown
I have been reporting for Radar since 2012 when they first visited Sierra Leone to train local journalists on how to report on issues surrounding their community using their mobile phones. Looking at the current emergency health status in the country, it has been a bit challenging to report on Ebola issues especially when I have been directly affected. I can’t go to university right now. The things I love doing, I can’t do anymore. I can’t go to the cinema and watch my beloved Everton play. Another issue is when I see people around me being infected with the virus. But I also see this as an opportunity to get involved in the fight as currently we are in a global health emergency status. I use this an opportunity to make the world know the reality of what is happening on the ground and also prevent the misinformation going around on the current outbreak in the country. Another issue that has been a bit of a challenge is the issue of security, especially when I know that I live in the hardest hit place, so right now the best I do is to try to maintain maximum security while doing the job, and this I have been doing when doing the interviews. I try as best as I can to direct my interviews through WhatsApp to avoid direct contact with people. I am not happy with the current outbreak of the country because it has prevented me from continuing my education which I think is very important in my life so I pray that we get over all this Ebola stuff and get back to normal life. The land that we love, our Sierra Leone”.
“The burial team just collected the corpse from the street”
Report by Amjata Bayoh in Freetown, posted by On Our Radar.
Mariama Jalloh, aged 23, is a student living in Kabala, northern Sierra Leone
I was born in Nieni Chiefdom, Koinadugu district and I am 23 years old. I am a student, now living in Makeni because after I lost my father to Ebola, my friends came to me and took me from Kabala in the Koinadugu district. From Kabala to my village, no one is allowed to travel because of the Ebola problem. The other people in the village have been quarantined now for 21 days. At the start they quarantined my mother and my father after my aunt died of Ebola, a health doctor did tests on them and said they are negative, but after two days my father got sick.”
Here are two of the stories Mariama shared via GuardianWitness
Riots in Kono after Ebola team intervention
There was riot in Kono last week. I heard the information in the night so I called my friend living in Kono to find out more. According to her, an old woman was sick and the Ebola team came to carry her away. Her relatives refused, so there was a quarrel which locals got involved with. The police started firing and two civilians allegedly lost their lives.
Report by Mariama Jalloh, posted by OnOurRadar due to connectivity issues.
"The illness is worse than the war because we cannot see it"
Coping is not really easy. In fact, I want to share this story with you. I met two woman in the market buying some basic things. They said they are going to stay in the forest with their family as they will be better able to protect themselves from this trouble. They said the illness is worse than the war because we cannot see it.
- Mariama Jalloh reporting for On Our Radar via SMS from Kabala, Koinadugu
No comments:
Post a Comment