Ebola-Fearing Villagers Kill A Team Of Health Officials On Mission To Raise Awareness
This horrifying incident marks a different kind of deadly caused by the Ebola virus.
By Mei Mei Chu — 19 Sep 2014, 06:41 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Eight Officials, Five Health Workers And Three Journalists, Who Went To A Remote Village In Guinea To Raise Awareness About The Ebola Virus Were Killed By The Villagers There
The bodies of eight people, including several health workers and three journalists, have been found days after they were attacked while distributing information about Ebola in a Guinean village near the city of Nzerekore, according to Reuters.
washingtonpost.comThe delegation had left for the village on Tuesday for what was supposed to be a community event to raise awareness about the Ebola virus, said the spokesman, Albert Camara Damantang.
nytimes.com
Gripped By The Fear Of The Ebola Epidemic, The Villagers Attacked The Officials Claiming That They Had Come To Spread The Disease
The bodies of eight officials and journalists who went to a remote village in Guinea to dispel rumors about the deadly Ebola outbreak gripping the region were discovered after a rock-hurling mob attacked the delegation, claiming that it had come to spread the illness, a government spokesman said Thursday.
nytimes.com
The Delegation Was Distributing Information About Ebola When A Group Of Angry And Fearful Villagers Began Throwing Rocks And Beating Them With Clubs
When the delegation arrived on Tuesday to do disinfection work and educate people about preventing Ebola, angry and fearful residents began throwing rocks and beating people in the group with clubs according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited Guinean radio reports.
washingtonpost.comThe Washington Post reports that a group of young people attacked the team when they were trying to distribute information about Ebola. Guinea's government reported today that the team could have been kidnapped and killed.
gawker.com
Three Days Later, The Bodies Were Found In The Septic Tank Of A Primary School In The Village. Three Of Them Had Their Throats Slit.
On Thursday, the bodies were found in the septic tank of a primary school in the village, according to Camara. They had been "killed in cold blood by the villagers," he added, according to the BBC.
washingtonpost.comA Spokesman For Guinea's Government Says The Group Had Gone On A Mission To Sensitise The Local Population About Ebola But Instead, "They Were Killed In Cold Blood."
"The eight bodies were found in the village latrine," Albert Damantang Camara, a spokesman for Guinea's government, told Reuters on Thursday. "Three of them had their throats slit."
washingtonpost.com“They went on a mission to try to sensitize the local population about Ebola, but unfortunately they were met with hostility by people throwing rocks,” Mr. Damantang said.
nytimes.com
During The Attack, Several Officials Managed To Escape The Mob And Alert Their Colleagues In The Capital Of Guinea, Conarky
When the angry crowd descended on them, he said, several officials managed to escape and alert their colleagues in Conakry, Guinea’s capital, who sent out a search party.
nytimes.com
The government sent a delegation to the village to try to find the team, but the BBC reported that the delegation had trouble gaining access because a bridge was destroyed.
gawker.com
One Journalist And A Five-Year-Old Boy Who Is The Son Of A Sub-Prefect Survived By Fleeing Into Bushes
The delegation, which included one local politician, fled into the bush to escape the attackers. One journalist who managed to escape told reporters that she could hear the people looking for her while she hid, according to the BBC.
washingtonpost.comIn the delegation was a sub-prefect, a regional health director and a pastor “who came to offer solace, as well as several journalists from communal radio stations,” Mr. Damantang said. “Among the only survivors we found of those who tried to hide in the bush was the 5-year-old son of the sub-prefect, who was left hiding in the wild.”
nytimes.com
The Deadly Ebola Outbreak Has Caused Widespread Fear And Panic. Villagers In Guinea Have Been Threatening Workers And Officials With Knives, Stones And Machetes.
In Guinea, workers and officials, blamed by panicked populations for spreading the virus, have been threatened with knives, stones and machetes.
nytimes.com
In Liberia, some politicians have publicly expressed doubts about the extent of the outbreak, and even accused the administration of exaggerating it to collect money from international donors.
nytimes.com
Scores of health workers across the region have died trying to fight the disease, often in hospitals and clinics that lack basic supplies. But the killing of government officials, journalists and community leaders trying to curb the spread of the disease represents a dangerous new chapter in the efforts to contain the epidemic.
nytimes.com