Empowering a Diverse Electorate: Youth and Minority Voter Issues in the Midterm Election and Beyond, November 3, 2014

Ebola Panel Discussion

Dr. Joseph Sankoh, Dr. Gale Burstein, and Mr. Anthony Saysay discuss Ebola on Oct. 20

A large crowd of around a hundred people was in attendance Monday night for the second event of the new History & Politics events series, a panel discussion of the Ebola crisis currently ravaging the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. The event was organized by Dr. Joseph Sankoh, associate professor of Political Science, who is a specialist on African politics and coordinates the department's Refugee Studies minor. Dr. Sankoh chaired the panel and discussed the history and culture of West Africa. The two other panelists were Dr. Gale Burstein (Erie County Commissioner of Public Health) and Mr. Anthony Saysay, a native of Liberia who came to the U.S. seven years ago as a refugee.

The panel discussion emphasized the impact of the crisis has had upon West Africa, where over 9,000 people have contracted Ebola and where over 4,500 have died. While much of the press coverage of the Ebola outbreak in the United States has focused on the United States, there has been relatively little discussion of conditions in Africa or the impact that Ebola is having in Africa. This event offered a corrective to that perspective, keeping the focus on conditions in West Africa. Saysay spoke about trauma and devastation caused by civil war in Liberia, asking "Who is coming to help?" and asking those present to pray for Africa and for the victims and survivors of the Ebola epidemic. Sankoh emphasized such issues as the legacy of colonialism on the region's country, as well as the prevalence of poverty, the lack of basic health and transportation infrastructure, and discussed cultural practices that have helped to spread disease. Burstein traced the disease's trajectory, highlighting the ways that Ebola is transferred and identifying stages of infection and transmission.

Dr. Sankoh (photo from WBFO.org)

The panel discussion attracted attention from several local media outlets. Read/listen to news coverage from WBFO radio (linked HERE), and Time-Warner cable news (linked HERE).

Asked how to help provide relief for the victims of Ebola, both Sankoh and Burstein recommended work of Buffalo's Jericho Road Community Health Center, under the leadership of Dr. Marion Glick: http://www.jrm-buffalo.org/ Daemen's African Student Association is also raising funds for Ebola relief during this week's Ebola Awareness Week; contact ASA president Maryan Jumale (maryan.jumale @ daemen.edu) for more information.

Read more about the panelists at our earlier blog post, linked HERE. The event was sponsored by the History & Political Science Department, with co-sponsorship from the African Student Association, the Office of the President, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, the Division of Arts and Sciences, the Division of Health and Human Services, the Health Care Studies Department, the Paralegal Studies Program, and the Public Health Department. 

Ebola Crisis in West Africa

History & Politics Speaker Series: Panel Discussion on Ebola

On Monday, October 20, our History & Politics Speaker Series continues with a panel discussion of the Ebola epidemic that is currently overwhelming the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.The event will be take place from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm in the Alumni Lounge in Wick Center on the Daemen College campus (located at 4380 Main Street, Amherst). Discussants will address different dimensions of the Ebola crisis, including governmental responses, cultural issues, and epidemiology, together with the perspective of people from the affected areas.

 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa - Outbreak Distribution Map

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html [Oct. 2014]

Discussants on the panel include:

• Dr. Joseph Sahr Sankoh, Associate Professor of Political Science, will chair the panel and will address political, economic, and cultural dimensions of the Ebola crisis. Dr. Sankoh is a native of Sierra Leone and a specialist in African politics and global policy issues.

• Dr. Gale Burstein, Erie County Commissioner of Public Health, will provide a public health perspective on the Ebola epidemic.

• Julia Hall, a human rights attorney with expertise in international law, will discuss the legal and global implications of the Ebola epidemic. 

• Mr. Anthony Saysay, a native of Liberia, will discuss the impact of Ebola on his family, the people of Liberia, and his native country. 

This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the History & Political Science Department. Co-sponsors include the Office of the President, the Office of Academic Affairs, the Center for Sustainable Communities and Civic Engagement, the Division of Arts and Sciences, the Division of Health and Human Services, the Health Care Studies Department, the Paralegal Studies Program, and the Public Health Department. The African Student Association, which is providing refreshments for the event, is also a co-sponsor. For more information, please contact Dr. Sankoh at jsankoh@daemen.edu

Please note that the African Student Association will be holding a fundraising event to be used for relief in the Ebola crisis on Thursday, October 23, from 12:00-3:00 in the Wick Student Center.