Peter Cole does it for Ebola
Peter Cole takes a page from his impressive repertoire of hits, the ballad, Staying Alive to channel Ebola is Real, his latest single dedicated to creating awareness for the deadly Ebola virus which is sweeping across West Africa.
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The Dakar-based musician finds himself trapped away from his homeland which has now recorded more than 900 deaths and Senegal which last week recorded its first case since the virus hit in March.
The versatile artiste says music is a very powerful tool of communication which was a driving force and perfect medium to hit the message of the disease:
"Don't Deny it; Don't Defy It; It's a danger for your community," Peter sings as he warns his audience about the trying times that all must sacrifice to avoid the inevitable that Ebola is Real and it's here.
Cole says he decided to do a song with the essential messages of Ebola prevention and management with the hope that people will get the message. "These messages have been passed on before through other means but perhaps not through music. Ebola is real has almost become a national slogan for the fight against the disease so it wouldn't have been wiser to give it another title.
The outbreak of Ebola in Liberia has exposed Liberia and showed how fragile we are though we have been enjoying peace for a while.
But the outbreak wasn't well managed by the government and every Liberian together with our foreign friends is fighting on their own weak way to help solve the problem. This is just my way of lending a hand and it is my hope we will soon start seeing light at the end of the tunnel."
Since Patrick Sawyer, a former consultant at the Ministry of Finance who contracted the virus from his sister took it to Nigeria, Liberians, Sierra Leoneans and Guineans have been stigmatised in neighboring countries. But Cole says that has not been the case so far in Dakar despite a comment last week from President Macky Sall that if it wasn't for his illness, the student who took the virus from Guinea in Senegal could face prosecution.
"People should know that, if it were not for this boy's state of health, he would be before the courts. You cannot be a carrier of this sickness and take it to other countries," Sall told State television as reported by Reuters. "There is no stigmatisation of Liberians about Ebola, but I heard a religious leader say on radio Senegalese should not be hostile towards Guineans because it is reported a Guinean student brought Ebola into Dakar after escaping where he was quarantined.
Cole says there is some kind of caution or resentment by some toward Guineans but not Liberians. "I took 30 minutes in the studio I work to educate my colleagues that were in denial about the danger and they listened because they know of the Liberian experience and I am Liberian."
Cole says in his view, the Senegalese experience shows that closing borders aren't an effective method of combating Ebola, because around our common borders, the inhabitants of villages interact with one another whether the border is officially closed or not.
"There are crossing points only known by the inhabitants of those areas and I doubt they would hesitate to help a stranded traveller pass through there. Awareness, planning and preventive measures are the key to managing Ebola and its spread. The expertise of those who have experienced and survive similar situations should be solicited too. Trial and error just can't work and is too costly: in lives and finances."
Despite the many mistakes and criticisms of Liberia's handling of the Ebola outbreak, Cole says Senegal in fact has a chance to learn from the mistakes of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. "The first case of Ebola was reported on Monday and the response has been swift. There was an Ebola awareness in the church I went to on Sunday and it's been talked about in circles of the Senegalese society. Editorials on radios, televisions and in newspapers are hammering the call for the Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea mistakes to not be reported.
Hopefully that will help prevent the devastating Ebola caused in countries and entered earlier. However, Senegal has a majority Muslim population and a sizeable animist community. I hope they can understand the danger of the situation and be willing to let go of some religious practices as regards homage to the dead and others. Hopefully they can do that because they did quite a good job with FGM (Female genital mutilation)."
On his next project, Cole says he plans to release an album in December of this year, but given the current situation it is definitely going to wait unfortunately. "But as soon as the situation calms down and the atmosphere is conducive to release an album my next album will be out. It is important to note however that after Stay Alive I have released Rebirth and Nerfertitus (Click here) So the spacing and timing is right, but I am always around and I will be for a while by His Grace. Thanks to all of my fans for your support. I appreciate it highly."
He described the mood in his homeland as one with a lot of urgency. "It is disheartening when you hear an Ebola quarantine center was looted and that people who have come into contact with Ebola victims are on the run. It just shows that more people are in denial or just don't care. Also complaints or report that calls centers set up by government weren't functional or that burial or health teams were slow in responding to calls. All of those just provoke a gloomy mood. I hope gradually we will all understand the danger of this disease regardless of the issues that make us unhappy with our government. Ebola is an issue that directly concerns us, regardless of your political orientation or belief."
Cole's Ebola is Real happens to be the first track on the issue in Senegal, mainly because the issue has not been dominant. "The first case of Ebola was only reported here on Friday. Earlier a journalist who has reported a case in the north of the country without counter checking his story was fined and jail. I think that drove attention away from the issue. Perhaps now other artists will get involved with that and I am considering working with other Senegalese artists to do an awareness song for Ebola."
Cole says he is looking into the possibility of doing a video of the single. "I hope to find footages of Ebola management and have it in a video together with the song." Cole, who was last in Liberia in March says the handling in Liberia could have been better. "The response we all know today should have been better and swift. It exposed our government and portrayed it today as being dysfunctional and unorganized.
That is disheartening and sad in the face of our partners and friends. The loss of many health care workers who were battling this deadly disease without the needed protective gears when our officials roam the streets in flashy cars shows how misplaced our priorities are. The unwillingness to seek help and expertise from outside when almost all of our health centers are closed is selfish and reckless pride. The time is now for us to wake up and do better and save the lives of our people and courageous health care workers. But I am hopeful that we will come out of this yet again. I hope we will learn the lessons that should be learned and put measures in place that this should never happen again in our beloved Liberia."
Credit: FrontPage Africa
