The ebola crisis.

It has been a very interesting time to live in West Africa. To live here, during this specific time in history, a time in history that will go down as the worst outbreak of the deadliest disease currently known to mankind.

And we live here.

Here, near the borders of it all. 

Let me paint some perspective......

From Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, W.Africa to the borders of Guinea or Liberia where the outbreak is, it is approximately 1150-1200km. 

That is roughly 720 miles away from the center of the ebola outbreak.

Put that in perspective people in the U.S. can understand....

that is roughly the distance from Atlanta, GA to Dallas TX where the current cases of ebola in the US are being treated.

A short distance. An easy drive west on 1-20. 

That is the distance that separates us here in Burkina Faso from the outbreak in Guinea and Liberia.

The ebola outbreak here in West Africa where I live has to date, as of Oct. 15th, 2014, killed approximately 4,493 people with 8,997 people infected. 

The U.S.....1 death. 2 infected.

Hmmmm.

I was reading an article on BBC this morning concerning the situation, which we follow very closely. and it said former UN Secretary General Kofi Anna told BBC he was "bitterly disappointed" with the international communities response. "if the crisis had hit some other region it probably would have been handled very differently," he said in an interview with BBC Newsnight." In fact when you look at the evolution of the crisis, the international community really woke up with the disease got to America and Europe."

Bitterly disappointed is a good word. 

How sad.

Every time I read an article about the mass hysteria gripping the U.S. right now I am bitterly disappointed as well. It's downright ludicrous. 

People should be ashamed.

The media should be ashamed.

It sucks that selling mass hysteria and fear ups ratings and that people are so susceptible to fall for it. 

We have been living near the ebola outbreak for 10 months. Ten months. We have watched, carefully, followed the news about the rising number of cases, watched it go from 100, to 200, to 500, 700, Dr. Kent Bradley becomes infected, is flown to the US on August 2nd, the U.S. takes notice, to 1000, to 1500....before the world ever cared to catch on....then to 3000...the international community started paying attention, now to over 4000....and it's finally become 

Watched the concern when it reached Lagos, Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, which is ~1000km (620mi) away from us (about the distance from Atlanta, GA to Miami, FL) reach its city center. 

That's how close we are. In American terms. 

We have been paying careful attention because the concern and the realities that this could spread to Burkina Faso is a very legitimate concern. With but the distance from Atlanta to Dallas separating us from the center of the epidemic where there are nearly 5000 deaths.....I think out concern over here is a bit more valid and justified, than the mass hysteria erupting in the U.S.....where there are two.

Americans need to calm down. 

Their fears are completely irrational.

"the people who say and write hysterical things are being irresponsible."

:Here are the facts:we do NOT have an outbreak of ebola in the Untied States."

"There is no ebola spreading in America. Best advice for you and your family....get a flu shot. UNLIKE ebola, the flu is easily transmitted. Flu along with resulting pneumonia killed 52,000 americans last year." Shephard Smith, news broadcaster

People can be so freakin' self absorbed to care about anything happening on a global scale unless it somehow affects them in their narrow minded thinking.

It's irritating.

For goodness sakes....we live here!

I have heard from a number of friends here about how church teams meant to come out here and work alongside them in their ministries have canceled plans to come here b/c of their fears for contracting ebola.

And Burkina doesn't even have ebola!

Zero cases! None. And we live very close to the outbreak, and I'm still walkin' around, going to the market, schools are up in running, people are shaking hands,

and in Ohio I read today that schools are being closed! W-h-a-t is. this. madness?!?!?

People, seriously,

double standards are never the right standards.

Lets all go live under a rock and pretend that our country, our city, our county, our home are the only things of importance.

Lets turn our back on the world b/c the world and all our fellow human beings living in it are less valuable than your life.

Truly sick.

It's situations like this that reveal the true nature in people's hearts. And unfortunately a lot of the reactions I've seen displayed as a result of people's fear of ebola shows a lot more people with sick hearts, than people with sick bodies.