Commentary
By Mustapha Bangura, Sydney, Australia.
The Salone Ebola Action Group Australia (SEAGA) has expressed thanks and appreciation to the Australian Government for their financial assistance towards the Ebola fight in West Africa.
The deadly Ebola virus has affected families within the Sierra Leone community in Australia who have lost relatives and loved ones in Sierra Leone from the outbreak. The Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
Since the outbreak of this fatal virus in the Mano River Union states of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Sierra Leoneans living in the different states and territories across Australia have been working indefatigably to heighten awareness and solicit support to help address the epidemic through engagement with media houses, community forums, local State and Federal Members of Parliament, universities, local and international NGOs, as well as State and Federal Government Agencies and Departments.
As a community, we set up a working group called “Salone Ebola Action Group Australia (SEAGA)” with chapters in the different states and territories. Nationally coordinated by Ansumana Usman Koroma, a Sierra Leone community leader living in the state of Tasmania, SEAGA works collaboratively to attract attention to the urgency of the needs created by Ebola and mobilize the resources required for combating this noxious virus/disease in Sierra Leone.
In an interview with ABC News Channel in Australia, Isaiah Lahai, a Sierra Leonean living in Tasmania said: “What I would like the Tasmanian community to know is Ebola is a deadly virus and Ebola is real and Ebola is killing people in the whole Sahara and African region”.
Alhaji Sankoh, the President of the Sierra Leone Community in the state of Victoria spoke to Africa Media Australia (AMA) to ask for financial assistance from the broader Australian community. Similarly, in the state of New South Wales, Edmondson Sonny Cole, the President of the Sierra Leone Community Council in Sydney together with leaders of various social, political and ethnic groups continue to work closely to help collect personal protective equipment and other logistics needed in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone. Despite living in Australia, I can feel the impact of Ebola in our country, one of the community leaders in Sydney stated.
SEAGA has demonstrated a strong sense of unity and purpose among Sierra Leoneans in Australia by bringing various stakeholders together and working diligently within an environment that is devoid of political party or social affiliation. As part of its delivery approach, SEAGA, through its National Coordinator maintained effective communication with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to identify areas of need which formed an advocacy tool in Australia. As a working group, we developed various layers of actions with the priority being to create awareness and lobby to the Australian government for their assistance. Another action is raising the needed resources and transporting these resources to Sierra Leone to help combat the Ebola disease.
There is no doubt that SEAGA’s persistent engagements with politicians, the wider Australian community including state and federal government institutions among other efforts contributed immensely towards the decision by the Australian government to donate an extra one million United States dollars ($1,000,000) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help prevent and control the Ebola virus in the MRU basin. In small groups, Sierra Leoneans across Australia held several meetings with their local MPs appealing for the support of the Australian government in controlling the outbreak. These efforts were complemented by the massive awareness being created within the broader Australian community.
As a community, we would like to extend our unreserved thanks and appreciation to the Australian government and people, the international community, humanitarian organisations, volunteers, and the local and international media for their genuine support during this difficult time in our country. Humanitarian and financial support from Australia to Sierra Leoneans during periods of crisis is not a new phenomenon as thousands of Sierra Leonean refugees were resettled in Australia during and after the eleven-year civil conflict in the West African nation.
Photo: Isaiah Lahai flanked by the Premier of Tasmania, Will Hodgman (left) and the Speaker of Parliament or House of Assembly of Tasmania, Elise Archer (right).
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