EBOLA LOCKDOWN:

LIBERIA
By Isabelle Poulin

Over the past six months or so there has been a large

outbreak of a contagious, life threatening disease called
Ebola in several countries in Africa. The disease is
contagious through all bodily fluids and is almost always
fatal. In reaction to this outbreak, countries have tried to
find a way to control the spread of the disease. One of the
methods used to control the spread is quarantining the
known infected people. There is ethical debates as to
whether this is right or wrong.

There are multiple situations where one could look at how

ethical or unethical these situations are. I have chosen to
focus solely on the quarantine in Liberia.

The quarantine I am going to focus on is the quarantine of

the West Point. West Point is a neighbourhood in
Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

West Point has a population of approximately seventy-thousand

people. This area suffers from overpopulation and diseases
such as tuberculosis. West Point is one of Monrovias most
densely populated slums. Most people lack proper sanitation,
clean water, reliable electricity, timely law enforcement, and
most basic services in general.

To help paint a clearer image as to how many people

live in slums in this particular country I researched a
United Nations data page, this is the result. The
percentage of urban population living in slums in Liberia
as of 2009 was 68.3%. Think of how many people are
living in poverty in that one country.

The West Point neighbourhood was put on quarantine with

no warning. The government placed the neighbourhood on
quarantine overnight so the citizens awoke to find
themselves locked in. The quarantine was intended to stay
in place for twenty-one days. Twenty-one days is the
maximum time it takes for new infections of Ebola to
become apparent.

Many of these people have nothing. A lucky few

children were taken out. For example, one mother
who is a government minister but her children lived in
West Point so she was able to have them brought out
from behind the barriers. How is this fair to everyone
else? Doesnt this defeat the purpose of the
quarantine? This truly shows that social standing
means everything in many countries.

FOR THE GREATER

GOOD?

The quarantine in West Point was supposed to help control

the spread of Ebola. The purpose of this is pretty much
defeated when specific people are taken out of the area
because they may have been infected before they left.
The whole object of the quarantine was to potentially have
thousands of people suffer or die to allow millions more to
live if they could slow or prevent the disease from continuing
to spread.
In terms of what Bentham says, it is the greatest happiness
of the greatest number that is the measure of right and
wrong, this could be considered right because it is
potentially allowing more people to remain healthy and
happy than those who would become sick.

IS THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD
LOCKDOWN ETHICAL OR
FAIR?

This is an ethical debate. Both sides can be defensibly

argued.
How can we determine that some people deserve to suffer
so that more can live? How can we decide that our lives are
more important than someone elses? Should we be allowed
to make that decision for the people who are going to suffer?
Locking in a community, doesnt this contradict their right to
freedom? Barring in healthy people with sick people, how
does this affect their well-being?
However, if we no action is taken, there is a significant risk of
a much higher rate of mortality from Ebola.

I believe that there is no way for us to determine that some people

need to suffer so that more people can live. We cant determine
that other peoples lives are less important or valuable than ours.
Everyones life is important, who are we to choose that our lives are
more important. We shouldnt have the power to decide who should
suffer and who should get to live. We shouldnt be barricading
people in without warning. How terrifying would it be to wake up
one morning to find your neighbourhood blocked off completely?
Thats what happened to the people living in West Point.

What does locking off a community do to their rights and

freedoms?
As stated in the Liberian Constitution from 1986, Every
person lawfully within the Republic shall have the right to
move freely throughout Liberia, to reside in any part thereof
and to leave therefrom.
That in itself proves that quarantining these people goes
against their own countrys constitutional rights and
freedoms. How is this acceptable? How is the government
allowing this? For the greater good?

On the other side of this ethical debate is the question of

greater good. The West Point district has a population of
approximately seventy thousand people. The country of
Liberia has over four million people. Due to the extensive
lack of sanitation, clean water, proper nutrition, access to
health care, particularly in the slum regions, the people of
Liberia are at a higher risk of contracting the disease than
someone living in a developed country; or even living in
better conditions within Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

With 68.3% of the country living in slums, it is no mystery

as to how the disease spreads so quickly in an area such
as West Point, one of the largest slums in the capital of
Liberia, Monrovia. Risking further devastation in this
impoverished community of seventy thousand to increase
the chances of preventing the disease from spreading
further out in the larger city would seem logical for many.
This leads back to the greatest good for the greatest
number of people. Further risking this one community
could potentially keep many more people safe and healthy.

Thankfully for this project all I had to

do was research this ethical debate
and provide information. I attempted
to provide background knowledge and
present two sides of a very
challenging issue. Fortunately, I do
not have to be responsible for making
the final decision in regards to this
ethical and
social justice controversy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Riot Erupts Over Ebola Quarantine In Liberia. NPR. NPR.
Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/20/3418844
94/photographing-an-ebola-riot-put-your-fear-aside-and-goforward>
Web. 17 Jan. 2015 <https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?
d=MDG&f=seriesRowID%3A710>
CHAPTER VII THE JUDICIARY. The Constitution of the
Republic of Liberia [Table of Contents]. Web. 17 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.liberianlegal.com/constitution1986.htm#_FUNDA
MENTAL_RIGHTS>