Gettleman, Jeffrey. "Despite Aid Push, Ebola Is Raging in Sierra Leone." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 27 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.
Despite Aid Push, Ebola is Raging in Sierra Leone
The article I read by Jeffrey Gettleman addresses the struggle to control the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. It focuses on the story of Isatu Sesay, a 16 year old girl who was infected with Ebola before passing. As her condition worsened, her family called for an ambulance over 35 times. However, it wasn't until 3 days later that help arrived from the Ebola command center, less than 45 minutes away from their home in Kissi Town. However the white van was only occupied by a suited burial team, Isatu had died that night. The article also further discusses health officials’ struggle to help the hundreds of ebola victims, and the problems that have led to failures such as this one. For instance, the care centers claim that they don’t have enough hospital beds for the 3,000 or more infected people who are looking help. Ambulances will not go to victims unless they have abed available, which is the main reason for such slow response. Officials also say that Ebola is still raging in Sierra Leone due to things going on within the city. Most of all, the secret societies which practice burial rituals are causing severe outbreaks. Despite the ABC (Avoid Bodily Contact) protocol that is being urged, such religious activities are still taking place. Many people in Sierra Leone belive, “A proper burial, in which the body is touched and carefully washed, is the best way to ensure a soul reaches its destination.” This type of contact explains the easy contagion.
This article is greatly significant to people around the world. It's important for everyone to be informed of this disease, as it is very contagious and can be fatal. In addition, if people are aware of the problems health officials are facing, perhaps outside civilians and professionals can help. It is vital that Ebola be made something known by everyone, as it has great risks which can't be ignored.
The article, "Despite Aid Push, Ebola is Raging in Sierra Leone", is very well written and does a great job at addressing both perspectives. The author included the story and opinions from civilians who have fallen victim to Ebola, but also included the argument and effort from officials working to stop this raging disease. In addition, Gettleman included direct quotes which makes this source more reliable. Finally I feel that the author used an opening that grabbed your attention, and a closing which allows the reader to make their own conclusion and opinions.
This article review by Grace Randall was written very well and had many good points. One thing that Grace did well was summarizing the article. She gave a very detailed and understanding summary. Another thing that Grace did well was include the citation, as many people just include the link. A third and final aspect that Grace did well was her critique of the original article. One thing that Grace could have improved was her second paragraph. Her paragraph about how this article is significant to our lives was not very detailed. Another thing that Grace could improve is grammatical mistakes, as there were a few that I spotted. I was very surprised by the fact that the hospitals don’t have enough beds for all the patients.
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I reviewed Grace’s write-up of Despite Aid Push, Ebola is Raging in Sierra Leone by Jeffrey Gettleman. She did a few things well. She included a detailed summary regarding the struggle to control the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, Africa. In my opinion, the summary is the most important part of a write-up. I thought it was interesting to learn that one reason Ebola continues to spread in Sierra Leone is because people are violating the “Avoid Bodily Contact” rule when they carry out rituals at burial to ensure the souls of the people who died get to the afterlife. Another thing Grace did well in her write-up was explaining that the article is significant to humanity because the more people who are made aware of stories about this terrible health crisis, the more likely it is that health officials will go to Sierra Leone to help. A third thing that Grace did well in her write-up was explaining how she liked Gettleman’s opening because it grabbed her attention and his closing because it allowed readers to reach their own conclusions and opinions. I agree that these are two very important parts of writing a good article.
Although Grace’s write-up was well written, there were a few things she could have done better. The sad stories she described about the Ebola victims made me want to know if the article mentioned any recent advances in scientific research to find a cure. Grace also could have made her write-up better by stating ways in which the author could have improved his article. I think that sharing all of these stories about the Ebola victims is very valuable, but I think the article would have been even better if the author had discussed whether there is any progress in the research to find a cure.
From Grace’s write-up, I learned that health officials in Sierra Leone are definitely not getting the resources or support they need to help Ebola victims. Grace shared new details that I was not aware of about the terrible shortage of available patient beds and very long wait times for ambulances. It is crazy that the rest of the countries of the world are not providing more support. If things do not change, Ebola will eventually spread and the crisis will become much worse.