Embed

Ebola: Surviving Survival

Stigma & shame in the wake of disease

Two years after West Africa's Ebola outbreak came to an end, the deadly virus continues to take its toll. Only this time, it’s pushing survivors to the margins of society. 

Related: Ebola Warriors. Red Cross workers in Liberia battling the deadly disease

In Sierra Leone, communities often reject anyone who had Ebola out of fear that they still carry the deadly infection. The outcasts are evicted from their homes and find it difficult to earn even a meagre living. Child survivors too face discrimination and prejudice, with many shunned by their own families.

Support programmes rarely reach Ebola survivors, some of whom have filed a lawsuit against the Sierra Leone government for the misuse of aid money. Billboards on the streets to combat stigma appear largely ineffective as public ignorance continues to prevail. 

An RTD crew visits Sierra Leone, where more than 14,000 people were infected, and nearly 4,000 died from Ebola. We talk to survivors, fighting for acceptance, and many who feel as though society has forced them into isolation.

Follow stories the mainstream media ignores: Follow RTD's Twitter

WATCH TRAILER
Please rate this film

9.29(17 users)

Published: 27 August 2018 00:00

Duration

26:58

Tags
Watch this film in Russian

don't miss

26:33
Health 07 January 2015 00:00

Ebola Warriors. Red Cross workers in Liberia battling the deadly disease

26:33
Health 08 April 2020 14:28

Mass Isolation. Coping with the unprecedented challenge of self-isolation

26:33
Health 08 April 2020 22:08

COVID-19 by Anton Krasovsky. The epidemic that caught the world off guard explained

26:33
Health 17 April 2017 00:00

Overpill. The darker side of America’s mental health

26:33
Health 04 November 2020 20:00

Vaccinauts. They say how they feel after taking the Russian COVID vaccine

26:33
Health 17 April 2020 23:26

Kommunarka: Frontline Chronicles. Moscow's medical centre during the COVID-19 pandemic

26:33
Military and War 28 July 2017 00:00

Sudanaesthesia. Red Cross doctors in South Sudan: saving lives amid tribal war

26:33
Health 02 May 2020 20:31

Ghost Town Delivery. Fighting the virus – one pizza at a time

26:33
Health 01 July 2020 00:48

O-High-O: the Road to Addiction, and Back. America's deadly drug epidemic according to recovering addicts

26:33
Health 21 August 2020 20:00

COVID vs the USA. From NYC to Florida, who is suffering from coronavirus and why?

26:33
Health 22 May 2020 00:23

Unlocking Lockdown. The homeless, tourism workers and zoo animals missing those who feed them

26:33
Health 10 July 2020 19:05

Till Death Do Us Part. The sacrifice and loss, in stories told by family members of the COVID-19 doctors who died in Russia, Italy, the USA and Indonesia.

26:33
Health 02 September 2021 17:00

Pandemic Odyssey. Surviving lockdown in the middle of the Pacific

26:33
Emergencies and Disasters 16 August 2021 17:00

Elephant Boom COVID Gloom. How Kenya’s economy survived lockdown

26:33
Military and War 22 June 2016 00:00

Children of the Front. A rehabilitation center that helps child soldiers erase war memories and rejoin society

26:33
Society 26 April 2017 00:00

Granny Fight Club. Africa’s rape victims are learning to fight back

26:33
Society 06 April 2018 00:00

Togo: Tough to Survive. Togolese children stuck between hard labour and human trafficking

26:33
Personalities 24 June 2019 00:42

Fisher of Men. Tunisian man gives hundreds of unknown migrants a decent burial

26:33
Human Rights 13 January 2017 00:00

Bride Trade. Fighting Tanzania's child bride tradition

26:33
Society 02 October 2017 00:00

Congo: Cycle of life. Cycling club gives youth hope amid poverty & violence

VIEWER’S CHOICE: 1,000,000 VIEWS AND MORE

VIEW ALL