African reggae/dancehall publicist says Dont stigmatise Africa! African entertainment publicist, Olimatta Taal, has lashed out at the Ministry of Health and some entertainers for putting a stigma on the entire African continent, in the wake of the ongoing Ebola crisis. Taal, who has worked in the reggae music industry for over 10 years, alongside Sizzla Kalonji, Tarrus Riley, Alborosie, Etana, Suns of Light, Kings of Kings, Dead Prez, DAngel, BET Js Word, Sound, and Power, among others, says Jamaicans have all right to take the Ebola crisis seriously; however, the stigma on Africa has gone way overboard. According to Taal, since Africa is a continent with over 50 different countries, it is unfair to paint the entire continent with one brush. Taal, who was raised in Gambia and the US, says Ebola has been contained in West Africa. She also says some countries that have eradicated Ebola are hardly publicised by the media. There is no Ebola in my country, the Gambia. However, the Gambia is surrounded by Senegal, and they had one case of Ebola; however, it was contained and an article was published in the International Business Times last week that there is no Ebola in Senegal, she said. They are building a negative stigma against Africa and continental Africans. For example, I was reading a Facebook post from a media friend and they explained how someone (in Jamaica) had brushed their leg (against an African) and when they heard the African accent, they immediately feared being exposed to Ebola. Mind you, there is no Ebola in Jamaica. It is building a negative stigma and negative stereotype against African and continental Africans. We just did a major trip to Gambia and have been promoting building bridges between Africa and the Caribbean, and this Ebola situation has put a lot on pause. We wont let this stop the work and we will move forward very cautiously, she said jamaica-gleaner/gleaner/20141012/ent/ent4.html see full story
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:15:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015