The 1995 Ebola Zaire outbreak was started by a JW

by ILoveTTATT 12 Replies latest jw friends

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  ILoveTTATT

  The dead man is Gaspard Menga, a Jehovah's Witness who was the first person to contract Ebola in 1995. The people around him, are his family. Within a month, most of the ones on this picture were dead from Ebola. It was because of Gaspard that we now know that African burial rites are a mayor cause in spreading Ebola.

  Here's one of the many articlles written by Laurie Garrett on this case:

  http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/5862

  "The Menga family photos are more than just reminders of one family's loss. They may show the moment when a single sorrow turned into an outbreak that would grab the attention of public health officials worldwide and kill more than 120 people before apparently coming under control last week."

  Laurie Garret said in her book, Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health:

  "Because the first person to contract Ebola in January 1995 was Gaspard Menga, a Jehovah's Witness, it was widely suggested among the majority Catholic population that the epidemic constituted God's revenge for deviant beliefs and behaviors."

  
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  cantleave

  Fascinating - thank you for sharing.
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  FeelingFree

  So sad. Though I did chuckle at the "Gods revenge for deviant beliefs and behaviours". I'm a bad person.
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  I read somewhere that Menga was the only JW in his family.

  I have a family member living in that country. There are serious precautions in Congo right now due to the Ebola threat. For instance, if someone goes to a funeral, they are not allowed to go in service or to any meeting for three weeks.
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  FeelingFree

  Thats good to know dropoffyourkeylee. You must be very worried for them, I know I would be. Im worried about it anyway and have been reading articles on how to protect yourself and we haven't even had any confirmed cases in UK yet. But does no harm in being prepared.
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  minimus

  That's one way to get out of meetings and service.
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  DATA-DOG

  Not going to meetings!!!! That's so satanic!! So what if you have Ebola?? Jeehoober wants you in service and at ALL the meetings!! Where is your faith in the resurrection!?!?! JWs these days are so lukewarm in their worship of the almighty Jehobo, it makes him sad. All the spiritual encouragement lost because someone misses a meeting. It's just deplorable.

  DD
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  punkofnice

  "Because the first person to contract Ebola in January 1995 was Gaspard Menga, a Jehovah's Witness, it was widely suggested among the majority Catholic population that the epidemic constituted God's revenge for deviant beliefs and behaviors."

  Facepalm. Religion is really full of infantile crap.
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  SafeAtHome

  Yes, punkofnice, that reminds me of when Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell said 9/11 was caused by "feminists, gays, lesbians and the ACLU".
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  Jeannette

  Thanks for this post. I remember reading about this years ago, it must have been around 1995, and it must have been in one of the magazines as I had no time to read other things. Just take your fresh garlic however you can get it down, use your own pen, wipe off your keyboard and steering wheel with wet wipes often. Those are just a few of the precautions.