Three primary forces dehumanize the Sudanese villagers in Ebola River. In the first place, intense poverty degrades the lives of the people. For example, Preston describes the conditions at the cotton factory where rats and bats live in close proximity to factory workers. In the hospital, medical personal used contaminated needles. (Preston 20-21). Two basic human rights should be a safe working environment and reliable medical care. When Nzaran factory workers were exposed daily to potentially infectious rodents, this violated their humanity. Even worse, when they went to the hospital to be cured, but instead got infected because of unsanitary practices, this dehumanized them morally and physically. Second, fear dehumanizes the villagers. For instance, Preston reports that “some of the dying stripped off their clothes and ran out of the hospital, naked and bleeding, and wandered through the streets of the town, seeking their homes, not seeming to know what had happened or how they had gotten into this condition” (Preston 21). In a situation of disaster, acute fear can be a very dehumanizing force. Victims can lose touch with reality and behave in ways that can humiliate or harm them. When desperation sets in, a victim’s usual abilities can collapse, leaving him helpless. On 9/11, I saw people running from the burning towers, dehumanized by the shock and fear of the unknown, much like these victims of the Ebola virus. Finally, the indifference of the industrialized world dehumanizes the people of Sudan. In particular, Preston notes that European and American doctors come to Nzara to “pay their respects to the index case.” Otherwise, the crisis went unrecognized by the rest of the world. (Preston 20-21). Each year, millions of people die from AIDS and malaria in Africa and Asia. The U.S. and Europe have the medical resources to relieve much of the suffering and death in developing nations. When we ignore our fellow humans and leave them to wallow in pain and anguish, when we treat them like a curiosity or “index case,” we dehumanize them and ourselves in the process.

Three primary forces dehumanize the Sudanese villagers in Ebola River. In the first place, intense poverty degrades the lives of the people. For example, Preston describes the conditions at the cotton factory where rats and bats live in close proximity to factory workers. In the hospital, medical personal used contaminated needles. (Preston 20-21). Two basic human rights should be a safe working environment and reliable medical care. When Nzaran factory workers were exposed daily to potentially infectious rodents, this violated their humanity. Even worse, when they went to the hospital to be cured, but instead got infected because of unsanitary practices, this dehumanized them morally and physically. Second, fear dehumanizes the villagers. For instance, Preston reports that “some of the dying stripped off their clothes and ran out of the hospital, naked and bleeding, and wandered through the streets of the town, seeking their homes, not seeming to know what had happened or how they had gotten into this condition” (Preston 21). In a situation of disaster, acute fear can be a very dehumanizing force. Victims can lose touch with reality and behave in ways that can humiliate or harm them. When desperation sets in, a victim’s usual abilities can collapse, leaving him helpless. On 9/11, I saw people running from the burning towers, dehumanized by the shock and fear of the unknown, much like these victims of the Ebola virus. Finally, the indifference of the industrialized world dehumanizes the people of Sudan. In particular, Preston notes that European and American doctors come to Nzara to “pay their respects to the index case.” Otherwise, the crisis went unrecognized by the rest of the world. (Preston 20-21). Each year, millions of people die from AIDS and malaria in Africa and Asia. The U.S. and Europe have the medical resources to relieve much of the suffering and death in developing nations. When we ignore our fellow humans and leave them to wallow in pain and anguish, when we treat them like a curiosity or “index case,” we dehumanize them and ourselves in the process.

Three primary forces dehumanize the Sudanese villagers in Ebola River. In the first place, intense poverty degrades the lives of the people. For example, Preston describes the conditions at the cotton factory where rats and bats live in close proximity to factory workers. In the hospital, medical personal used contaminated needles. (Preston 20-21). Two basic human rights should be a safe working environment and reliable medical care. When Nzaran factory workers were exposed daily to potentially infectious rodents, this violated their humanity. Even worse, when they went to the hospital to be cured, but instead got infected because of unsanitary practices, this dehumanized them morally and physically. Second, fear dehumanizes the villagers. For instance, Preston reports that “some of the dying stripped off their clothes and ran out of the hospital, naked and bleeding, and wandered through the streets of the town, seeking their homes, not seeming to know what had happened or how they had gotten into this condition” (Preston 21). In a situation of disaster, acute fear can be a very dehumanizing force. Victims can lose touch with reality and behave in ways that can humiliate or harm them. When desperation sets in, a victim’s usual abilities can collapse, leaving him helpless. On 9/11, I saw people running from the burning towers, dehumanized by the shock and fear of the unknown, much like these victims of the Ebola virus. Finally, the indifference of the industrialized world dehumanizes the people of Sudan. In particular, Preston notes that European and American doctors come to Nzara to “pay their respects to the index case.” Otherwise, the crisis went unrecognized by the rest of the world. (Preston 20-21). Each year, millions of people die from AIDS and malaria in Africa and Asia. The U.S. and Europe have the medical resources to relieve much of the suffering and death in developing nations. When we ignore our fellow humans and leave them to wallow in pain and anguish, when we treat them like a curiosity or “index case,” we dehumanize them and ourselves in the process.

Three primary forces dehumanize the Sudanese villagers in Ebola River. In the first place, intense poverty degrades the lives of the people. For example, Preston describes the conditions at the cotton factory where rats and bats live in close proximity to factory workers. In the hospital, medical personal used contaminated needles. (Preston 20-21). Two basic human rights should be a safe working environment and reliable medical care. When Nzaran factory workers were exposed daily to potentially infectious rodents, this violated their humanity. Even worse, when they went to the hospital to be cured, but instead got infected because of unsanitary practices, this dehumanized them morally and physically. Second, fear dehumanizes the villagers. For instance, Preston reports that “some of the dying stripped off their clothes and ran out of the hospital, naked and bleeding, and wandered through the streets of the town, seeking their homes, not seeming to know what had happened or how they had gotten into this condition” (Preston 21). In a situation of disaster, acute fear can be a very dehumanizing force. Victims can lose touch with reality and behave in ways that can humiliate or harm them. When desperation sets in, a victim’s usual abilities can collapse, leaving him helpless. On 9/11, I saw people running from the burning towers, dehumanized by the shock and fear of the unknown, much like these victims of the Ebola virus. Finally, the indifference of the industrialized world dehumanizes the people of Sudan. In particular, Preston notes that European and American doctors come to Nzara to “pay their respects to the index case.” Otherwise, the crisis went unrecognized by the rest of the world. (Preston 20-21). Each year, millions of people die from AIDS and malaria in Africa and Asia. The U.S. and Europe have the medical resources to relieve much of the suffering and death in developing nations. When we ignore our fellow humans and leave them to wallow in pain and anguish, when we treat them like a curiosity or “index case,” we dehumanize them and ourselves in the process.

Three primary forces dehumanize the Sudanese villagers in Ebola River. In the first place, intense poverty degrades the lives of the people. For example, Preston describes the conditions at the cotton factory where rats and bats live in close proximity to factory workers. In the hospital, medical personal used contaminated needles. (Preston 20-21). Two basic human rights should be a safe working environment and reliable medical care. When Nzaran factory workers were exposed daily to potentially infectious rodents, this violated their humanity. Even worse, when they went to the hospital to be cured, but instead got infected because of unsanitary practices, this dehumanized them morally and physically. Second, fear dehumanizes the villagers. For instance, Preston reports that “some of the dying stripped off their clothes and ran out of the hospital, naked and bleeding, and wandered through the streets of the town, seeking their homes, not seeming to know what had happened or how they had gotten into this condition” (Preston 21). In a situation of disaster, acute fear can be a very dehumanizing force. Victims can lose touch with reality and behave in ways that can humiliate or harm them. When desperation sets in, a victim’s usual abilities can collapse, leaving him helpless. On 9/11, I saw people running from the burning towers, dehumanized by the shock and fear of the unknown, much like these victims of the Ebola virus. Finally, the indifference of the industrialized world dehumanizes the people of Sudan. In particular, Preston notes that European and American doctors come to Nzara to “pay their respects to the index case.” Otherwise, the crisis went unrecognized by the rest of the world. (Preston 20-21). Each year, millions of people die from AIDS and malaria in Africa and Asia. The U.S. and Europe have the medical resources to relieve much of the suffering and death in developing nations. When we ignore our fellow humans and leave them to wallow in pain and anguish, when we treat them like a curiosity or “index case,” we dehumanize them and ourselves in the process.