Now that the Ebola scare seems to be over in the developed world and under control in the African countries who suffer the epidemic, it is time to revisit some of the lessons the crisis left behind and see how they are aplicable to other dimensions of North-South relations.
Paciencia Melgar, a missionary born in Equatorial Guinea, was working alongside a Spanish missionary, Miguel Pajares, treating Ebola-infected patients on the outskirts of Monrovia. Eventually, the two missionaries became infected, and their condition deteriorated rapidly.
Father Pajares was repatriated to Spain for treatment in a specially conditioned airplane. He asked the Spanish authorities to take Mrs. Melgar along too. The Spanish authorities refused: Spain would not take a foreign national. One would assume that Father Pajares’ chances of survival would improve with better medical care in Spain while Paciencia would be left to an almost-certain death in Elwa, a notoriously infamous medical facility where those with practically no chance of salvation are secluded – or vice-versa.
Yet fate took a surprising turn… A few days later, Father Pajares, aged 75, died in Madrid despite all medical efforts (which included the use of the experimental and scarcely-available Zmapp) while Mrs. Melgar miraculously recovered, and was certified clean of the virus. Her blood had proved capable of developing immunity to the disease. And the very same people who said “no”… now had to say “please”.
A few weeks later, a nurse treating a second Spanish missionary repatriated from Africa became infected – the first-ever transmission of the Ebola virus outside of Africa. Transfusing Mrs. Melgar’s Ebola-defeating blood was one of a few things that could be tried in an attempt to cure her. And Spain asked Paciencia to donate blood.
Destiny is capricious. No blame to Spain: no country can accept into its health system all infected people from Africa; this is done only for their nationals. Yet, asking a person who was abandoned to her death to give blood by the very same country that did the abandoning is of questionable morality.
Mrs. Paciencia Melgar said yes to the request, and is proud of it. She donated blood to other patients in Europe. She probably does not think in terms of countries and nationalities but in terms of individual human beings. A tribute to her; a lesson for us all.
