Confronting Ebola with music and dance?

Even though my project is subtitled "Confronting civil unrest through music and comedy in Ivory Coast", today civil unrest is far less relevant in Ivory Coast (and possibly in the West African sub-region) than the Ebola virus. Unless you've been cut from all civilization for the past few months, you are probably aware of the highly infectious (not highly contagious) disease. Mortality rates are extremely high, and the symptoms are not very pleasant either. As with most issues, the media has done its part to escalate the matter sufficiently to make everyone paranoid. Since the end of July, all the comments I've received from people I told about my project were "Isn't that where Ebola is?", "I don't think you should risk it - your life is too precious", "Not worth it man". Well just so you know, there are currently no documented cases of Ebola in Ivory Coast (knock on wood). Then again, Ivory Coast's proximity to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone makes you wonder how long the country will be able to preserve its immune status. My  hope is that by the time I am ready to actually start fieldwork in Ivory Coast (mid March), the outbreak would have been better controlled. However, I'm getting sidetracked because this is not what this post is about.

In a previous post, I predicted that it wouldn't be long before Ivory Coast musicians came up with an Ebola dance. It looks like I was correct (thanks DJ Lewis)! Scanning through my facebook newsfeed today, I came across the following video. 

 DJ Lewis - Ebola

From a very basic analysis, I sense that the purpose of this video is twofold. First and foremost it serves as Public Service Announcement to warn people of the dangers of the disease and what preventative measures they could take. In a very synthesized voice you hear DJ Lewis yell "Aucun vaccin n'est disponible - Attention - 90% des malades meurent - Attention" (translated: No vaccine is available - Warning - 90% of affected people die - Warning). If this doesn't qualify as awareness raising, then I don't know what does. But we should note that this is also a party song. It is performed in the "Coupe Decale" style, a type of Ivorian music that advocates excess, luxury and an overall festive lifestyle. Even though a terrible thing such as Ebola is not necessarily compatible with partying, something in Ivorian culture (perhaps in human nature) allow the two to mingle so as to produce refreshing music. It is not that Ebola cannot or should not be sung, however to most people the expectation would be something similar to this: 

Here, Ismael Yoroba gives us a mellow performance that outlines the risk factors, and presents a couple of pointers on how not catch Ebola (#boring? #effective?).

Ebola is terrible and is currently wreaking havoc in West Africa. However, if dancing and singing engages folks in ways that can uplift  their spirits while also providing education, then these populations are certainly getting closer to recovery. As we wait for the powerful figures of the world (Obama, Bill Gates etc.) to assist us, Africa let's dance our sickness away like Mamadee here!

 Full article available here: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/story-front-line/boy-who-tricked-ebola