The students, who planned to study at the All Saints Medical
School in Dominica, were told that they could not enter the
island to catch the 30 minute connecting flight that would
bring them to Dominica because of the Ebola outbreak in
West Africa.
The students, four female and five male, left Lagos, Nigeria
aboard Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday, October 18th, billed to
arrive in Dominica on Sunday the 19th. Following a 22-hour
flight, the students arrived in St. Martin, yet were refused
entry to the island because of concern regarding Ebola.
This rejection came after the students showed evidence that
they tested negative for the virus. None of the nine, who
came from both Nigeria and Ghana, were ever even exposed
to infected persons.
Rather than finish the journey, the students were sent back to
Nigeria, first flown to Panama, then Brazil, then Togo, then
Nigeria this past Wednesday. A trip of 22 hours ballooned
into a nightmarish five-day ordeal, with the return trip costing
students N575,000. During the period, the teenagers slept in
airport lobbies unattended, without any amenities. Neither the
parents nor the school were notified of the developments.
“They treated them like deportees,” a concerned parent told
SaharaReporters. “If teenagers can be treated like this, then
what are the odds for other people?”
Attempts to reach health and immigration officials in Saint
Martin for answers were met with several different—and
conflicting—responses. Some officials said a travel ban on
West African countries affected by Ebola was in place, and
some said that no such measure existed.
Most interestingly, several officials at the sole airport on the
island of St. Martin, Princess Juliana International Airport,
said that no ban on travel from Ebola-affected countries was
in place. “There is no ban,” a security officer at the airport
said. “Not to my knowledge, not yet.”
The security official and others in the airport’s executive
office had no knowledge of any kind of official ban, instead
referring SaharaReporters to the island’s Office of
Immigration and Ministry of Health.
Clear answers were not given by anyone in the government of
St. Martin either. Responding staff had no information at all
on a possible ban or why students from countries unaffected
by Ebola, neither did the country’s website.
An administrative assistant in the St. Martin Ministry of
Health, Maria Henry, was the only source that said that such
a ban existed. “We have a travel ban,” she said.
Regardless of whether a ban exists or not, the response of
St. Martin aiport and immigration officials to the teenage
students seemed like a gross overreaction, seeing as there
are no active cases of Ebola in either Nigeria or Ghana.
Even in the destination country, Dominica, government
sources say there is no travel ban on travel from Ebola-
affected West African countries.
“There is no ban,” an anonymous source from the Ministry of
Tourism said.
“I am worried that in a free world such as ours, certain
countries, airlines and corporations can take such actions
with impunity on law-abiding Nigerian citizens without fear of
reprisal or remorse,” a parent told SaharaReporters. “The
emotional, physical and financial impact of this event on all
involved should not be left to be suffered by these children
and their parents alone.”
“Imagine the nightmare and despair of the parents as well as
the trauma these children have experienced,” another parent
said.
Though the students have since returned home, parents tell
SaharaReporters that they are still working with All Saints
Medical School to determine how these students can return
to start school, and if students can be reimbursed for the
return trip. Parents say they expect an answer on Monday,
yet continue to request an official explanation from officials in
St. Martin.
“We demand answers and an apology,” parents said.
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