Akon performs in a bubble at Goma .. and courts some controversy !!

Bubbles will burst sooner …. ‘ bubble burst ’ – would mean a successful period would end suddenly ..

Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, famously known as Akon is an American R&B (Rhythm and Blues) and hip hop recording artist, songwriter, and record producer.  He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble.  He has since founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. His second album, Konvicted received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories.

Globally Ebola is the dreaded thing …. Ebola virus disease (EVD), Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), or simply Ebola is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an ebola virus.  The virus may be acquired upon contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected human or other animal. Fruit bats are believed to be a carrier and may spread the virus without being affected. Once human infection occurs, the disease may spread between people, as well.  Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by one of five different Ebola viruses. Four of the strains can cause severe illness in humans and animals. The fifth, Reston virus, has caused illness in some animals, but not in humans. The first human outbreaks occurred in 1976, one in northern Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa: and the other, in southern Sudan (now South Sudan). The virus is named after the Ebola River, where the virus was first recognized in 1976, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ebola is extremely infectious but not extremely contagious.

Some even contend that Ebola is a greater clear and present threat to America than any terror group - so why is Obama spending billions bombing ISIS but only millions blitzing the virus? From bird flu to SARS, we’re repeatedly told it’s going to be the new Plague that will wipe everyone out and then…it doesn’t. Probably because the scare-mongering itself makes people take it seriously enough to prevent it spreading – still there  is something very sinister and frightening about this Ebola outbreak, which has so far infected 7,100 and killed 3,300.  Last month a patient traveling from Nigeria was admitted to DC hospital with possible Ebola symptoms – and some Scientists describe the virus as ‘genetic roulette’.

Akon, the R&B star is now accused of going to extreme lengths to avoid catching Ebola after crowd surfing in giant 'bubble' at African concert.  The 'Locked Up' singer climbed inside the airtight blow-up during a performance in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo  and rolled over the crowd, pushed along by the outstretched hands of 60,000 screaming concert-goers. His actions prompted breathless reports from certain media outlets that, rather than just being a creative way of performing closer to his fans, it was a cynical attempt to shield himself from the deadly virus that is sweeping West Africa.

'The Ebola virus is no joke,' harrumphed The Source website’ and to avoid contracting it from anybody, when Akon left the stage to crowd surf with the people that were attending his concert, he did so in a huge plastic protective bubble.' What the website did not report was that the five-time Grammy nominee has performed inside the stage prop on a number of previous occasions including in Perth, Australia, and Dubai, both in 2010. Neither of those countries were battling Ebola outbreaks at the time.

Akon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, he frequently travels to Africa where his West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats are hugely popular.  In 2011, Forbes ranked him fifth in its list of the most powerful celebrities in Africa, where he has his own charity for underprivileged children called Konfidence Foundation. He also owns a diamond mine in South Africa.

The DR Congo has been plagued by violence and unrest for much of the last 20 years as it toiled through a series of bloody civil wars. Forty-two people have died in DR Congo since the outbreak erupted in West Africa six months ago. The first reported case in DR Congo was on August 26.  As it evolved, his actions at Goma actions prompted breathless reports from certain media outlets which saw that as a  cynical attempt to shield himself from the deadly virus sweeping West Africa.

In 1995 movie ‘Outbreak’  directed by Wolfgang Petersen starring Dustin Hoffman ran packed houses. The film focusses on an outbreak of a fictional Ebola-like virus called Motaba in Zaire and later in a small town in the United States.   Outbreak's plot speculates how far military and civilian agencies might go to contain the spread of a deadly contagion.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

6^th Oct 2014. 

Photo and news credit : dailymail.co.uk