Author: Slavery Gives US 'Responsibility' to Not Ban Flights from Liberia

Author: Slavery Gives US 'Responsibility' to Not Ban Flights from Liberia

David Quammen, an author of multiple books on science and diseases, including “Ebola,” and “Spillover,” argued against a ban on flights to Liberia by stating the US has a “responsibility” to the nation “given the fact that this is a country that was founded in the 1820s, 1830s because of American slavery” on Thursday’s “AC360” on CNN.

Quammen first argued that such a ban would not be feasible because “it’s impossible to track them [people flying from Liberia],” and “you can’t isolate neighborhoods, you can’t isolate nations. It doesn’t work.”

He then said, “people talk about ‘well, we should not allow any flights in from Liberia.’ I mean, we in America, how dare we turn our backs on Liberia given the fact that this is a country that was founded in the 1820s, 1830s because of American slavery? We have a responsibility to stay connected with them, and help them see this through.” 

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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