Student from Sierra Leone refused accommodation from landlords in Norwich

Student Amara Bangura from Sierra Leone voiced his devastation when he was refused accommodation from two landlords in Norwich because they felt he presented risk of Ebola. The student had a radio show back home that he used to educate his listeners about the lethal virus and to dismiss any myths that surround it. His show is aired across 35 stations in the country, through BBC Media Action. He reported to the Guardian last week that: "You have to deal with the issues of myth, you have to deal with the issues of religion, you have to answer questions about prevention and how to stay safe."

It is believed that until the landlords saw his passport, they were happy to allow the student to rent from them. One of the Landlords responded: "Under normal circumstance[s] your profile would be a great profile to be one of our lodgers. However, given that the world is about to probably experience an Ebola epidemic, we have decided not to accept anyone that has been anywhere near the outbreak within the last two months, or is likely to visit those areas in the near future."

This is believed to have caused fury at the University of East Anglia, where the student attends stating that this incident is "absolutely disgusting". Holly Staynor, who is welfare, community and diversity officer at the union, said: "There is no way we should be discriminating against any students." Amara Bangura has since found accommodation and has been conducting presentations on Ebola across campus.

Image courtesy to Flickr, Creative Commons