Why are HIV-related deaths such an issue?

Zonwabele Tshayana

President Mandela's son died of an HIV-related illness, so what? Why is it such a big issue if some prominent person dies of an HIV-related illness? Is it because we are saying that rich people aren't supposed to be infected? Or are we saying that it should not be said that they are/were HIV positive?

I have known so many people who have passed away due to the virus. I have lost a number of friends due to this virus. Most of them didn't want to disclose it because they feared what society would say if they knew. One of them, a doctor, said that if he were to disclose, his patients would abandon him, and that was a fact. If we keep on talking when someone in a higher position is found to be positive, how will the other professionals and business people come out? Why was it not an issue when one of the "not so rich" guys appeared on TV and disclosed that he was HIV positive? A lot of them have appeared in magazines, newspapers and so on, but no one fusses about them.

Do we notice that we are instilling that mentality of saying that HIV is for poor people? By and by, we are creating a very big hole into which we are all going to fall one day. We are tacitly saying that HIV is a "rich man's" disease. The communities in rural areas always hear people talking about a certain important figure whose son, or daughter, has been killed by the virus. What, then, does that say to them? It says they shouldn't worry, because they are not sons or daughters of important people. At the same time, amongst our society, we are promoting that HIV is supposed to infect poor people. The moment someone discloses their status to us, we get so shocked that at times we tend to say they shouldn't further disclose to other people.

Had Makgatho been not Mandela's son, or had he not been a businessman, would we have talked like this? Would he have got so much publicity, even after his passing away? Would the nation still talk or debate about the effect of HIV in our society? Would people have noticed that the virus has claimed yet another fighter? Would I have written this column? The answer to all these question is NO. None of this would have happened were it someone else.

How I wish that we could stay away from categorising the people that are supposed to have HIV and start fighting the disease, not looking at who is infected or who is not. Our people are dying due to ignorance, stigmatisation and discrimination. What are we all, as a nation, doing? Are we all going to wait for the government to do something? If that is the case, then each and every one of us should brace ourselves for the days to come. If we are still acting like this towards HIV, come 2015, we are all going to be positive.



LitNet: 03 March 2005

boontoe / to the top

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