In This Time Of AIDS Crisis Silence Is Suicidal
Posted: Saturday, February 07, 2009
by Yangki Christine Akiteng
The Real People's Love Doctor
"Break the silence," "speak out" and "let's talk about sex' are the phrases that dominate international and national campaigns to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. But one only has to sit down at any of the highly publicized HIV/AIDS conferences or live concerts and note the reaction of African leaders and representatives - that is if they have been invited or were invited and actually manage to get some donor funding to attend these events. Even at Question and Answer time, very few Africans say anything; most just sit there in silence, collect their per diem and fly back home to lament about how "life is not fair'.
But how can we have our voices heard when we're not talking. How do we tackle AIDS if we are not talking about it ourselves? I am personally more convinced than ever that unless Africans get real and start talking nothing is ever going to change; not the way we're portrayed, not the way we're treated and certainly not the way we are dying. Unless we Africans speak out freely and forcefully, we will remain victims of Western self-interested-leading-nowhere-policies. True, we do not have the drugs, but this HIV/AIDS epidemic cannot be controlled with drugs alone or as someone put it "Doctors pouring drugs of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, into human beings of which they know nothing".
There are Africans who adamantly insist that asking people to talk about sex is implicitly imposing western values and practices which conflict with the way Africans identify and feel about themselves, the way they experience the world and the way their reality in constructed. "They've already stripped us naked of our resources, dignity and pride, and now they want our private parts too?. Next they'll want our internal organs" said one old man.
Many Africans who share this view evince only two seemingly opposite trends: a wholesale abandonment of African cultural attachments on one hand and traditional fundamentalism as a symbol of resistance to Western political and cultural imperialism. When I asked one African man what he was doing personally to fight this epidemic, his answer was "I am not going to go on the streets with placards. That is what white people do".
I understand the attachment we Africans have for our cultural values and practices but it doesn't have to be all or nothing. There is nothing worse than people suffering needlessly. Only by talking for ourselves will initiatives get going that fit in with the way we live our lives. Sex and sexuality are concepts which are grounded in our own bodies and our own experiences. Who is in a better position to tell us what is good for us, than ourselves? Who is in the best position to negotiate for culturally appropriate platforms for talking about sex but ourselves? It is precisely because sex is so intrinsic to who we are that it should not be left to the whim of others to tell us what to do with our sexuality. It's only and only when we Africans not only take full responsibility for what is happening to us but assume the leadership of how this disease is being fought that we'll see significant results.
We are in a burning house and yet only a few are shouting for all of us to get out. We have been squatting and rocking on our heels with grief and this has proved an exercise in futility. Let's add our voices to those already shouting the best way they know how, white, brown or black. And what is wrong with carrying placards on the streets, anyway? Or may be we'd rather wait silently for science and technology to save us not wanting to disturb the "great minds" while they silently work out our saving vaccine.
We must let no opportunity pass. We must speak out and speak the truth. If we can not speak up for ourselves, then we must speak up for our children our blood and continuity. In this time of crisis silence is suicidal.
If you found this article interesting, you might also want to check out my other Searchwarp article: The Way HIV/AIDS In Africa Is Being Handled
About the Author: Christine Akiteng is a Cross Cultural Relations Consultant with experience in cross-cultural negotiations, problem-solving, team-building, project design, project management, project evaluation and monitoring. She has held Program Coordination and Program Management positions with diplomatic missions and international aid agencies including the British High Commission, Canadian International Development Agency and UNICEF Canada. She has also worked in Public Relations with European Union funded programme and done consulting work with IMF/World Bank and World Health Organization affiliated initiatives, as well as many Non-Government Organizations in and outside Africa. Christine is also an internationally renowned Dating and Relationships Coach, Motivational Speaker, AIDS Activist and Youth HIV/AIDS Educator. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Christine, you have said it all, and so very true....I love the Title, as that is also so true, and I quote my favorite out of the article "We must let no opportunity pass. We must speak out and speak the truth. If we can not speak up for ourselves, then we must speak up for our children – our blood and continuity. In this time of crisis silence is suicidal". Well done on this article, and I loved the message. Thank you for writting this......your friend in pen......GaryPlease log in to respond to this comment.This is a cause so dear to my heart. I am thankful that you took the time to read and comment. Your comments are always very much appreciated.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Christine your so right but check the stats and you will see where the problem really is, reality, not sugar coating and in that sadly you will find the apathy. Best wishes.Please log in to respond to this comment.Robert, I am honoured to know you read my articles-- and more honoured that you took the time to leave a comment.
I am not sure which stats you refer to and frankly I don’t trust stats on HIV/AIDS in Africa. I have been the middle person between those who have the money and those who have the disease for close to 20 years now, both on ground in Africa and working with many Western governments, Non-Governmental Organizations and local community organizations from different countries. Experience has taught me to trust on-ground reports and what I see with my own eyes. That's the closest to reality as it can get. Stats are made up all the time -- and even those who produce the stats don’t agree on which stats are representative of the reality on the ground/Africa. Try sitting at one of the inter-governmental (BIG donors) round table meetings. You'll never look at those stats the same way.I do think if we have to see progress in the fight against this epidemic, the gap between those have the money and those who have the disease has to be completely eliminated. Anything else is a waste of time, money and lives. Donors know this and African governments know this. The only sugar coating I see is thinking this problem will be resolved with the same policies, attitudes (both sides) and strategies that have obviously not worked -- and will NEVER work!You might want to look at my sister artilcle to this one: "The Way HIV/AIDS In Africa Is Being Handled".No apathy here. Some of us (both in the West and in Africa) still do believe something can be done and should be done. We're just getting started and we will eliminate this disease. That I take to my grave... :-)!Please log in to respond to this comment.What I am referring to is the high rate of HIV victims in underdeveloped and impoverished lands. The effort provided to assist in eradicating this scourge is minimal at best. We are so wrapped up in the Global dream we forget the tragedy that has fallen upon people. I venture to say Western societies do not even address their own problems in the magnitude it should. The issue here is sadly and in my opinion no ROI, Return on Investment. I hate to say it that blunt but if we were who we say we are we would not be writing this. Best Wishes.Please log in to respond to this comment.Like I said, stats on the rate of HIV infection or AIDS deaths are all over the place depending on who is doing the stats. The European stats (British and Dutch specifically) tend to be closer to accurate, though they too are slanted in favour of donor interests. And I hear what you are saying about ROI, but this problem can't be solved with Western money. Uganda reduced its infection rate so drastically well before Western donors came into the picture. “Look to the West” mentality has got to stop someday. The sooner we Africans get started the better for us and our children…Please log in to respond to this comment.I thought you might find this interesting.Further evolution of the AIDS story requires an understanding of how sub–Saharan Africa statistics on HIV and AIDS are obtained. AIDS is diagnosed in Africa using the Bangui Definition.This relies on the presence of prolonged fevers, weight loss of at least 10% and prolonged diarrhoea– common conditions in Africa.A positive HIV test is not required. Population estimates are less than reliable for many African countries. When HIV non-specific antibody tests are employed they are performed on pregnant women.The results, using the crude population estimates, are then extrapolated into infection and death rates for entire African countries.These factors grossly exaggerate the number of ‘HIV’ and ‘AIDS’ cases.It is only correct that UNAIDS should use the same criteria to calculate HIV/AIDS statistics in Africa as it employs in developed countries.Until this occurs attempting to equate excessively high infection rates in sub–Saharan Africa to particular widespread cultural and sexual practices is an exercise in futility.Dr. J. HardieVancouver, Canada
Published on New Vision Uganda
Friday, 27th June, 2008Please log in to respond to this comment.
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