Mbeki vs. the AIDS Establishment... (14)
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It's a very unfortunate situation that the African who tries to com-
plain is looked at as naive, ignorant, short-sighted etc. etc., espe-
cially if he dares complain against his local politician. No politi-
cian, not even one is driven by philanthropy. If they did most if not
all African leaders would take early retirement once they begin to
fail. All of them ARE just big egos looking for an arena to show off!!
It is very interesting that the world is viewing the issue of Zimbabwe
quite differently from what the people of Zimbabwe are doing. Just
study the recent electoral process carefully. Unfortunately, people
from outside Zimbabwe have always looked at this issue in terms of col-
our whereas Zimbabweans understand this issue from our empty pockets
and stomachs; and the reasons why these are empty have no IMMEDIATE,
stress the word IMMEDIATE, relationship to what the world would like us
to believe.
As a Zimbabwean I hate being patronised to this extent and please don't
try and tell me that I don't know what I am talking about. I worked for
government and so I experienced it at that very level. Zimbabwe is a
country undergoing a lot of problems and these problems will not be
helped by telling us that we don't know where our priorities lie. We
know where they do and like everybody else everywhere else, the pocket
and the stomach.
AIDS is a significant cause of hardship in a lot of southern African
countries and unfortunately putting political niceties to it does not
in any way help those that are suffering from it both as infected and
affected.
What people forget is that a lot of the politicians are also in the
HIGH RISK group, again note the stress on HIGH RISK and hence this is
but part of the whole denial process. Those of us who have worked
through official denial when we were not supposed to put the diagnosis
on paper or on a death certificate know and feel the hopelessness
brought by this officialdom when you try and get the message across to
people who would have heard the politician first. This reminds me of
the time that I failed an exam in South Africa in the early 90's be-
cause I had made a clinical diagnosis of AIDS in a child and apparently
I had made a "mistake" and obviously that child officially had "malnu-
trition" and I suspect did not respond to treatment for malnutrition.
Obviously, there was no AIDS in South Africa then, "officially" of
course.
Thomas More Chaita
mailto:tomche@liverpool.ac.uk
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