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Botswana: Stigma a New Form of Virus
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
11 April 2008
Posted to the web 14 April 2008
Dan Mosekaphofu
Gaborone
He is staggering as he approaches the bend. The khaki envelope in his hands seems to be extremely heavy for him. He is sweating profusely, perhaps, as a direct consequence of the brown jacket he is wearing in the scorching sun.
He manages to occupy one of the seats under the shade made for this phone operator's customers. This man and the phone operator seem to know each other well as they greet each other by names.
His attempt to make a phone call is clumsy because of his feeble hands. He fails to pick up the receiver. The phone operator comes to his rescue and holds the receiver for him. Eventually he manages to make the call.
But as soon as he leaves, the phone operator, who had been his Good Samaritan, picks her phone and calls someone. Their conversation is tainted with condemnation of the man. "He is paying for his sins. He used to run around le ma 14" is the signing off tune of their conversation.
That the above scenario epitomises another dimension of the problem created by the HIV/AIDS scourge cannot be disputed. Much as Botswana continues to register resounding victories in the fight against the scourge, discrimination and stigmatisation will continue to mar such achievements.
For 23-year-old Kesego Ntesang of Sefhare, "it is still difficult for people to accept that HIV/AIDS is with us and is likely to be with us for a long time because chances of finding a cure for the disease are still remote. This is the first admission that we have to make."Ntesang argues that the root cause of the stigma and discrimination "is the fact that people fail to perceive HIV/AIDS as just another disease but view it as a direct consequence of one's infidelity or acts of irresponsibility. People equate one's HIV status to the level of responsibility and commitment to their families and partners."
She believes that this explains why people make scurrilous remarks about individuals who die of AIDS or contract the virus. Hence comments such as "she/he died because he/she had many sexual partners" are not uncommon.
To counter this state of affairs, 25-year-old Phandu Matobo, of Bobonong, suggests "we need strong counselling and education mechanisms so as to deal with the issue of stigma and discrimination. We (Batswaana) have had enough information about the prevention part of it. It is now time for us to step up the gear and focus on the 'after diagnosis,' phase."
She maintains that, "we need to go beyond just focusing on counselling the infected individual but to do a lot of work in preparing those who are close to the infected, such as the family, friends or colleagues at work to accept and embrace the concerned individual."
Matobo reveals that the infected people suffer discrimination during their struggle with the disease. "It is sad that news about the infected continues to make news headlines and topics even at workplaces. His or her biography will be written. Even those who do not know the infected well would unfortunately participate in the writing of this biography. So many reasons are advanced as to why the concerned individual deserves to be HIV positive," she says.
She also indicates that the discrimination often affects the entire family of the concerned individual. "It is very unfortunate and unacceptable that the family of the HIV-positive individual is also looked down upon and shunned by society. The issue becomes so and so's daughter or son is HIV-positive or has died of the disease. The focus now shifts to the family as if they (family members) had committed a crime," she says sadly.She also reveals that in some instances, "the children of the infected person also bear the brunt of this unnecessary stigmatisation and discrimination. They might be denied the opportunity to make friends and to enjoy themselves with other children as their neighbours might declare them unfit to play with their kids".
Twenty-seven-year-old Tabona Makwali of Tutume is another citizen who is totally against the stigmatisation and discrimination of the infected and the affected. "This is very unfortunate. We have allowed this disease to divide us. Even at family level, at times conflicts erupt as some members fail to accept the infected individual. Some would even write a long charge sheet, listing all the wrongs that they feel the infected did to deserve the "punishment".She adds that the family also feels betrayed and embarrassed by the infected individual. "The family will unfortunately succumb to the pressure of the dark cloud of stigmatisation and discrimination that unfortunately hangs over our society. They are concerned much about what people, and their neighbours in particular, will say about them."
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Makwali maintains that there "is need for more awareness campaigns to counter this stigmatisation. If not checked, this stigmatisation and discrimination has the potential to overshadow the good strides that the nation has made so far in the fight against the disease. Discrimination and stigmatisation is a new form of virus which we must tackle with all the gusto at our disposal".
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| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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