Newsflash! "AIDS Can Be Cured By Fruits and Vegetables"

I have seen many public service announcements for AIDS during my time here. I’ve seen advertisements for lovelife, an organization which seeks to inform young South Africans about how to protect themselves from infection. I’ve read pamphlets about AIDS in Church basements, hidden from view. I’ve seen a South African movie where AIDS played a central role. I’ve heard an African scholar tell me that some of the students I teach are probably infected, and I may not be able to see them when I come back to visit because they’ll be dead. I’ve lead a dramatic play about the virus with 9 and 10 year olds, who begged me to include a section on how to use a condom. I’ve talked with fellow teachers who had just returned from a funeral of one of their closest friends, but didn’t know the cause of her death. I’ve met an openly HIV positive woman who spreads the gospel of Jesus to help soothe and calm those infected by the illness. I’ve heard about a political leader who believes one can wash the AIDS away, and a health minister who believes there are herbal remedies for the virus. I’ve heard people tell me the cause of AIDS is poverty, and I’ve heard others tell me the cure for AIDS is fruits and vegetables. I’ve met gay people who have told me they know no one with the illness. I’ve watched a gay pride parade in the center of Cape Town roll by without a single mention of the virus.

AIDS is visible, and it’s not. It’s out in the open, and completely hidden. It’s the main story of South Africa, and it’s a side note. It can be cured by Jesus, and it can be cured by pills. It can be prevented by condoms, but condoms can’t always prevent it. It’s associated with heterosexual sex, and it’s associated associated with homosexuality. It’s something to be ashamed of, but it’s something we “must stop.” It affects 20% of the population and it affects 30% or does it affect 50%?

I came hear partially to learn more about AIDS, but I feel like I know even less about the virus than I did before. I know it’s still spreading, but I don’t understand how and why. I know it’s a visible pandemic, and yet it’s still so invisible. I understand why people associate it with poverty, and lack of nutrition, yet I still don’t understand why people don’t associate it with sex. I understand there’s a taboo around the illness and yet I don’t understand why it is still there. I understand why no one talks about it, but I don’t understand how they could afford not to.