World Aids Day is a sad day...
...But we must have hope in the future
It’s important to keep raising awareness.
It’s important to challenge stigma and prejudice.
It’s important to try and prevent new transmissions.
We must also look forward in that new
developments in treatments and testing will encourage more optimism for people
living with HIV and more support for those who are still acquiring the virus
every day.
It’s sad that we have lost so many people and continue to
lose people unnecessarily.
It’s sad that even though we are all working hard to make
sure life carries on; it cannot carry on without restrictions.
It’s sad that every year we have to talk about a rise in new
infections.
It’s sad that so many people around the world cannot get
medicine.
It’s sad that so many who do have access to meds find it
tough to cope with the side effects.
It’s sad because we still view HIV+ people as if they are ‘plagued’ or
morally bankrupt in some way.
It’s sad that we are so worried about ‘coming out’ as HIV
positive for fear of rejection and judgement.
It’s sad that lives are changed forever because of a stupid
virus.
It’s sad because you just cannot forget about this virus once
it gets inside you.
It’s sad that we feel we have let down our loved ones
because we contracted HIV.
It’s sad because it dominates so much of your life and makes
you unable to understand your body in a rational way.
It’s sad because it messes with your mind and makes you
think that everything that happens has relevance to your status.
It’s sad that it can turn you into a self-harming, self-loathing
and destructive person.
It’s sad that you can never truly get back to the person you
were before you became positive.
It’s sad that the word positive has such a negative connotation.
It’s sad that there are still so many of us who do not feel
able to speak up about our lives and how they are affected.
It’s sad that those of us who do speak up feel so often
defined by our status either by ourselves or by others.
It’s sad because we still only really talk about this in
public one day a year.
It’s sad that I feel sad, but I can still talk about it and I can still raise awareness.
It's important to remember World Aids Day and it's important to remember why.
 |
| Photograph above courtesy of Precinct Seager Galvez-Soto |
