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| Tuesday, 3 December 2002 |
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The glamour of AIDS Strange title huh? You look at me and shake your heads wondering whether too much writing has finally had its toll. "Bob," you say, "how could you ever call this world wide catastrophe, this disaster, this terrible affliction, glamorous?" I spent this morning with a friend of mine, an alcoholic, counselling him, and discussing different ways in which he could kick the habit. His wife came out of her room while we talked. I was surprised as I had thought that she had gone to work. She worked with the HIV infected. "Its a holiday today," she said, "because tomorrow is World AIDS day." "So you are working tomorrow?" I asked. "At a five star hotel," she said sadly. "What has AIDS got to do with a five star hotel?" I asked incredulously. "The Glamour of AIDS, " she said and there were tears in her eyes. "Bob," she said, "write about it. Tell people that there are two sides to AIDS, the ugly side with victims dying, and families breaking up and millions suffering and..." "The glamorous side," I said quietly. "Where millions of dollars are spent on conferences and seminars in the best of hotels, or mostly in international resorts, where we all stay and discuss AIDS, between meals, between a swim and between expeditions to exotic and erotic locations..!" "But that money..." I said. "Is meant for the ones who are infected and also to spread awareness..!" she continued, and then laughed bitterly, "and sure, with every conference and seminar, we are aware how much money there is to spend on ourselves." "Why don't you make a noise?" I asked. "And lose my job?" she whispered. "Last month my director was sacked for not being able to make up a fictitious budget." "Budget for what?" I asked. "For international seminars and conferences.." she said tearfully. "Give me one hundredth of that money and I can bring some measure of happiness to thousands of AIDS infected families who don't know where their next meal is coming from..!" "Where are you going?" asked the husband, as she left the room. "To get myself a new sari," said his wife. " How can I attend tomorrow's seminar in my old one?" I left my friend and drove back to pen this article and my thoughts were bitter. Seminars and conferences. Most of our lives were spent, solving the worlds problems in these two places. "The people who are really committed," I heard my friend's wife saying, "are not interested in attending seminars, they are in the homes of the afflicted, comforting them, helping them and giving them love in their tragedy." Today is World Aids Day, or in some papers where this column is published a day or two later, it could have been yesterday or the day before, whatever, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we resolve amongst ourselves to spread our compassion, our caring and our love among those who have been struck by this deadly scourge. Believe me my friends, doing that will be worth more than the one hundred million green backs that Billy boy donated so glamorously to India..! |
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