The ironies, glass closets and the Aids in our blood

It is through attending the 2012 International Aids conference that I learnt that America, a country that boasts about being a mature democracy, has had a travel ban against people infected with HIV. I soon learnt that many other progressive countries like Russia, Singapore and others also impose this ban.

There's more, governments out there criminalise gay men infected with HIV. I am quite certain this is one of the reasons HIV prevalence will remain high among Men who have sex with men and the entire gay community. This for me is like an attempt to wipe out a whole generation of gay men. I will go as far to say it is genocide. Indirectly so.

Another interesting note I have made in this conference is how so many gay men from other countries meet on the sidelines of the plenary sessions and plan for their underground LGBT advocacy. Some have been living as gay men for as long 40 years, but they are not yet out to their families or communities. And I am talking about highly educated individuals, some very prominent figures in their countries. Religion, tradition and expectation from society keep these men locked in closets. This a big assault on the advocacy for human rights of gay men in their countries, men who have no voice, HIV positive and access to medication. These are people from economies that can afford ARVs to give to 5 African countries if they chose to. They have small populations and the fastest growing GDPs in the world.

It is very ironic that when world leaders like Hillary Clinton start talking of an Aids-free generation, the struggle to curb Aids among gay men intensifies. The very same people that were associated with Aids when it was discovered are still being battered to death by the epidemic. And it is not because we do not have medication because we all know there is treatment. It is because of the stigma, the criminalisation and fear. As Hillary Clinton put it, gay men infected with HIV are pushed into the shadows where Aids preys on them. Gay men remain to be family secrets, they are a sad reality to governments and burdened with HIV and Aids.

The 2012 Aids conference was an eye-opener to a lot of ironies. It made me appreciate the small victories that my country has achieved on gay rights, but warned me not to accept mediocrity.