Honourable Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis, Dr Denzil Douglas, Sir George Alleyne, Dr the Honourable Douglas Slater, the Honourable Garth Thomas, Dr Peter Piot, Distinguished Guests:
The battle of stigma and discrimination cannot be fought by HIDING! Yet this is exactly what PLWHA continue to do. Not because many persons do not want to share their anxieties, fear and pain or seek support i.e. emotional, financial etc. and still access all the gains in care treatment and support, in particular access to life saving drugs. Are PLWHA doing this? No, they are not. Because you… we… all of us continue to discriminate and stigmatize whether intentionally or innocently.
Ladies and gentlemen, stigma and discrimination is not one of the casualties of HIV/AIDS. Stigma and discrimination, perhaps like HIV/AIDS have been around for a very long time. Cast your minds back to when you were growing up: Depending on what side of the street you lived, you where either the donor or recipient of stigma and discrimination. What HIV and AIDS have done is to put the spotlight on us both individually and collectively and to let us face the fact that stigma and discrimination is no longer acceptable – and it never was!!!
And from today we are declaring zero tolerance on this destructive human and social dysfunction. We are incensed; we are enraged. We have been embattled and many of us have been battered. Have we made an impact? Have we made any real difference? Yes, some, but not enough and we are taking far too much time!
Is it that we don’t know what to do? And we are waiting for someone to cue us in? Or is that we hope someone else will take on the responsibility and get us off the hook? Is it that we are afraid, very afraid, and given our stations in life we must keep the façade intact, pretend not to care or pretend that we do? Yet all our actions or inactions are not in sync with what we say.
What is the theme of this conference?
“The theme of the conference is Champions for Change.”
What is the theme of this conference?
“The theme of the conference is Champions for Change.
“Therefore ask yourselves who am I?
“I am a Champion for Change.”
Yes we are indeed Champions for Change. If you, and you, and you are not sure what that means, over the next couple of days, let us look deeply within ourselves. Let us seek to rediscover the humanity and compassion that defines us as superior beings – HUMANS. Nothing changes unless people change. Change is a learning process, it is necessary to move from the known to the unknown. However, nobody changes unless he or she is ready to change. Let us remember our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, colleagues, spouses, partners, deputies, children and grandchildren, those who are infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Remember, also, whether infected or affected we are all living with HIV/AIDS. No matter what side of the street you now live.
Who am I? Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes, we are. Franz Fanon stated, “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it.” Ladies and gentlemen let us stop stigma and discrimination. Let us start with the “I”. Let us make a difference.
