DURBAN (SOUTH AFRICA) REPORT
18th July 2000
By Christine Maggiore

Edited by Fintan Dunne for AidsMyth Dissident News

From: Alex Newsgroups: misc.health.aids
vandeelen@yahoo.com

The 13th International AIDS Conference has been a most amazing and encouraging experience. We have been enthusiastically embraced by so many people from some many places I can't even begin to convey how wonderful and worthwhile this trip has been. Not only have we connected with hundreds of people from all over the world who are learning of us for the first time, we have made friends with several aids activists from the states who considered us "the enemy" and I mean really the enemy.

We were the only official presence at the conference of any group, individual or abstract questioning the conventional wisdom. We arrived to find that AIDS activists had put up a sign out front of the conference center that said "one dissident, one bullet." and our new Ally Winstone Zulu didn't come here until the last day of the conference due to threats against his life, and there's a rumor circulating that the AIDS activist from Zambia that was stoned to death a few months ago (as mentioned on 60 minutes last week) was actually killed because she began to espouse our views. It is said by Sue, our contact in Zambia, that she had been attending readings of my book. Sue was supposed to attend the conference but I just heard she is in London.

BUILDING BRIDGES

It was a bit frightening entering in to such an atmosphere, especially with Charlie and my mom here. While there are certainly some out there who still harbor hatred, I think we made huge strides in toning down the animosity and anger. I was even invited to attend an exclusive breakfast meeting at the Durban country club with Judge Edward Cameron, one of the leading AIDS activists and drug advocates in Africa and a harsh critic of President Mbeki. The award for bravery must go to the unofficial delegates from Spain who held a hunger strike demanding proof that HIV has been isolated who were out front admist AIDS activist protesters everyday and night. Lots of stories to tell! We quickly ran out of the hundreds of copies of materials we brought.

We had hauled seven suitcases each containing 70 pounds of articles half way across the world. Each article was reformatted with tasteful type and enlarged titles and printed on various calm colored papers which made our table look a bit like a subdued rainbow. Our booth was very professional and the blowups of my book cover along with the "uncommon choices" poster drew people right in. We had to run out three times to make more photocopies of articles. We totally ran out of the 480 books that were preshipped by ocean.

NEW FRIENDS

We have made hundreds of contacts--I have so many orders to fill when we return I get exhausted just thinking about it. The overwhelming majority of those we connected with were from various African countries and a good portion of those run governmental or private AIDS organizations. I'm surprised at the levels of people we spoke with--Health Ministers and National AIDS leaders--and how many wanted and were even famished for more information, more contact, anything we had to offer. As our books ran low, I had to figure out how to dispense the diminishing inventory. People were begging for books immediately and I had to make decisions based on which people were in areas accessible by reliable mail service.

Books went to AIDS activists, HIV positives, and organization leaders in Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Kenya,Tanzania, Iran, Turkey, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Russia, and more. So many people came back to our booth with friends and colleagues saying "please tell your story again" that my voice was hoarse by about 11:00 AM every day. Over and over I would hear "we've never heard this before "this is such good news."

One morning we went through 80 books in two hours along with 100 copies of our "What's So Bad About AZT Article?" which we ran out of three times. I was invited to give an improptu presentation at an alternative health seminar and as I spoke, people had tears running down their faces. It got so emotional that I started crying too. This whole trip has been so moving. Our new ally former AIDS activist Winstone Zulu is staying with us and many times when I look at him I have to cry because he is so beautiful and amazing. Frank Lusardi and Lynn Gannett of New York Reappraising AIDS Society had to fly him in to South Africa from Zambia as the conference organizers rescinded his scholarship once he came out as someone questioning the prevailing paradigm.

MEDIA COVERAGE

We all made the local news and national and in at least two instances continental African news in the past two days including a front pag story in one of the daily papers. I could hardly believe it when I saw posters of the headline 'Mbeki a hero say AIDS rebels" stuck to walls and telephone poles throughout the city. Charlie Geshekter got a continent wideTV interview that was played again on radio and he surpassed his usual brilliant delivery at the two press conferences we had together with Lynn. Winstone had a last minute conference last night that Lynn arranged

I was the impromptu moderator and we had to find a car ride for winstone from our booth to the press hall as they ran out of wheel chairs. For those who don't know, winstone was left disabeled from malaria treatmet. Robin filmed shanty towns full of "AIDS victims"--poor and starving people living 10 and 15 in one room cardboard shacks with no water and electricity. This one was just 20 minutes from the sky scrapers of downtown Durban.

The local ANC leader there told Robin that the people living in these conditions were not allowed to attend the conference. Organizers told them to stay away--and rejected their applications for the buses that brought people from hotels all over the city. From: http://www.iol.ie/~gittons/aids/news/000719maggioreSA.htm

PHONY PROTEST Robin also filmed a "take over" of pharmaceuctical booths by ACT UP Paris--a publicity stunt arranged by Merck and other drug companies. Actup is allowed in -after hours, to paste posters and temporary grafitti on the walls and pillars of their huge, plushly decorated and carpeted stands. Their posters demand lower drug prices and AZT for Africa.

The Actup members then sit on the desks and tables, put cigarettes out in the carpet and pretend they're oh so tough. They admitted to Robin their actions are all prearranged and that they are funded by the vary companies they "act up" against. I'm on a timer at an internet cafe and just ran out of rands.We are trying to extend our trip to make press conferences in Johannesberg so we will be in touch. I have an interview today with National Geographic and should probably shower (!)

Regards Christine

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