Editorial: A different scourge scoring lives

By Mashilo Mnisi (BTM Editor)

March 20, 2007: Last week’s United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) conference was intended to measure the progress attained so far to curb and in the fight against the Aids pandemic – and other calamities facing the African continent.

It is sad that the week-long discussion coincided with the demise of one dedicated lesbian writer and photographer, Busisiwe Sigasa.

It’s believed that, openly as she was about her HIV positive status, Sigasa could have died of Aids related complications as well as many other ailments that she endured for many years.

Well, nonetheless during the MDGs conference there wasn’t any mention of relation between homosexuals and HIV, which is well understood that the Anglican leaders now fully espouse and comprehend that HIV or Aids has got nothing to do with gays. So is Sigasa’s sexual orientation and her HIV status.

What perhaps seemed to have greatly curbed a lot of criticisms regarding HIV/Aids is that there’s a lurking threat of Malaria which becomes a new challenge for the MDGs – which dominated the focus last week since the scourge could claim over a million lives with enormous scores in Africa within a year only.

I’m just wondering if the disease’s ugly turnout and dilemma could also be attributed by most perverts to homosexuals’ behaviour – as in the case of Aids, as there had always been primitive and distorted absurd beliefs and dogma around gays.