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VIRAL APARTHEID
LOCAL AIDS RELIEF PROVIDERS RENOUNCE GLAXO
PHARMACEUTICAL'S SOUTH AFRICAN LAWSUIT
(cont. page 2)
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It is no hyperbole to suggest that AIDS has evolved into a sort
of viral apartheid, with two sets of rules about access, power and
privilege. We knew all along how to end apartheid in South Africa:
you simply end it. The rest of the debate was dust and air.
And we - the whole world - know what people with AIDS in Africa,
Southeast Asia, India, throughout the world need. They need and
deserve medications that will improve the length and quality of
their lives. But they also need clean water supplies, so they can
wash the pills down without swallowing a mouthful of bacteria that
will make them feel worse. They need adequate food so the medications
work properly. They need doctors and nurses who can prescribe, assist,
follow up. They need education and literacy programs so they can
actively participate in their health care. They need hope.
These are monumental tasks, to be sure. But we need to start with
this one small step. GlaxoSmithKline: drop the suit. We'll ask for
more afterwards - much more - but for now, drop the suit.
It is a request we make prayerfully, coming as it does during the
Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. Across the
country this week, African-American churches are mobilizing a faith-
based response to AIDS, one that calls for deeper commitment. Here
in Cleveland, the AGAPE Program of Antioch Baptist Church is the
regional site for the Week of Prayer, and a host of activities are
planned. And the Cleveland Chapter of the NAACP is working with
African-American churches to expand awareness and action. Such efforts
deserve support.
And if you - the individual - feel like your voice won't make a
difference, you're wrong: This time, when GlaxoSmithKline receives
letters and phone calls and e-mails from enough people, people here
in Northeast Ohio and around the world, they'll pay attention. Africa
matters. You matter. Speak out, and take a stand.
Deacon Berry is the director of the AGAPE program at Antioch Baptist
Church, a faith-based response to AIDS in the African-American communities.
Sister Durkin is executive director of The Open House. Rev. McMickle
is the senior pastor at Antioch Baptist Church. Earl Pike is the
executive director of the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. Rev.
Rodas is the executive director of Proyecto Luz, a faith-based response
to AIDS in the Latino communities.
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