Authenticity, Dashed Hopes and Productive Anger
Lisa Schechtman
Policy Director, GAA
One thing that always strikes me about the International AIDS Conference is how authentic people seem to be here. Lesbian, gay, transgender, HIV positive, HIV negative, drug user, sex worker, activist, bleeding heart—people are who they are, and everyone mingles together and thinks nothing of the things that make us different. Instead we are all here as one, for one reason, and those things that make us different are what pulls us together. There is more activism at this conference than in Toronto or Mexico City. I don’t know if that’s because the world has changed for the worse, or if it’s because things have been getting better and dashed hope is one of the hardest things in the world to deal with. But there is anger here this week, productive anger, as if we’ve finally reached our limits and we can’t be nice any longer. But even the protests are respectful and heartfelt—perhaps not “nice,” per se, but not mean, either.
I think I will never forget marching to the opening ceremony with friends who are living with HIV and hearing them chant: “Keep your promises. WE WANT TO LIVE!” That “we want to live” will keep me motivated, and remind me how much I want these friends to live, too, and the inspiration and motivation they give me to continue fighting for the universal human right to a safe, healthy and happy life that allows for choice and power. The theme of this year’s IAC is human rights, and I couldn’t find that more appropriate. It is the thing that makes it ok for us to be all those things that make us our unique selves and to still be able to come together and call for universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care, children born without HIV, universal access to quality education, an end to violence against women and girls, and comprehensive, affordable, accessible high-quality health care to address any and all health needs we have. We are all human, more the same than different. I think that’s the idea behind the “free hugs” crew here, too; they stand around the conference center with signs reading, you guessed it, “free hugs,” and when you accept their offer the hug you receive shows you that they really mean it. It is a tight, warm embrace, from one human being to another. They don’t ask if you are HIV positive, a sex worker or drug user, activist or government official. They just give hugs. From one person to another. The solidarity is astounding.