0:13
TITLE:
AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
0:21
SUBTITLE:
DIE VERDRÄNGTE PANDEMIE
0:28
A FILM BY MARION MAYER-HOHDAHL
0:35
It’s early morning in the heart of Zululand in South Africa and these girls are on their way to one of the most important but controversial festivals of the year. Dressed in their traditional Zulu costumes they'll take part in an ancient custom once thought forgotten. They've arrived for a virginity test.
0:53
The teenagers want to prove they have abstained from sex, and are free of AIDS.
0:58
Every succesful examination is greeted with cheers, and the girls receive a certificate
1:10
They have to pay 5 rands, around 50 cents, but it’s worth it.
1:20
(O-Ton
Nonhlanhla Mbambo
19 years old)
I want everyone to see that I’m still a virgin. I am very happy.
1:32
(O-Ton
Slindile Nxumalo
27 years old)
Because of the threat of AIDS I avoid sex.
1:40
These proud Zulu warriors, the very people who are infecting their wives and other women through unprotected sex, aren't interested in the test.
2:01
(O-Ton
Celani Mtetwa
Regierungsminister)
It’s not easy to convince our men to use condoms. They’re not familiar with them. But these virginity tests , which are part of our tradition, should become more widespraed. They help.
2:20
Those who avoid the test will infect more women, and many girls will die because of these young men. Experts estimate almost six million South Africans are infected with HIV.
2:33
Zandile Ntuli is a Sangopma – a witchdoctor - who is trying to help the escalating AIDS problem.
3:00
This young man has been bed ridden for months. He can’t get up on his own any more. Sufferers are discriminated against, and often ostracized from their family and community.
3:16
(ueber O-Ton)
This 28 year old avoids the word AIDS. He doesn’t really know what has made him sick.
2:28
(O-Ton
Zandile Ntuli
Traditional Healer)
I can’t help him any more. He has to go to a hospice, so he can be comfortable in his last days. He’s been sick too long. He’s also got Tuberculosis.
3:52
Mrs Ntuli cares for 12 patients in various stages of aids.
4:16
(ueber O-Ton)
This woman was infected by her husband. He died a few months ago. Now she does not know what to do.
4:28
The traditional healer is the only person who cares for Aids victims. Here hardly anyone knows how to help those with HIV.
4:42
No-one wants to talk about Aids. Fear and superstition are simply too strong.
4:51
The magic healer calls to the spirit of the ancestors to heal this 41 year old patient. But the only real help she can offer is with coal against diarrohea, and with herbs to counter respiratory illness.
5:26
(O-Ton
Zandile Ntuli
Traditional Healer)
I advise the women not to have unprotected sex but they can’t stand up against the men. Many do not believe that AIDS can be deadly. In our culture one simply does not speak about sex.
5:42
A catholic nun has just opened an AIDS Hospice in this region. Here AIDS patients can wait in peace to die. The sisters don’t expect any help from the Government, despite figures from the UN stating that in some areas of Kwazulu Natal a quarter of the population is affected.
6:13
(O-Ton
Sister Joachim Buthelezi
Catholic Nun)
It is a disgrace to have AIDS. The illness wrecks families and sows distrust among neighbours. Most blacks don’t believe that AIDS really exists. They believe that neighbours have cursed the patients.
6:38
The neighbours want nothing to do with Tophane Madlala and her brother. Their parents died of AIDS inside a year. The 17-year old ended up in jail because of theft. The two don’t get any financial support from the state.
7:05 im Bild –
7:11
(O-Ton
Tophane Madlala
19 years old)
We can’t afford corn flour or electricity. In the evening we live in the dark. A relative gave us a little money, otherwise we would have starved. Sometimes we eat virtually nothing for 3 or 4 days.
7:38
AIDS activists protest. They demand that AIDS orphans should be given €10 a month by the government and should receive anti-retroviral drugs.
7:55
The Pharmaceutical industry was pressurized last year. 39 international companies sued the South African government. They demanded the import of cheaper, patent-free copied AIDS medicine - so-called Generica - from India. The lawsuit got bogged down in the sand. In the meantime the industry offered cheaper AIDS treatments. But the government is now being reticent.
8:23
(O-Ton
Mirryéna Deeb
Director – Pharmazeutische Vereinigung)
The problem seems to be whether the government is ready to recognize that AIDS medicines help the patient. We cannot lead a discussion about prices and logistics when the government question the efficacy of these medicines and even whether HIV is the precursor to AIDS. That is the actual difficulty.
8:55
Zackie Achmad has been HIV positive for over 10 years. His NGO TAC – the Treatment Action Campaign – campaigns for cheap anti-retroviral medicines, such as the ‘AIDS-Cocktail’ (AZT), which improves the quality of life and extends life expectancy of HIV sufferers. As long as they are not available to everyone, Achmad, though seriously ill, refuses them himself.
9:15
(O-Ton
Zackie Achmad
Activist)
It is a scandal and a tragedy that the government refuses to treat Aids sufferers correctly. Each day thousands of people die from AIDS or associated diseases in South Africa. Scientific investigations predict there will be 250,000 deaths this year alone. There is no logical explanation for the Government’s stance and we demand that it changes its attitude.
9:50
In April 2002 Achmad’s organization celebrated its first success. The highest court in South Africa ruled that the Government must make the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine available to all pregnant women. The health minister – herself a doctor – put forward the motion in person. Originally the government wanted to withhold this medicine from HIV infected pregnant women, even though it lowers the risk of transmission of the virus from the mother to her unborn child by more than 50%.
10:21
At the press conference after the judicial ruling the government admits for the first time that HIV could cause AIDS:
10:35
(O-Ton
Dr. Mano TSHABALAS
Health Minister)
The government wants to strengthen their educational campaign against the spread of AIDS. We want to ensure the behavior of humans changes. The government assumes HIV causes AIDS.
11:06
South African president Thabo Mbeki isn’t quite so keen to make such a statement. Mbeki lost a lot of inmternational credibility because of his ambiguous expressions about AIDS. According to epidemiologists, the illness will cost about seven millions lives in South Africa by 2010.
11:33
Young men and women sing ‘life will never be the same again’; heartfelt words for those afflicted by Aids.
11:50
They are singing in honour of the former presidents Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton and to bolster the fight against Aids.
12:13
(O-Ton
Nelson Mandela
Ehem. Präsident)
AIDS threatens to decimate the population of our country. Already over five million South African are HIV positive and without dramatic intervention this number will double in the next 8-10 years. It must be therefore our goal to make the anti- retroviral medicine available throughout the public health system.
13:00
The words of the former president are in direct contrast to those of his successor. The government is not interested in making cheap anti-retroviral medicines available to HIV & AIDS patient. Medicin sans Frontiers are left to set up health centres- like here in the Township Khayelitsha – where women can not only be tested for HIV but also be treated with the so called Aidscocktail.
13:41
This mother of two was ill for many years. She could no longer work or provide for her children. She was infected by her husband, who died some years ago.
13:58
(O-Ton
Aids-sufferer
33 years old)
I couldn’t walk any more. I had strong stomach pains and pain in the back from here to there down. Then I went to the hospital. Now I feel much better.
14:18
And all because of these tablets – the ‘Aids Cocktail’.
14:28
(O-Ton
Francoise Louis
Aerzte-ohne-Grenzen)
What I don’t understand, is that the president must know that there are medicines against AIDS, that one tenth of all AIDS patients in the world live in South Africa and that infection is greatest among those aged between 20 and 35 years old. Aids affects the economically most active group of the population. Mbeki is an economic expert. I cannot comprehend how he refuses to confront this. It has been proven for years that AIDS medicines work well. There are side effects, but they do help.
15:08
Against the will of the Government, Medicin sans Frontieres began in Spring 2001 to treat 300 patients and their work has been taken up by more and more firms throughout South Africa. The first company to take this up is Anglo Gold. Over the next three years anti- retroviral medicine will be given to 820 industrial mining workers.
15:38
There is a campaign to get the men to use condoms. But the campaign generally falls on deaf ears. Local men joke that lollipops aren’t eaten with the wrapper on.
15:53
Few come for an Aids test of their own free will. There is still fear of the stigma. Anglo Gold, however, has different concerns:
16:07
(O-Ton
Petra Kruger
Ärztin – Anglo Gold)
We know that treated men work better. On the other hand the situation of their wives constantly worsens, because they’re not cared for properly. The naturally share their medicines and consequently our workers do not enjoy the full protection. That was our main problem and for the last two years we did not give out any medicines. In this time then many of our workers died.
16:42
How South Africa can escape from this vicious circle is unclear.
The majority of Aids victims are black.
17:02
Many families cannot even afford coffins for their dead, let alone pay the funeral costs. Nevertheless, undertaker's businesses are booming.
17:19
(O-Ton
Aubrey Slinger
Anubis Beerdigungsinstitut)
We co-operate very closely with a set of AIDS centres. We fetch the corpses of the deceased, wash them and bring them to the families. I estimate 70 per cent of the people we deal with died from AIDS. And the country isn’t even feeling the full extent of the epidemic yet. There are many AIDS patient in Africa, but it takes a while before they die.
17:52
In the South African tradition, funerals have always taken high importance. The whole village was invited, at least one cow was slaughtered – or so it once was. Today there are simply too many deaths. Families can no longer afford expensive funeral rituals. Frequently the dead are buried in back gardens or near rivers, which are also supplies of drinking water for many. Cases of cholera are frequent.
18:43
Medical supplies in rural areas leave a lot to be desired. Most patients and their families have no money for transport into a hospital. Ever more frequently Nyangas - medicine men - are consulted. Their medicines commonly consist of herbs, dried chameleons and snakes.
19:20
Where doctors are rare, or, like here, only come once a month, the first stop for the ill is the traditional healer.
19:33
First the 75 year old lights the sweet grass for the cleansing ceremony. The smoke is caught in a bag.
19:55
Each screw, each ape skull, the bones and each shell have its own meaning.
20:15
(O-Ton
Mzomunye Thadete
Traditional Healer)
I am already so old. About AIDS I do not know much. The boys have neglected their traditions. I can heal many diseases, but it would be better, if the young men abstained.
20:36
20:39
(O-Ton
Musa Mkhize
Kranker)
If you go to the healer once, you always go to the healer. Mostly they do help. Some people go to the doctor or the hospital, but before or afterwards they get the advice of the Nyangas.
20:40
Why?
21:02
(O-Ton
Musa Mkhize)
We believe in the healer. They have proper medicine,. And not the medicine of hospitals.
21:09
Exactly how many witch doctors and healers there are, nobody knows. They do, however, enjoy high reputation among the population. These healers have come together for a discussion forum to pool their information on AIDsS. Approximately 1800 people are infected each day in South Africa. Only if the silence over AIDS is broken can a remedy be created.
21:47
(O-Ton
Mzwandile Mlaba)
Zulu men remain Zulu men. They just refuse to believe they or their wives can be infected with AIDS. They leave the area for work and have many different women all over the place. When they return, they are infected with HIV.
22:22
An Austrian has come up with a good idea for eductating the population in remote areas. Doctors travel through the centre of the country on bicycles as a mobile hospital. Using a huge screen on a lorry they encourage discussion and Aids awareness.
22:48
(O-Ton (in deutsch)
Erich Kraml
Wheels of Hope)
23:14
23:19
(O-Ton
Jana Oosthuizen
Aerztin – Topsy Foundation)
There are many companies and also people who are ready to donate money towards this. If we think of what will happen in South Africa if we don’t stop the spread of AIDS then the cost of this action is trifling in comparision.
23:36
In a few months the lorry should be operational. In the Topsy Foundation 2000 children will soon have to find a new home. These are children who are infected by AIDS or who have lost their parents. Up till now the money has come from overseas sponsors but it won’t last much longer.
24:03
This is particularly the case for the anti-retroviral drugs which Dr Jana Oosthuizen prescribes for the seriously ill children. The pharmaceutical industry has reduced the prices but not enough and the government refuses to pay for anything.
24:28
(O-Ton
Jana Oosthuizen
Ärztin – Topsy Foundation)
This boy looks healthy because he is receiving anti-retroviral drugs. In my opinion we should make these drugs available to all adults and children. The boy was so sick and now look at him, how he plays with the other children as if there was nothing wrong. I am sure that without this treatment he would not be alive today.
25:01
The 29 year old doctor visits the Siyathemba settlement, about an hour from Johannesburg. Dr. Oosthuizen treats all who come to her, even those not sick with AIDS. In this way she prevents people being identified as HIV-infected.
25:25
This woman has tuberculosis which is a common side effect of HIV infection. 6 family members share this hut. Thay have probably all been infected already.
25:44
The minister for health Manto Shabala and Vice-President Jacob Zuma light a candle in memory of those who have died from AIDS. Zuma warns South African men against believing in the legends.
25:57
(O-Ton
Jacob Zuma
Vize-Praesident)
There are indications that the rising number of child rapes is causes by a misguided belief that in this way one can be cured of Aids or not infected at all. Some of the rapists have been arrested and the government will ensure that they are brought to justice.
26:33
South Africa has the highest number of child rapes in the whole world. NGOs claim that 1 in every 3 children is abused.
26:52
The police have been searching for this rapist for 2 years. According to police he was able to go free after his offence because there was no proper procedure to deal with it. He had brutally abused a 13 year old near a bus-stop.
27:28
Those infected with HIV often believe that their blood will be cleansed if they sleep with virgins or even with young children. Due to this the AIDS epidemic is claiming ever-younger victims.
27:49
(O-Ton
André Neethling
Spezialeinheit gegen Kindsmissbrauch)
The case which I will never forget was the rape of a five month old baby. Everything was OK until I saw the child. She was so small and I tried to imagine how anyone could treat a baby in such a way. It was terrible.
28:12
(The camera is behind a double layer of glass.
The 4-year old describes the event as follows-)
28:27
He pushed his cartridge (penis) inside me.
28:31
Alone over 3000 victims of rape are treated in the Teddybear clinic in Johannesburg. In order to prepare the children for the court proceedings they take part in role-plays at the clinic.
28:57
However what is acted out here is in fact the tragic reality. According to the statistics a rape is committed almost every 30 seconds.
29:12
Muppet Kami is a new member of the beloved children’s programme ”Sesame Street“. She is HIV-positive and has lost her mother to AIDS. Through this character children learn to accept those who are infected and how to deal with such people.
29:33
I am sad, said this boy, because her mother has died from AIDS. It is not nice to have no mother.
29:42
I feel bad for these people who are infected and have to live with the HIV-virus. However, we have to love them, be there for them and protect them, she said.
29:55
The little ones in the Sithabile children’s home have had sad experiences. Out of the 59 children a handful are infected and many have been sexually abused.
30:10
The children have found a new home with Thabisile Msezane, a 50-year old former teacher.
30:27
(O-Ton
Thabisile Msezane
Sithabile Kinderheim)
More than three quarters of our children have been sexually abused, either by relatives or neighbours. They were sexually, emotionally, physically and psychologically abused.
30:46
In rural areas in particular the level of rape is extremely high. Most farm workers receive the same pathetic wage today as they did earlier under apartheid. They earn around 40 euros a month. For South Africa that is too little to live on. Thabisile visits a family. The parents and their 4 children live in a single room.
31:13
The baby is 3 months old. The 14 year old daughter lives in the children’s home. She claims that her father raped her here.
31:29
Without the NGOs which offer the children a home, the situation in South Africa would be even worse.
31:38
Elisabeth found a refuge here. She was raped and gave birth to her first child when she was 12 and her second when she was 17. The rapist lives on the farm. He has infected both her and her children with HIV.
31:52
31:56
(O-Ton
Jane Mwase
Nkosi’s Haven Kinderheim)
32:02 im Off
She and her friend caught it from a lad who slept with both of them in the same night. First with one girl in the bed and then with the other one on the floor. Now she is pregnant. He raped yet another girl and after this he was arrested but then after 2 months he was set free.
32:13
12 aids-infected mothers and 27 children, 7 of whom are orphans, live here. While the others are still sleeping Manini gets herself ready for school. The 12 year old is the only one who is HIV-negative. However she is dependent on living here: last year her mother died from AIDS.
32:46
Ismail and Feroza are HIV-positive. Like all those sick with AIDS, every morning Ismail has to take his medicine. Not the anti-retroviral drugs which could prolong his life. They can’t afford those. Only multi-vitamins and drugs against respiratory illness. At least they are all getting 3 meals each day.
33:12
Nkosi, after whom the home is named, died last year aged 12. As an AIDS activist he made headlines.
33:26
(O-Ton
Feroza Mohammed
Aids-Kranke)
Nkosi always cheered me up. When I was very sick he often sat next to me and gave me hope.
33:48
That was the parting song for Nkosi at his burial.
33:59
For Ismail death is already something real. Everyday after school he runs to his mother’s bedside to see if she is still alive. Ismail knows that he is HIV-positive and that he won’t grow old. At least not as long as the South African government denies him life-saving medicine.
34:30 - CREDITS
A Film by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl
Kamera: Joseph Gulyas
Schnitt: Frank Huzij
Redaktionsleitung:
Produktionsleitung:
Sprecher:
Logo ORF/3sat
AKM:
Miriam Makeba – Warner Bros.
7599-256732
Nr. 1 Emabhaceni – 1.20 Min.
Cavendish CAV CD 57
Africa – 1 Min.
Nr. 16 African Images – Mourning by Peter Howell
Cavendish – 42 Sek.
Nr. 32 Afro Pop by Peter Howell
Cavendish – 25 Sek.
African Images Nr. 1 Peace by Peter Howell
Miriam Makeba – Warner Bros.
7599-25673-2 Sandoma
Nr. 10 Congo – 2:13 Min.
TITLE:
AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
0:21
SUBTITLE:
DIE VERDRÄNGTE PANDEMIE
0:28
A FILM BY MARION MAYER-HOHDAHL
0:35
It’s early morning in the heart of Zululand in South Africa and these girls are on their way to one of the most important but controversial festivals of the year. Dressed in their traditional Zulu costumes they'll take part in an ancient custom once thought forgotten. They've arrived for a virginity test.
0:53
The teenagers want to prove they have abstained from sex, and are free of AIDS.
0:58
Every succesful examination is greeted with cheers, and the girls receive a certificate
1:10
They have to pay 5 rands, around 50 cents, but it’s worth it.
1:20
(O-Ton
Nonhlanhla Mbambo
19 years old)
I want everyone to see that I’m still a virgin. I am very happy.
1:32
(O-Ton
Slindile Nxumalo
27 years old)
Because of the threat of AIDS I avoid sex.
1:40
These proud Zulu warriors, the very people who are infecting their wives and other women through unprotected sex, aren't interested in the test.
2:01
(O-Ton
Celani Mtetwa
Regierungsminister)
It’s not easy to convince our men to use condoms. They’re not familiar with them. But these virginity tests , which are part of our tradition, should become more widespraed. They help.
2:20
Those who avoid the test will infect more women, and many girls will die because of these young men. Experts estimate almost six million South Africans are infected with HIV.
2:33
Zandile Ntuli is a Sangopma – a witchdoctor - who is trying to help the escalating AIDS problem.
3:00
This young man has been bed ridden for months. He can’t get up on his own any more. Sufferers are discriminated against, and often ostracized from their family and community.
3:16
(ueber O-Ton)
This 28 year old avoids the word AIDS. He doesn’t really know what has made him sick.
2:28
(O-Ton
Zandile Ntuli
Traditional Healer)
I can’t help him any more. He has to go to a hospice, so he can be comfortable in his last days. He’s been sick too long. He’s also got Tuberculosis.
3:52
Mrs Ntuli cares for 12 patients in various stages of aids.
4:16
(ueber O-Ton)
This woman was infected by her husband. He died a few months ago. Now she does not know what to do.
4:28
The traditional healer is the only person who cares for Aids victims. Here hardly anyone knows how to help those with HIV.
4:42
No-one wants to talk about Aids. Fear and superstition are simply too strong.
4:51
The magic healer calls to the spirit of the ancestors to heal this 41 year old patient. But the only real help she can offer is with coal against diarrohea, and with herbs to counter respiratory illness.
5:26
(O-Ton
Zandile Ntuli
Traditional Healer)
I advise the women not to have unprotected sex but they can’t stand up against the men. Many do not believe that AIDS can be deadly. In our culture one simply does not speak about sex.
5:42
A catholic nun has just opened an AIDS Hospice in this region. Here AIDS patients can wait in peace to die. The sisters don’t expect any help from the Government, despite figures from the UN stating that in some areas of Kwazulu Natal a quarter of the population is affected.
6:13
(O-Ton
Sister Joachim Buthelezi
Catholic Nun)
It is a disgrace to have AIDS. The illness wrecks families and sows distrust among neighbours. Most blacks don’t believe that AIDS really exists. They believe that neighbours have cursed the patients.
6:38
The neighbours want nothing to do with Tophane Madlala and her brother. Their parents died of AIDS inside a year. The 17-year old ended up in jail because of theft. The two don’t get any financial support from the state.
7:05 im Bild –
7:11
(O-Ton
Tophane Madlala
19 years old)
We can’t afford corn flour or electricity. In the evening we live in the dark. A relative gave us a little money, otherwise we would have starved. Sometimes we eat virtually nothing for 3 or 4 days.
7:38
AIDS activists protest. They demand that AIDS orphans should be given €10 a month by the government and should receive anti-retroviral drugs.
7:55
The Pharmaceutical industry was pressurized last year. 39 international companies sued the South African government. They demanded the import of cheaper, patent-free copied AIDS medicine - so-called Generica - from India. The lawsuit got bogged down in the sand. In the meantime the industry offered cheaper AIDS treatments. But the government is now being reticent.
8:23
(O-Ton
Mirryéna Deeb
Director – Pharmazeutische Vereinigung)
The problem seems to be whether the government is ready to recognize that AIDS medicines help the patient. We cannot lead a discussion about prices and logistics when the government question the efficacy of these medicines and even whether HIV is the precursor to AIDS. That is the actual difficulty.
8:55
Zackie Achmad has been HIV positive for over 10 years. His NGO TAC – the Treatment Action Campaign – campaigns for cheap anti-retroviral medicines, such as the ‘AIDS-Cocktail’ (AZT), which improves the quality of life and extends life expectancy of HIV sufferers. As long as they are not available to everyone, Achmad, though seriously ill, refuses them himself.
9:15
(O-Ton
Zackie Achmad
Activist)
It is a scandal and a tragedy that the government refuses to treat Aids sufferers correctly. Each day thousands of people die from AIDS or associated diseases in South Africa. Scientific investigations predict there will be 250,000 deaths this year alone. There is no logical explanation for the Government’s stance and we demand that it changes its attitude.
9:50
In April 2002 Achmad’s organization celebrated its first success. The highest court in South Africa ruled that the Government must make the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine available to all pregnant women. The health minister – herself a doctor – put forward the motion in person. Originally the government wanted to withhold this medicine from HIV infected pregnant women, even though it lowers the risk of transmission of the virus from the mother to her unborn child by more than 50%.
10:21
At the press conference after the judicial ruling the government admits for the first time that HIV could cause AIDS:
10:35
(O-Ton
Dr. Mano TSHABALAS
Health Minister)
The government wants to strengthen their educational campaign against the spread of AIDS. We want to ensure the behavior of humans changes. The government assumes HIV causes AIDS.
11:06
South African president Thabo Mbeki isn’t quite so keen to make such a statement. Mbeki lost a lot of inmternational credibility because of his ambiguous expressions about AIDS. According to epidemiologists, the illness will cost about seven millions lives in South Africa by 2010.
11:33
Young men and women sing ‘life will never be the same again’; heartfelt words for those afflicted by Aids.
11:50
They are singing in honour of the former presidents Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton and to bolster the fight against Aids.
12:13
(O-Ton
Nelson Mandela
Ehem. Präsident)
AIDS threatens to decimate the population of our country. Already over five million South African are HIV positive and without dramatic intervention this number will double in the next 8-10 years. It must be therefore our goal to make the anti- retroviral medicine available throughout the public health system.
13:00
The words of the former president are in direct contrast to those of his successor. The government is not interested in making cheap anti-retroviral medicines available to HIV & AIDS patient. Medicin sans Frontiers are left to set up health centres- like here in the Township Khayelitsha – where women can not only be tested for HIV but also be treated with the so called Aidscocktail.
13:41
This mother of two was ill for many years. She could no longer work or provide for her children. She was infected by her husband, who died some years ago.
13:58
(O-Ton
Aids-sufferer
33 years old)
I couldn’t walk any more. I had strong stomach pains and pain in the back from here to there down. Then I went to the hospital. Now I feel much better.
14:18
And all because of these tablets – the ‘Aids Cocktail’.
14:28
(O-Ton
Francoise Louis
Aerzte-ohne-Grenzen)
What I don’t understand, is that the president must know that there are medicines against AIDS, that one tenth of all AIDS patients in the world live in South Africa and that infection is greatest among those aged between 20 and 35 years old. Aids affects the economically most active group of the population. Mbeki is an economic expert. I cannot comprehend how he refuses to confront this. It has been proven for years that AIDS medicines work well. There are side effects, but they do help.
15:08
Against the will of the Government, Medicin sans Frontieres began in Spring 2001 to treat 300 patients and their work has been taken up by more and more firms throughout South Africa. The first company to take this up is Anglo Gold. Over the next three years anti- retroviral medicine will be given to 820 industrial mining workers.
15:38
There is a campaign to get the men to use condoms. But the campaign generally falls on deaf ears. Local men joke that lollipops aren’t eaten with the wrapper on.
15:53
Few come for an Aids test of their own free will. There is still fear of the stigma. Anglo Gold, however, has different concerns:
16:07
(O-Ton
Petra Kruger
Ärztin – Anglo Gold)
We know that treated men work better. On the other hand the situation of their wives constantly worsens, because they’re not cared for properly. The naturally share their medicines and consequently our workers do not enjoy the full protection. That was our main problem and for the last two years we did not give out any medicines. In this time then many of our workers died.
16:42
How South Africa can escape from this vicious circle is unclear.
The majority of Aids victims are black.
17:02
Many families cannot even afford coffins for their dead, let alone pay the funeral costs. Nevertheless, undertaker's businesses are booming.
17:19
(O-Ton
Aubrey Slinger
Anubis Beerdigungsinstitut)
We co-operate very closely with a set of AIDS centres. We fetch the corpses of the deceased, wash them and bring them to the families. I estimate 70 per cent of the people we deal with died from AIDS. And the country isn’t even feeling the full extent of the epidemic yet. There are many AIDS patient in Africa, but it takes a while before they die.
17:52
In the South African tradition, funerals have always taken high importance. The whole village was invited, at least one cow was slaughtered – or so it once was. Today there are simply too many deaths. Families can no longer afford expensive funeral rituals. Frequently the dead are buried in back gardens or near rivers, which are also supplies of drinking water for many. Cases of cholera are frequent.
18:43
Medical supplies in rural areas leave a lot to be desired. Most patients and their families have no money for transport into a hospital. Ever more frequently Nyangas - medicine men - are consulted. Their medicines commonly consist of herbs, dried chameleons and snakes.
19:20
Where doctors are rare, or, like here, only come once a month, the first stop for the ill is the traditional healer.
19:33
First the 75 year old lights the sweet grass for the cleansing ceremony. The smoke is caught in a bag.
19:55
Each screw, each ape skull, the bones and each shell have its own meaning.
20:15
(O-Ton
Mzomunye Thadete
Traditional Healer)
I am already so old. About AIDS I do not know much. The boys have neglected their traditions. I can heal many diseases, but it would be better, if the young men abstained.
20:36
20:39
(O-Ton
Musa Mkhize
Kranker)
If you go to the healer once, you always go to the healer. Mostly they do help. Some people go to the doctor or the hospital, but before or afterwards they get the advice of the Nyangas.
20:40
Why?
21:02
(O-Ton
Musa Mkhize)
We believe in the healer. They have proper medicine,. And not the medicine of hospitals.
21:09
Exactly how many witch doctors and healers there are, nobody knows. They do, however, enjoy high reputation among the population. These healers have come together for a discussion forum to pool their information on AIDsS. Approximately 1800 people are infected each day in South Africa. Only if the silence over AIDS is broken can a remedy be created.
21:47
(O-Ton
Mzwandile Mlaba)
Zulu men remain Zulu men. They just refuse to believe they or their wives can be infected with AIDS. They leave the area for work and have many different women all over the place. When they return, they are infected with HIV.
22:22
An Austrian has come up with a good idea for eductating the population in remote areas. Doctors travel through the centre of the country on bicycles as a mobile hospital. Using a huge screen on a lorry they encourage discussion and Aids awareness.
22:48
(O-Ton (in deutsch)
Erich Kraml
Wheels of Hope)
23:14
23:19
(O-Ton
Jana Oosthuizen
Aerztin – Topsy Foundation)
There are many companies and also people who are ready to donate money towards this. If we think of what will happen in South Africa if we don’t stop the spread of AIDS then the cost of this action is trifling in comparision.
23:36
In a few months the lorry should be operational. In the Topsy Foundation 2000 children will soon have to find a new home. These are children who are infected by AIDS or who have lost their parents. Up till now the money has come from overseas sponsors but it won’t last much longer.
24:03
This is particularly the case for the anti-retroviral drugs which Dr Jana Oosthuizen prescribes for the seriously ill children. The pharmaceutical industry has reduced the prices but not enough and the government refuses to pay for anything.
24:28
(O-Ton
Jana Oosthuizen
Ärztin – Topsy Foundation)
This boy looks healthy because he is receiving anti-retroviral drugs. In my opinion we should make these drugs available to all adults and children. The boy was so sick and now look at him, how he plays with the other children as if there was nothing wrong. I am sure that without this treatment he would not be alive today.
25:01
The 29 year old doctor visits the Siyathemba settlement, about an hour from Johannesburg. Dr. Oosthuizen treats all who come to her, even those not sick with AIDS. In this way she prevents people being identified as HIV-infected.
25:25
This woman has tuberculosis which is a common side effect of HIV infection. 6 family members share this hut. Thay have probably all been infected already.
25:44
The minister for health Manto Shabala and Vice-President Jacob Zuma light a candle in memory of those who have died from AIDS. Zuma warns South African men against believing in the legends.
25:57
(O-Ton
Jacob Zuma
Vize-Praesident)
There are indications that the rising number of child rapes is causes by a misguided belief that in this way one can be cured of Aids or not infected at all. Some of the rapists have been arrested and the government will ensure that they are brought to justice.
26:33
South Africa has the highest number of child rapes in the whole world. NGOs claim that 1 in every 3 children is abused.
26:52
The police have been searching for this rapist for 2 years. According to police he was able to go free after his offence because there was no proper procedure to deal with it. He had brutally abused a 13 year old near a bus-stop.
27:28
Those infected with HIV often believe that their blood will be cleansed if they sleep with virgins or even with young children. Due to this the AIDS epidemic is claiming ever-younger victims.
27:49
(O-Ton
André Neethling
Spezialeinheit gegen Kindsmissbrauch)
The case which I will never forget was the rape of a five month old baby. Everything was OK until I saw the child. She was so small and I tried to imagine how anyone could treat a baby in such a way. It was terrible.
28:12
(The camera is behind a double layer of glass.
The 4-year old describes the event as follows-)
28:27
He pushed his cartridge (penis) inside me.
28:31
Alone over 3000 victims of rape are treated in the Teddybear clinic in Johannesburg. In order to prepare the children for the court proceedings they take part in role-plays at the clinic.
28:57
However what is acted out here is in fact the tragic reality. According to the statistics a rape is committed almost every 30 seconds.
29:12
Muppet Kami is a new member of the beloved children’s programme ”Sesame Street“. She is HIV-positive and has lost her mother to AIDS. Through this character children learn to accept those who are infected and how to deal with such people.
29:33
I am sad, said this boy, because her mother has died from AIDS. It is not nice to have no mother.
29:42
I feel bad for these people who are infected and have to live with the HIV-virus. However, we have to love them, be there for them and protect them, she said.
29:55
The little ones in the Sithabile children’s home have had sad experiences. Out of the 59 children a handful are infected and many have been sexually abused.
30:10
The children have found a new home with Thabisile Msezane, a 50-year old former teacher.
30:27
(O-Ton
Thabisile Msezane
Sithabile Kinderheim)
More than three quarters of our children have been sexually abused, either by relatives or neighbours. They were sexually, emotionally, physically and psychologically abused.
30:46
In rural areas in particular the level of rape is extremely high. Most farm workers receive the same pathetic wage today as they did earlier under apartheid. They earn around 40 euros a month. For South Africa that is too little to live on. Thabisile visits a family. The parents and their 4 children live in a single room.
31:13
The baby is 3 months old. The 14 year old daughter lives in the children’s home. She claims that her father raped her here.
31:29
Without the NGOs which offer the children a home, the situation in South Africa would be even worse.
31:38
Elisabeth found a refuge here. She was raped and gave birth to her first child when she was 12 and her second when she was 17. The rapist lives on the farm. He has infected both her and her children with HIV.
31:52
31:56
(O-Ton
Jane Mwase
Nkosi’s Haven Kinderheim)
32:02 im Off
She and her friend caught it from a lad who slept with both of them in the same night. First with one girl in the bed and then with the other one on the floor. Now she is pregnant. He raped yet another girl and after this he was arrested but then after 2 months he was set free.
32:13
12 aids-infected mothers and 27 children, 7 of whom are orphans, live here. While the others are still sleeping Manini gets herself ready for school. The 12 year old is the only one who is HIV-negative. However she is dependent on living here: last year her mother died from AIDS.
32:46
Ismail and Feroza are HIV-positive. Like all those sick with AIDS, every morning Ismail has to take his medicine. Not the anti-retroviral drugs which could prolong his life. They can’t afford those. Only multi-vitamins and drugs against respiratory illness. At least they are all getting 3 meals each day.
33:12
Nkosi, after whom the home is named, died last year aged 12. As an AIDS activist he made headlines.
33:26
(O-Ton
Feroza Mohammed
Aids-Kranke)
Nkosi always cheered me up. When I was very sick he often sat next to me and gave me hope.
33:48
That was the parting song for Nkosi at his burial.
33:59
For Ismail death is already something real. Everyday after school he runs to his mother’s bedside to see if she is still alive. Ismail knows that he is HIV-positive and that he won’t grow old. At least not as long as the South African government denies him life-saving medicine.
34:30 - CREDITS
A Film by Marion Mayer-Hohdahl
Kamera: Joseph Gulyas
Schnitt: Frank Huzij
Redaktionsleitung:
Produktionsleitung:
Sprecher:
Logo ORF/3sat
AKM:
Miriam Makeba – Warner Bros.
7599-256732
Nr. 1 Emabhaceni – 1.20 Min.
Cavendish CAV CD 57
Africa – 1 Min.
Nr. 16 African Images – Mourning by Peter Howell
Cavendish – 42 Sek.
Nr. 32 Afro Pop by Peter Howell
Cavendish – 25 Sek.
African Images Nr. 1 Peace by Peter Howell
Miriam Makeba – Warner Bros.
7599-25673-2 Sandoma
Nr. 10 Congo – 2:13 Min.