HIV+and+AIDS,+a+political+question+in+Swaziland,+Masuku,+SSN

=Swaziland Solidarity Network=


 * 3rd floor – COSATU House**
 * 1-5 Leyds Street**
 * Braamfontein**


 * Tel: 011 339 3621/33**
 * Fax: 011 339 4244**
 * Email: Swaziland@union.org.za**

=HIV and AIDS crisis as a political question in Swaziland=


 * Introduction**

These few days the whole world was awash with news that Swaziland is the leading nation in the world in terms of the HIV and AIDS devastation, a health genocide indeed! This arises out of the recent UN session in Washington which articulated clearly that Swaziland’s HIV and AIDS calamity has reached the 43% mark and threatens to wipe out the entire nation unless serious action is taken.

However what seems to puzzle everyone is, why should the least populous nation in the world be the worst affected by this tragedy. This confirms the view to the effect that there is direct correlation between HIV and AIDS, on the one hand and, the extent of the socio-economic and political crisis facing a country, on the other.

The more poor and oppressed are people, women in particular, the lesser the choices they can exercise over their bodies and lives in general. This subjects them to the personal whims and interests of those in whom power lies.

On several occasions, the UNDP and other international agencies have warned that there is a direct relationship between culture and the gender inequalities in the country, ultimately resulting in the crisis we face at all levels. The President of PUDEMO, Mario Masuku in his World AIDS day message of 2001, said it even more clearer when he said, “the AIDS crisis is a political crisis, it arises out of the way Swazi society is organized, where a few individuals have all the power to decide what is Swazi culture and what is not, as well as what is in the best interest of all the people, women and children in particular and what is not”.

The time for the world to be amazed is over, now is the time for decisive action. Asking further questions is a luxury we can ill-afford, but decisive action and political will to drive a clearly different agenda is the alternative. Let all humanity loving person swear that the Swazi people have suffered enough, let no amount of tolerance be afforded the Swazi despot, Mswati, who is an international shame, attending such conferences and leaving skeletons in his own cabin.


 * Why the Swazi people are suffering**

The truth of the matter is that while AIDS affect anybody in general, but it hits the poor hardest, in such a way that the quality of food one eats, the quality of health care and medical attention one receives, the quality of information and knowledge around the HIV/AIDS issue one has, all contribute to the overall quality of life of that particular person, hence the direct relationship between poverty and HIV and AIDS. Those who are poor are bound to be easy targets and victims of the virus than those who can afford, with all the stress of daily survival and poor access to basic amenities necessary for proper response to the problem.

In the specific context of Swaziland where culture is an instrument of royal domination and exploitative greed against the poor majority, this problem is even more pronounced. The shocking statistics as indicated by the UNAIDS are not an accident, but a clear product and outcome of the way our society is organized. We will not reverse the tide against the virus unless we fundamentally change the structure of our society, to overthrow patriarchy, royal supremacy and the general political and economic system characterized as tinkhundla.rule.

HIV and AIDS is more than just about the personal behaviour of a particular individual, but also about the structure of the society, which perpetuates and promotes particular behaviour patterns whilst discouraging some. The structure of society decides that a member of the royal family can put the whole nation at risk because he has the resources to reward those who comply with his personal interests. We still have a seriously sick society, where self-acclaimed role models such as Mbhokane can openly, without shame, articulates positions that dehumanizes women and are irresponsible to the well being of future generations.

Whilst some of us, who consider themselves sober and clear about what should be done and what is wrong do not take Mbhokane seriously, but regard his utterances as a mere reflection of the political bankruptcy of the tinkhundla system, we might not be sure how many people still take him seriously given the very low levels of consciousness and ideological underdevelopment characteristic of Swazi society today.

On the other hand, civil society in general, including trade unions, political movements, NGOs, churches have all suffered from their lack of clarity and firmness in advancing the struggle against the HIV and AIDS pandemic as an element of the general struggle for a new and democratic Swaziland. In other words, as a society suffering from a political system that promotes all sorts of corruption as happening at Lobamba, which is the seedbed of the problems we face in the country.


 * We are all guilty of silently or passively remarking about a health genocide**

In most instances, there has not been a clear link between the HIV and AIDS tragedy and the political problem we face, because some want to be conveniently “neutral” on matters of life and death to the poor. They want to avoid the real problem. The king goes around the world projecting himself as some ambassador in the AIDS crusade, whereas he is false messiah, misleading the world and the innocent people of Swaziland about his real acts and intentions. He has refused to accept that together with his crowd of royal cohorts constitute the axis of suffering for the masses of the people of Swaziland, they are the seedbed of the tragedy unfolding before all of us.

We are referring to a country where women have no right to decide what is in the best interest of their bodies, have no legal resort to enforce the responsibility of men for the maintenance of their children, in a country where children are victims of the worst forms of slavery and abuse in the name of culture, including the right of the king to force children out of class in order to satisfy his limitless appetites.

Finally, we have a duty to understand that there is no separate solution to the HIV and AIDS crisis we face in Swaziland outside the broad struggle to eradicate the system of patriarchy, oppression, exploitation and women degradation through the abuse of culture. Every Swazi who is honest about his or her desire to make a difference must act now and act correctly.

We are individually and collectively responsible for all lives lost to tinkhundla – orchestrated genocide, as mortality rates decline miserably, health institutions collapse and social security systems drown in the midst of royal extravagance, political plunder and economic greed.

Those who want to talk about AIDS in Swaziland, but do not want to talk about the role of the political system and the oppressive culture in the country, are like people who want a solution to malaria, but do not want to talk about the mosquito. They are just a bunch of academics, who must not be taken seriously in the real search for solutions.


 * Bongani Masuku**
 * Secretary General**
 * Swaziland Solidarity Network**


 * Tel: 082 334 9142**
 * Email: Swaziland@union.org.za**

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