April’s Fool Day, seems to be a “good day” to launch HIV campaigns in South Africa, the
previous roll-out being 1st April 2004. Life in South Africa is so crazy at the moment, that when
the media put up some April fool stories, it was sometimes difficult to tell the difference between
the real and the April fool stories, hence the name of this blog … Only in Africa …
One of the biggest follies the World has yet to see, to test, counsel and treat about 15 million
people in the next 2 years for HIV and AIDS, only got on the road yesterday because they had
not been ready. The total cost: R1,4 billion (about $200 million), that is on top of the R4,5 billion
we are still spending from our “normal” budget on existing patients. The HIV testing sites have
been increased from four hundred and something to around one thousand, and calls have been
made through all the various media for retired nurses and doctors to come and assist to make this
roll-out happen. Two thousand of them answered to their “country’s call” to serve.
President Jacob Zuma was leading “by example” by publicly getting tested for HIV a few weeks
ago. Yesterday he announced very proudly to the nation that he tested HIV negative. This news
was received with laud applause, dancing and jubilation African style. I am sorry to say but this
is the height of hypocrisy.
It is well known that during his rape trial, (of which he was found not guilty of raping an “HIV+”
woman), he told the court that as “protection” against “HIV” he had a shower after he had sex
with the woman. He must really hate condoms and obviously does not wear them! This was the
case in point when this year he made the news headlines again after having a baby with
somebody who is not one of his wives, translation … he did not wear a condom again. Obviously
he apologized, but for what? He knows better!
Perhaps he had a shower before he took his public HIV test. He did look very “clean and fresh”.
I met with Mr Zuma when he was still Deputy President of South Africa, way back in 2003. He
knows there are problems with “HIV”, but he can’t afford to go public with this. He also visited
one of the first Hospitals Dr Manto had send us too and met with our patients to see for himself
how our Wellness Program worked. This story is still to be written.
The Powers that Be have no idea how much misery they are causing. They are diagnosing people
HIV+ left, right and centre, and each and every one of them has or gets an “AIDS” brain. With
that I mean that they are now all programmed to die, living in a state of permanent fear and
stress. If they have a cough, they think it is pneumonia or TB, if they have a headache, they think
it is meningitis, if they have a normal upset stomach, they think it is AIDS related, if they break a
leg, they are basically told it may be AIDS related — I am not joking!
We see the difference in the people once they test HIV- again. It often makes you cry when they
see with their own eyes that the test now shows negative. The relief, the joy, the unbelief! They
often want a second test, in case the first test was “faulty”. And they all describe the same
feeling: A pressure that has lifted from their heads, a weight that has dropped from their
stomachs, a feeling of life flowing back in their bodies. There is again hope, and life, and a
future. Their eyes change before you — from a kind of sadness (even when they were managing
well and living “positively”), to joy and happiness. They are literally changed people.
The Government’s PR Department has been very good at spinning this whole exercise as a very
positive experience. You will know your status, you can protect yourself and others, if you do
test positive there are life saving drugs available, you can live for years on these drugs, and you
will be doing your country a huge favor — so even a bit of patriotism is thrown in the mix.
Unfortunately we have no official data of what the survival rate is of people taking ARVs.
Everybody shouts they are life saving, but no data whatsoever is available to verify this.
However, my doctor friend who is in charge of the Medical Department of one of the University
Hospitals is keeping records. Once a week he and his students have what he calls a Mortality
Meeting, where they go through each and every patient’s record that died that week, not only to
keep statistics, but also to learn the reason that person did die — could anything have been done
differently! About a year ago, he told me that 18% of the patients that did return every month
(and many don’t because they often from severe side-effects and stop taking the ARVs), died
within 6 months.
Last month he phoned me, severely depressed, because his latest records show that now 33%,
yes, one third of his patients starting ARVs die between 4 – 6 months. This is shocking! Any
other drug would have been withdrawn a long time ago, but we all know that ARVs are the
“untouchables” of all the pharmaceutical drugs. Anybody that dares to criticize these drugs (or
anything else connected with HIV/AIDS) gets hammered and is a called a Denialist, a label not
many people are prepared to carry.
It is the old days all over: You think different; you get tarred and feathered in the Town Square,
only now we do it a bit more “civilized” and just “label” them. We used to this in the “Old”
South Africa. We had the “Pencil Test”, where a pencil was put into your hair — depending if it
stayed stuck or not, you were classified X, Y or Z. Together with your skin color you were than
“classified”. We even had “Honorary Whites”, people of a foreign country like Taiwan (I think it
was). They were people of color, but the Apartheid Government wanted to do Business with
them — Money does talk! The African population had their Label renamed a couple of times, no
wonder many Africans have an Identity Problem!
So now we want to test 15 million people! We will all be testing positive for ASS … Acquired
Stress Syndrome — a Syndrome is “created” when the Medical Establishment doesn’t know what
it is — we now have many Syndromes! Can somebody tell me please where they are secretly
stockpiling the Prozac and other anti-depressants as we will definitely become Prozac country?
Or have they produced too many anti-depressants and want to donate some to the southern tip of
Africa. I say: “LETS KICK ASS!” Let us stop the madness. I always get suspicious when the
WHO and the various Foundations want to donate to the poor Africans. Let them swallow their
own treatment!
But wait … there is more … like the adverts say … We also have the pleasure to have received
from the WHO some 2 million swine flu vaccines — you see, my suspicions are not unfounded.
Together with the one and a half million we bought ourselves we can now “protect” everybody
during the World Soccer Tournament. The first vaccination round is already completed, by
vaccinating all the key personnel, like people working at airports, hospitals and clinics, soccer
stadiums, police etc. The second round is underway, targeting the vulnerable people like
pregnant women, people living with HIV/AIDS, and people with heart and lung problems.
I wonder if they will make it mandatory that anybody flying in the country will have to get a
vaccination. I know that France had plans to make it law for all their citizens to be vaccinated,
but I think the French will put up a second Revolution if they try that one.
The swine flu vaccine is on top of the “normal” vaccine that is pushed everywhere. There is a bit
of a panic in the country, because there is not enough stock in the shops ~ all the stock being
used for the Soccer Tournament officials and visitors (June / July being our Flu season).
We are also having a massive vaccination drive against measles and polio. South Africa really
has gone crazy, deprived from all common sense. We now have Isolation Wards in Hospitals for
children with measles. Yes, you read right … Isolation Wards for children with measles, What
has happened to the so-called measles-parties? Not too long ago, when a child had measles,
mumps, chickenpox, rubella etc., all the other children in the neighborhood were invited to come
and play with the sick one, in the hope that they would also pick it up. If you were “lucky”
enough to pick up whatever childhood disease it was and get sick, you had a few nice days at
home, being spoilt with stories even told by your dad, some extra attention, and actually having a
ball. In the case of measles, it was a darkened room, lots of fluid and lots of sleep — and we all
survived and are the stronger for it! Adults who think they have not been vaccinated are also
encouraged to have their polio drops and measles shot.
And lastly, other vaccinations for meningitis, pneumonia and diarrhea are also advertised
everywhere. “Do the right thing”, and a little girl appealing to the masses to keep her healthy and
to please vaccinate her in this little, artificial sweet, syrupy voice”!
Nathan Geffen from the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has in the mean time brought out
his book “Debunking Delusions”, in which he writes about the era of Mr Thabo Mbeki, Dr
Manto, Dr Rath and obviously us. He has been on quite a few radio shows, naming and shaming
all the quacks, and there is no right of reply. As one radio producer told me: “The age of the
Denialists is over!” So much for a balanced view, and freedom of speech, especially as tomorrow
is Freedom day.
Unless something is done very soon, we will look back in 20 years time, and see a trail of
destruction of people’s lives destroyed.
In the mean time:
“May the Spirit that is Love be with you and protect you.”
