Funerals every day
A friend of mine lives in an area quite close to Llewellyn Barracks (Imbizo) just outside Bulawayo and many young men from his area join the army as there are no jobs. However, HIV is now spreading rapidly through the community in Ntabazinduna and every village and kraal has someone sick. My friend’s own son is now dying because he used to go beer drinking with soldiers and says he spent time with women who move about.
The hospital at the barracks is full of dying people and it is the same at the Support Unit (Police Hospital). My friend was told that if you have money you can get ARV’s, but the trouble is this just makes the problem worse as the rich officers don’t care about anyone else anymore. The disease is being spread more by those who are rich and can buy drugs and believe that they are now saved and can carry on their lives as before. But they are still sick, and making others sick.
My friend says there are funerals every day in his area, and it seems as though nothing can stop it.
The people that have the least food are the ones to die first, and there are many children without parents. It is other family members, especially the very old, that now have to look after them.
The hospitals cannot help us, we are short of food, and the people at the clinics don’t care. What is going to happen to us?
