On 16 June 1976, South Africa's youth
were in a perilous position: under the apartheid regime,
their future prospects held no promise of hope, their
past had been bleak and belittling, and their present
was a reality so depressing that, literally, they had
nothing to lose - so they took a stand in demanding
recognition and support, rising up in Soweto and irrevocably
changing the face of South African history. In 2002,
our youth are still in need of recognition and support,
but for a different peril. As one of society's sectors
most vulnerable to the spread of HIV infection, they
need to know that they are not alone, that they are
cherished as our hope for the future and that their
wellbeing is a critical factor in our struggle against
the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In honour of June 2002 as Youth Month,
we asked two deeply committed individuals working in
the field of HIV/AIDS on NU campuses, and more broadly
in KwaZulu-Natal, to give voice to the concerns and
commitment that our young people are expressing around
HIV/AIDS. In the following Guest Editorials, Sibusiso
Xaba, a postgraduate student at UND and social activist,
writes about the need for effective leadership, both
amongst the youth and their elders, in the fight to
mitigate the spread of HIV infection, while psychologist
Michelle Mitchell stresses the importance of personal
identification with the epidemic as a means for all
generations to confront the epidemic.
"Umthente uhlab' usamila"- Beyond Youth
Day 2002
by Sibusiso Xaba
Sibusiso
Xaba
Throughout the world's history, young people (the most
vulnerable members of society) have - with a visible
leadership - spearheaded struggles against oppression.
They have faced danger, created their own resources
and sacrificed their youth in the hope that a new order
would emerge for subsequent generations.
This month in South Africa, we honour those who fought
and fell on 16 June 1976, but if we examine the prevailing
social landscape, the vision of our predecessors has
not been realised. Language was the key issue that sparked
the Soweto uprising in 1976 - but today, African languages
are not accorded any status as "languages of learning"
in our educational institutions. While we have both
national and provincial Youth Commissions in place,
what do these structures do for young people who are
infected and affected by HIV/AIDS? How many young people
are languishing in jails, and when released, cannot
be employed because of stigma? How many young people
are used by the wealthy for their own gratification?
How many young people have died of AIDS, having been
infected by their elders or because the government is
reluctant to legislate the importation of generic drugs?
How many young people have no education because they
cannot afford fees? What is owned and driven by today's
youth?
Youth leadership is what is lacking in the present
century. Education for leadership goes beyond understanding
concepts within lecture theatres and passing examinations
- it is the capacity to distill solutions to the problems
of humanity, in both scholarly and practical ways. However,
these problems cannot be solved on a global scale without
addressing those prevailing at a local level, and in
this regard, our power is curtailed. For example, what
are we youth to make of the mixed signals emitted by
our parliamentarians today? They abuse their own wives
and children, live in luxury and pay lip-service to
youth projects, but expect us to live as exemplars of
high ethics. Media-managed programmes promote uncontrolled
sex but, without alternative resources, we are called
upon to be the vanguard of moral regeneration.
Education, which is meant to empower the youth to free
themselves from oppressive measures, has not unshackled
young people from the scourge of HIV/AIDS. This month,
thousands of learners will be "home for the holidays"
without temporary jobs or structures for involvement
in HIV/AIDS community projects. All of our society knows
that orphans of AIDS are legion, and that the majority
of them have had to leave school, yet there are no comprehensive,
nationwide plans in place to assist them.
HIV/AIDS, because it unfolds rather than merely happens,
is the most complex and unique epidemic of the century
- illness descends long after one gets infected. Our
youth, as leaders in the making, need to have some stake
in our own future; in IsiZulu, it is said that "umthente
uhlab' usamila"- the grass prickles whilst it grows.
We need to visit HIV/AIDS projects and be fully involved
in our own communities' struggle against the epidemic.
We need to know and to publicise what is happening to
youth with disabilities - how do we involve them in
lifelong change strategies and integrate them into HIV/AIDS
initiatives?
Our destiny as a nation demands concerted involvement
in and action against HIV/AIDS - anything less would
be a betrayal of the youth of South Africa and the world.
The rampant abuse of our children and young people must
be reversed as a matter of emergency. Community awareness
programmes and bureaucratic support systems are not
enough - if we as a global force have a vision of a
positive future, what is needed is a fundamental reverence
for our youth as national treasures, to be guarded,
nurtured and guided into a life beyond 2002.
Sibusiso Xaba is reading for a Postgraduate
Diploma in Community Development at UND. He is a member
of the UND Students' HIV/AIDS Working Group, the Roots
and Shoots Society and youth leader of the UND Students
African Renaissance Chapter.
Personalising HIV/AIDS : Beyond Youth Day 2002
By Michelle Mitchell
Michelle
Mitchell
The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to rob our nation of
its youth - the very people for whom the anti-apartheid
struggle was so hard-won. The present generation of
leaders in South Africa has grown up with some awareness
of the burgeoning disease syndrome, but our 10-year-old
perspectives on HIV/AIDS may not equip us to act as
effective role models in the fight against the spread
of HIV infection. For these reasons, our society needs
to unite across all age-groups to face down the challenges
of the epidemic - and above all, to listen to and engage
with young people in devising strategies to combat it.
Studies have shown that it is difficult for young people
to decide on what they should believe about HIV/AIDS.
They are bombarded with varying messages about how to
prevent infection - the media tells them to condomise,
the churches would rather that they abstain from sex
before marriage, their parents and elders would like
them to be faithful, politicians flood them with controversial
statistics - and the efficacy of every measure and message
is disputed by opposing stakeholders.
As a result, young people are compelled to construct
their own philosophical and cognitive frameworks for
responding to HIV/AIDS. These approaches include "It's
better not to know my status - if I'm going to die anyway,
why deny myself some years of enjoyment and acceptance?",
and "People with HIV/AIDS are immoral", and
"America has a cure for HIV/AIDS, but they're keeping
it until everyone is infected and then they can take
over Africa", and "You can see when someone
has HIV/AIDS" … with the only consequence
of these myths and justifications being increased stigma,
fear and a failure to personalise the disease.
Faced with all this confusion, young people fall back
on the simplest approach of all - responding to their
natural urges and engaging in unprotected sex.
Those of us in positions of leadership may be older,
but we are not necessarily wiser in terms of HIV/AIDS
and its effects on the younger generations. If we want
to inspire, protect and support them, we need to reflect
on our own experiences and be innovative. We need to
stop making assumptions and listen attentively to the
youth, assisting and encouraging genuine, mutually respectful
dialogue around the subject of HIV/AIDS. We need to
descend from our adult-theoretical-academic pedestals
and talk to them about our own feelings - what it was
like for us to be afraid of making an important decision,
what it was like for us "the first time",
what we have learned from making mistakes in life -
and having the courage to take an HIV test ourselves.
There are many wonderful young people who are utterly
dedicated to mitigating the spread of HIV amongst their
own circles and communities. They need our acknowledgement
and support in implementing structures that are devised,
driven and owned by the youth themselves. We also need
to help them to sustain these structures, so that piecemeal,
ineffective measures do not result in damaged relationships
and broken trust between the generations and stakeholders.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal is committed to providing a
supportive, safe environment from and through which
this dialogue can emerge and flourish. Universities
are educational institutions wherein learning is not
confined to lofty lectures and academic assignments
- the lessons inherent in the "higher education"
experience involve developing oneself, whether as an
individual or as a member of wider society and the nation's
human heritage, and these lessons are just as critical
as good marks and perfect attendance records. At Natal
University, staff and students alike are motivated and
able to offer our young people the knowledge and information
required to make well-informed decisions about HIV/AIDS,
as well as the skills to facilitate such decision-making
processes.
Apart from the physical onslaught that HIV/AIDS exerts
on the body, silence and fear are the epidemic's most
formidable weapons. No-one is invulnerable to it, and
unless every one of us, no matter how old we are, makes
HIV/AIDS a personal issue, and opens it up to discussion
and compassion, we will lose the nation so many died
to create.
Michelle Mitchell is Natal University's
Interim HIV/AIDS Programme Manager. She is a qualified
psychologist with extensive experience in student counselling
and academic project co-ordination.
