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Nelson Mandela's son dies of AIDS
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| Kate Manus |
.Nelson Mandela lost his wife in 2003 to pneumonia and now his only surviving son to HIV at the 'young' age of 54. We all know there is a MAJOR HIV epidemic in Africa.. I hope this will help draw some much needed attention to this cause.. 1 in 6 people in South Africa is currently infected. :(
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- South Africa's Nelson Mandela, one of Africa's most committed campaigners in the battle against AIDS, announced that his only surviving son had succumbed to the disease Thursday.
Makgatho Mandela, 54, died in a Johannesburg clinic where he had been receiving treatment for more than a month. His wife Zondi died in 2003 from pneumonia.
"I announce that my son has died of AIDS," the 86-year-old Nobel Peace laureate told a news conference, urging a redoubled fight against the disease.
"Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and to say somebody has died because of HIV/AIDS. And people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary," said a frail-looking Mandela, surrounded by his grandchildren and other family members.
Mandela's announcement of his personal AIDS tragedy challenged the widespread taboo which keeps many Africans from discussing an epidemic which now infects more than 25 million people across the continent.
In South Africa, which with some five million HIV/AIDS infections has the highest AIDS caseload in the world, the disease kills more than 600 people each day, activists say.
Despite the mounting death toll, few public figures in South Africa or other African countries have personally come forward to say that AIDS has affected them or their families.
Deaths from the disease are usually attributed to a "long illness," pneumonia, or other secondary causes.
Veteran opposition leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party helped to break the silence last year when he announced that two of his children had died from AIDS-related causes.
Mandela lost his first son, Madiba Thembekile, in a car crash in 1969 while still in prison for his efforts to end white rule in South Africa. The apartheid government denied him permission to attend that funeral.
Mandela, who looks increasingly frail in his public appearances, has suffered a string of personal losses over the last several years. He buried Makgatho's mother, his first wife Evelyn Mase, in 2004 and attended the funeral for Makgatho's wife Zondi following her death.
In 2003, Mandela led South Africa in mourning for his African National Congress comrade Walter Sisulu, whose death at age 90 left Mandela almost alone among the elder generation of leaders who helped end apartheid and bring multi-racial democracy to South Africa in 1994.
Mandela had canceled several holiday engagements over the past month to remain close to his ailing son. He has several daughters from his marriages including two from his second wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Mandela officially retired from public life last year, but has nevertheless kept up a busy schedule promoting his various causes -- chief among them fight against South Africa's devastating AIDS epidemic.
Makgatho Mandela was a lawyer with a background in insurance who kept a relatively low profile. He had been married twice and had three sons, all of whom appeared with Mandela as he announced the cause of their father's death |
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| alec |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kate Manus
. 1 in 6 people in South Africa is currently infected. :(
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I remember seeing a stat that 1/3 children in Malawi are HIV positive!:nervous: |
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| milanster |
| man that is sad..I wonder what'll happen to these poor african countries in a few years..AIDS is spreadin soo fast :( |
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| Wisnia |
i once read an article of a girl in africa complaining how we dont care about this disease, and how we still have unprotected sex. Over there, u could see people on a daily basis dying from this disease.
Someone find a cure. You'll be a bazilionaire |
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| neuro |
The AIDS pandemic relies heavily on promises that have not been kept. Lets not get into politics, but you can take a hint about what I am talking about...
NEURO |
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| alec |
| Part of the problem is the thinking. Men think they can get rid of AIDS by having sex with a virgin girl. Hence how the vicious circle continues! |
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| fastmp3 |
you know what's more ed up alec ?
they think they can get rid of AIDS by having sex with ... newborn babies
how in' sick and disgusting :whip: :mad: :whip: |
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| Kate Manus |
| ya seriously.. I mean, as gross as it sounds.. I think the saying 'if she's old enough to bleed she's old enough to breed' is disgusting.. but nothing younger than that holy f*ck!!:whip: |
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