This is an extract from an interview with award-winning author Jonny Steinberg about his book on HIV/AIDS, based in Lusikisiki:
Were there times you found it difficult to be objective?
“Almost all the time. The book is full of my subjective responses to things, particularly my responses to dying people. I saw a very ugly side of myself. When I met a person at death’s door, a visceral feeling of victory came over me: I am alive, soon you won’t be; I no longer have time for you. I suspect that this subjective response taught me more about AIDS than anything else.”
http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Lifestyle/Article.aspx?id=1030605
Story ideas:
Almost all print media and radio features that deal with stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS either focus on those who have suffered through it or on people and institutions “unlike us” who discriminate against others and stigmatise them.
If you are HIV-negative or don’t know your status, perhaps use Steinberg’s brutally honest admission as a starting point in examining your own reactions to those infected with HIV. You could write a column that reveals your initial feelings, what they were influenced by, and how they have developed over time. If you are HIV-positive, you could write an honest reflection on your feelings and fears before and after diagnosis. You could invite others to join in the reflection in the hope that progress to true acceptance of each other starts with honesty. Just be careful not to allow bigots to use the space as a platform for their hatred.
governance, citizens and HIV/AIDS 
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