Long Life: Positive HIV Stories, Double Storey Press, Cape Town
  By Jonathan Morgan and the Bambanani Women's Group
 
  Date of Publication: November 2003
  ISBN:1-919930-35-3
  Price: R164.00

 

 
"...we want to let people know that we positive people are getting a treatment to help us live longer. We want to tell the whole world that we are many and we are working, we are healthy. Also we want our stories to be published to the other countries. For those who are positive not to lose hope maybe someday we will get its cure. We want people outside to know that it is not the end of the world, you can live as many years as you want."
 
This is a book about hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. 13 remarkable women from Khayelitsha, infected with HIV, tell, through words, body maps, photos and artwork, how their lives have been transformed by antiretroviral treatment. We hear what it is like for them to dare talk about their dreams, to locate their suffering in the past, and to think about a long life for themselves and HIV-negative children. Here within one cover, is a beautiful art book, a striking advocacy document, a rich ethnographic text, a graphical novel, a series of photo essays, and a history of the Treatment action Campaign and of the work Medecins sans Frontières in South Africa. What could have been depressing narratives have been transformed into journeys of regained courage and dreams being lived. The women are participating in an anti-retroviral treatment programme run by Medecins sans Frontières in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Because of the treatment the women have recovered their health and found new meaning and inspiration for their own lives and their children’s lives. This clearly refutes the argument that poor people are unable to comply with the sometimes demanding ARV regimens.
 
This book is a rich, creative journey combining graphic, novel- style story-telling with powerful art-works exploring the body, inside and outside, and self-taken photographs using simple cameras to delve deeply into the world of Cape Town’s township life and the brave, pioneering women taking charge of their lives.
 

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"The message of this book is one of struggle and hope for the rights to life, dignity and health care. As a record of a difficult chapter of political and public health in south African history, this book will be an important document." - Zachie Achmat, Treatment Action Campaing chairperson
 
"Long Life's gutsy narratives and participatory research are a powerful cry for reason and compassion in the time of AIDS."- Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town

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Articles
Health-e.org

 
To order a copy of this book, please contact Kathy Forbes.
Also available from:
Double Storey
Spiniflex Press
Kalahari
Clarke's Bookshop
Word Power
Africa Book Centre
 
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