In the article titled "ACT UP, Haitian Migrants, and Alternative memories of HIV/AIDS" by Karma R. Chavez, the depiction of the over 300 detained political refugees that tested positive of HIV, as well as the activism that followed from the ACT UP group as well is expressed. Throughout this piece there is more and more details surrounding the detention centers in which many Haitian migrants were detained in Guantanamo by the orders that the United States would not allow an HIV positive individual into the country. While stuck in the process of trying to get into the country, many people were either struck down and sent back to Haiti, or rarely, given asylum into the United States. Going forward, the ACT UP organization was an essential part of ending Haitian imprisonment due to positive results, and while helping people get out, they also used the collective voices of those affected by this to speak out regarding their treatment from the US government.
I was surprised after reading this piece because I simply had no idea that there were quite literally "modern day concentration camps" (Chavez, 1). Especially in relation to something as serious as HIV, learning more about just how horrible the treatment of these people were simply because they tested positive is unfathomable. I think that this overall ties back into the concept of how people that are not white simply do not and will not get the same treatment - especially medically or in the world of healthcare.
Chavez, Karma R. “ACT UP, Haitian Migrants, and Alternative Memories of HIV/AIDS.” The Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 98, no. 1, 2012, pp. 63–68, https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2011.638659.
I also find it to be shocking; it is wild how many countries participate in running modern day concentration camps for a multitude of reasons. I had never heard of the ACT UP group, or what their purpose was. However, I found this to be really moving because of my background. My Mexican dad met my American mom while she was studying abroad in Mexico, and decided to move back here with her. He always talks about how difficult his transition to American life was, and how he still experiences grand setbacks to this day. One example of this is that people who've never net him STILL don't communicate the same way with him over email because he has a Spanish name.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was very shocking, especially since it is not talked about a lot when discussing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I think it is shocking that the modern day concentration camps are not talked about in education settings, like high school. I think that this shows intersectionality; anyone who had tested positive for HIV/AIDS was assumed to be gay because of the public narrative. The Haitian migrants were being discriminated against because of their race and their presumed sexuality.
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