When people are laughing it is like they are laughing at you

“…in this situation I am in you find that when people are talking you end up thinking they are talking about you… when the truth is these people are talking on their own… When people are laughing it is like they are laughing at you…

…people should not be afraid of others, they must not take what is discussed on the streets…and make them things that are happening.  A person has to go to the right place… Even if we are not in the support group meeting maybe you see me at the dipping tank you can come and ask me how did I get help – it does not necessarily need a person to go to our organisation to get help…

I have not felt any difficulty that people know my status… I found support, but sometimes…it is not always smooth, they say there is no road without bumps… when my wife died… I saw that it is difficult  because I would hear them speaking around the corners saying I killed her, this situation was very difficult.

[Supporting my wife until her last day?] That is another road that had bumps… Because it is difficult for us men to go to the hospital to take care of a female… In our nature and our culture I don’t know how to put it… It not a usual thing that… I go to stay in the hospital… in our culture a man is not able to stand in a line – you see at the clinics there are queues… I don’t know whether you will understand me, if we can have a survey to find the deep truth, that really where is the problem in men, you will find that they are afraid.”

Mavela Mabuza, male, 61 years, Swaziland

practice interview, oral testimony workshop, Swaziland

Every day from the 1st of July until the 21st of July we will be sharing extracts from 21 oral testimonies of 21 men and women living with HIV in Swaziland, Ethiopia and Mozambique. We’ll share these extracts here on this blog – with daily links on twitter and facebook. On the 21st of July, our partner the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) will launch a publication of these testimonies at the International AIDS conference 2014. Read more about 21 stories 21 days. Read more about the project