Since publicly disclosing her status in 1998, Maire Bopp Dupont Allport has worked tirelessly throughout the region, and around the world, promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS, the rights of HIV positive people, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on Pacific Island communities.
As founder of PIAF she has represented the Pacific region in a number of regional and international fora and met with world leaders such as former presidents Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and Bill Clinton (United States). She currently lives with her family in French Polynesia.
I have often been asked what motivated me to tell my story? Why I got involved in advocacy? But no one has ever doubted the positive impact of it. Being able to talk about it, confidently, honestly, has been gratefully appreciated, but more importantly, it has helped people change their lives in a way that no other awareness campaign would have. I often reply, ' Maybe I do it for those who do not have the strength to do it.' But in fact I have less ambition to talk for others than simply to do what I felt was 'normal' I have never understood the negative social implications that came with HIV. And I still felt it was unfair when I myself got infected. Why the rejection, why the antipathy? Why can' t HIV positive people get a loan? Why a young man cannot attend his own church but has to walk to a neighbouring village church? Why a 16-year-old is kicked out of his family home and village when disclosing his status to his parents? Why a wife and mother loses her husband, son, job and family? Why people are hung, beaten to death, tied to a tree, or stuck under a house and fed like a pig? So, I felt like it was a ' normal' thing to tell everyone. ' HIV is not contagious, it is transmissible and preventable! But HIV can affect anyone!” and HIV is hard to handle sometimes. Yet life carries on; lifestyles can become, in some ways, even healthier! But, HIV kills eventually, if we do not take care, if we do not have safe practices and most importantly if we do not talk about it.
Every step I made in the last four years of advocacy was motivated by the thought of elevating people' s knowledge and heart. For me, ignorance and complacency have allowed the spread of the virus and revealed the evil that exists in many of us, even the most Christian among us, provoking hate and suffering instead of love and joy. Each of us is responsible for these human tragedies. We are responsible for the shame and fears we have projected to the point where he/she would rather ignore HIV, suffer alone, commit suicide, or/and seek revenge by willfully contaminating others. It is what we say, or don' t say, what we do, or don' t do, that creates and perpetuates the kinds of attitudes that have deprived the AIDS movement of some of its best advocates. Today, while I still enjoy meeting with communities and schools, I see the need to ' continue the fight' against HIV/AIDS in such a way that takes better account of the key role PLWHA can play to boost more effective awareness campaigns and to direct part of the fight to answering their basic needs and right to life!
I first shared the vision of the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation in October 2000 at a health meeting in New Zealand. The meeting was hosted by the Asia Pacific Alliance. I knew no one in the room other than SPC Senior Deputy-Director, Dr. Jimmie Rodgers. I had met him for the first time on my arrival under the heavy rain of Auckland and its domestic airport. I did not know that our roads were crossing for a bigger plan until he stood up right after my speech and backed my vision strongly, reinforcing the idea in an English I could never speak… for me, that moment was magic! We had planted the seed! I believe PIAF would not have grown as fast and as well without Dr. Jimmie Rodgers personal commitment. The establishment of PIAF had been further assisted thanks to a most appreciated donation from Canadian MAC Cosmetics, input from lawyer Brett Gibson and of course, the energetic partnership of the Cook Islands Red Cross Director, Niki Rattle, who is the second trustee. And from now on the strong support of the Cook Islands government and the sustained assistance of the SPC and its qualified staff are now playing a key role to make the vision a reality and ensure a viable development of the Foundation. Little did I know when first disclosing my HIV just how far I would go in the AIDS movement. Thanks to love, support and advice from my dearest family, friends and supporters, I make this new step forward remembering that I am only the channel for the vision and hopes of literally thousands of people. PIAF belongs to the people living with HIV/AIDS in the Pacific Islands. It will work for and with them to provide a positive change; the goal is reachable if Governments, Non Government Organizations, businesses, donors and others work in partnership to answer this call, to help reduce ignorance with knowledge, unfair discrimination with solidarity, and isolation with care, to together provide better prevention activities.
For many years, our ocean has preserved the Pacific islanders from the epidemic, but it also represents a major obstacle to linking our islands and to disseminate education and medical support. Distance will remain the main barrier if we can' t mange our resources; maintain stability and ensure a peaceful environment. These are the keys to achievement in nations like PNG where the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS requires massive assistance.There are officially over 15,000 HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the Pacific islands up to the present date. It is believed that this number underestimates the reality because testing and screening in our region is low and non-existent in some islands. We've got to help slow down the further spread of the virus. Otherwise in 10 to 15 years down the road, with the limited prospect of cure and our small resources, our families will be swept away, leaving behind hundreds of orphans. Only now are we beginning to understand, through what is happening in Africa, how this virus is not just a ' health crisis' but also seriously undermines economic development. At the same time, on a human scale, we have to look after the growing number of adults, teenagers and babies affected with HIV/AIDS. They, we, all deserve care and love!
I believe that ' keeping it secret' is unhealthy at the individual, community, and national level, although I am convinced that ' going public' should be the result of a thinking process. PLWHA must be given the support that will empower them to tell their story, standing up for their right to free HIV drugs, to a cure, to a vaccine, for equal opportunities and social understanding, for their dignity. Of course, there are things that we might never be able to change. We can' t help losing our loved one if she/he thinks that HIV is a risk to his/her life, but we can preserve our family and friends' love. We can' t undo being HIV, but we can work to provide drugs to all until there' s a cure for all. We can' t force private companies to give us equal opportunities, but we can get our governments to implement positive laws.
As the living legend, Madiba Rohlilala Nelson Mandela said at the close of the International AIDS 2002 Conference: 'HIV/AIDS is a war against humanity! Don' t be ashamed! Speak out! Because if you keep quiet you are signing your own death warrant.'
We are lucky - HIV has opened our eyes to life! If there is a curse on those infected with HIV then it is, I am sure, to teach people about tolerance and love.
Mrs. Maire Bopp Dupont Allport
