In remembering those who have died in the three decades of the HIV epidemic in New Zealand speakers at tonight's Candlelight Memorial service in Auckland have noted that those living with the virus still live with stigma and discrimination. "There wouldn't be a week that goes by without someone advising us of ways they are discriminated against," said Body Positive Chief Executive Bruce Kilmister. He cited dentists who ask HIV-positive people to wait to the end of the day for treatments and doctors who don't want to have their infected patients lingering in their waiting rooms. NZAF Executive Director Shaun Robinson compared the flickering of memorial candle flames to the twinkling of stars which we can see long after they have actually ceased to shine "This is a time of deep honouring and deep remembrance" of their lives, he said. "The light from their lives shines on." Jane Bruning of Positive Women acknowledged how modern medications keep people alive longer but still some die. She says a PW client died recently and another will die soon. "She is tired of the fight against the virus," Bruning says. "She has stopped taking her medications and it will not be long before she goes." Messages from the Governor General and patron of the NZ AIDS Foundation Sir Jerry Mateparae, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition were read and candles were lit by many of the over 240 people who attended on a chilly night at St Matthew's Church in downtown Auckland. As the service drew to a close the flames from the massed red candles combined into a small conflagration which threatened to set fire to the stand they were displayed on until they were extinguished. A total of 694 people have died due to HIV/AIDS in New Zealand, most have been gay and bi men. Services were held around the country this afternoon and tonight, part of an internationally coordinated event to highlight those lost to HIV and the issues faced by those still living with the virus.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 20th May 2012 - 8:13pm