Silence = Death
That anti-AIDS slogan should be heeded worldwide but perhaps even moreso in Malawi.
The singer Madonna traveled to the country, one of the world’s poorest, in 2006 and wrote and produced this documentary.
It is about children growing up without parents who have died from AIDS and who have AIDS themselves.
Out of a population of 12 million, Malawi has 1 million orphans, most of them with parents who have died from the disease.
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It features interviews with people like former United States President Bill Clinton and Bishop Desmond Tutu who believe an active campaign to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS in the country is critical to combat the pandemic. They call on the nation’s government to break with tradition and create a national dialogue about sex and sexually transmitted diseases.
Madonna does not focus on the politics of the country but examines Malawi’s society. She believes the social taboo of discussing sex and sexuality only exacerbates the problem.
The stories the children tell of their lives are heartbreaking.
Many of them wish to better themselves by going to school but cannot afford it: one semester may cost as much as $20 which is difficult to pay in a country where most people live on less than $2 per day.
This film also looks at life in the slums outside of the capital city of Lilongwe, where many people live in shanties with deplorable and primitive facilities for dealing with waste, human and otherwise.
It is a desperate place filled with desperate people.
It is commendable that Madonna is using her wealth and celebrity to bring Malawi’s crisis to a world audience. How she has affected policies in the developed world towards Malawi has yet to be seen.
“I Am because We Are” is available for rent.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
