Justice Edwin Cameron is a South African Supreme Court of Appeal Judge. He is widely noted as one of the first key South African figures to publicly announce that he is living with HIV/AIDS. After contracting the syndrome Justice Cameron has campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of the various social reverberations that are a direct consequence of the disease. These include drug company pricing, lack of access to medication and governmental denial.
He lived privately with the knowledge of his illness for a significant period of time before allowing this information to become public. He was inspired to act after learning of the death of a young carrier of AIDS named Gugu Dlamini who was stoned and stabbed to death after admitting on a Zulu language radio that she was infected with the disease.
Justice Cameron has employed strong rhetoric throughout his campaign speeches and has compared those governments and officials who do not act on the issue of AIDS with those who did not act when Nazi Germany and Apartheid began to creep into the consciousness of the international community. He has been instrumental in the fight to bring the fight against HIV/AIDS to the forefront of International politics.
The following ‘Spoken Word: Collection Highlight’ is a personal and moving interview with one of modern history’s great campaigners. The radio programme is presented by Fergal Keane who orchestrates an interview that uncovers the motives behind the actions of a dying man.
Photo Courtesy of Ben Oswest
