World AIDS Month – Quotations

• “Whenever AIDS has won, stigma, shame, distrust, discriminations, and apathy was on its’ side. Every time AIDS has been defeated, it has been because of trust, openness, dialogue between individuals and communities, family support, human solidarity, and the human perseverance to fun new paths and solutions.”
  • Quote from Michele Sidebe, Executive Director of UNAIDS
• “Certainly the AIDS crisis is not nearly the same as it was in the 1980s when I first became a lawyer and began volunteering to work with young men who are dying. Thankfully, there has been great progress with this disease. But, sometimes it’s a bit frustrating to hear that young men especially young gay men, think this disease is nothing more than “taking a pill” and that they do not have to engage in the same protections that we grew up with. The disease is real, and it shortens peoples life expectancy’s. I think that a new round of PR should be focused on specifically the young gay men and drug users so that they recognize the travesty of this disease and so that we also never forget all those who have gone before us.”
  • Quote from Jay Paul Deratany, the Founder of Deratany & Kosner