International News, issue 4

Three Black Members Quit GMHC Board

"Much work needs to be done at GMHC to make it truly inclusive and welcoming of diversity," stated Dr. Billy E. Jones, one of three Black members to quit the Gay Men’s Health Crisis organization in New York in January. A month later, three Latinos from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. One worker explained he was passed over to manage a trilingual hotline because of his accent, and another pointed to the Foundation’s elimination of a multicultural program. GMHC, the SF AIDS Foundations and other organizations founded by mostly-gay, white men in the 1980s, have been struggling to adapt to the changing reality of AIDS. Over half of GMHC’s clients today are people of color. In Europe, a few gay, white-based organizations have recently committed themselves to "integrate" migrants and other minorities. Events at GMHC and elsewhere should make activists reflect on the sizeable challenge of such an endeavor. (NYT 1/11/96, 2/17/96)

Israel dumps Falasha blood

"We are blood brothers with the Israelis," exclaimed Adiso Masala, head of the Organiation of Ethiopian Immigrants, "but our blood is thrown in the garbage because we are black." Protests erupted in Israel after the newspaper Maariz publicized Israeli blood bank policy of accepting donations from Ethiopian "immigrants" but automatically discarding their blood. Police used water cannon and tear gas to break up a demonstration by 10 000 Ethiopian Jews outside the Prime Minister’s office on 29 January. Two days later, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin asked for an explanation of the policy. While Israeli ambassador Avi Granot declared himself "embarassed" and worried about the potential backlash on Israeli relations with African countries, the head of the National AIDS committee defended the policy by claiming an HIV infection rate among Ethiopians 50 times higher than the "general population." A February article in the Lancet reported that all 20 000 Ethiopians who have arrived in Israel since 1991 were systematically tested for HIV and for the hepatitis B virus (Lancet, 2/10/96).

The comeback Magic

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who announced that he was HIV positive and retired from the U.S. National Basketball Association on November 7, 1991, returned to professional basketball on 30 January 1996. Magic has been "welcomed back into the sport," stated a newspaper editorial, "showing that Americans have learned enough about the disease not to fear getting it from casual contact." (Baltimore Sun, 2/1/96). Two weeks later, however, heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison announced his retirement, and asked his fans to "no longer consider [him] a role model" saying that he had "blown it." Morrisson urged that HIV tests be required for professional boxers. (Philadelphia Inquirer 2/16/96).

UN Commission puts HIV & migration on Human rights Agenda

ICASO, UNAIDS, and the European project AIDS & Mobility converged in Geneva in April for a special meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission. Representatives made presentations about HIV and migration. However, UNAIDS human rights staff were unavailable for comment. Migrants against HIV/AIDS will have a report in its next issue. M