Mandela's Son Dies of AIDS

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Mandela's Son Dies of AIDS*********************************New York TimesJanuary 6, 2005By JOHN O'NEILFormer President Mandela of South Africa announced today that his eldest son had died of AIDS, making a highly unusual disclosure in a country whose populace is both hard hit by the disease but reluctant to acknowledge it.Mr. Mandela's son, Makgatho, was 54 and died this morning in anintensive care clinic. Speaking to reporters a few hours later in the garden of his Johannesburg home, Mr. Mandela said that he was speaking out to try to reduce the stigma that has limited public discussion and efforts against the disease."For some time I have been saying, let us give publicity to AIDS and not hide it," Mr. Mandela said. "It is the only way to make it appear like a normal illness. To come out and say someone has died of HIV, then people will stop regarding it as an illness reserved to people who go to hell and not heaven."Since leaving office, Mr. Mandela has been the country's most prominent voice calling for greater action against H.I.V., the disease that causes AIDS, and he has said that as president he failed to recognize the seriousness of the epidemic.Today he said that his public statements were not the result of his son's illness. "I have been saying this for the past years even before I even suspected a member of my family has AIDS," he said.The United Nations has estimated that about five million South Africans, including more than one in five adults, have AIDS or have been infected with H.I.V. But families usually attribute deaths from the disease to other causes.Makgatho Mandela was a lawyer who kept a low public profile. He was Mr. Mandela's only surviving child from his first marriage.[source: www.nytimes.com]Mandela's eldest son dies of AIDS*********************************BBCJanuary 6, 2005Former South African president Mandela has revealed that his only surviving son has died of AIDS.Makgatho Mandela, 54, had been critically ill for several weeks after being admitted to a Johannesburg hospital late last year.Mr Mandela called for renewed efforts to fight AIDS, challenging the taboo that surrounds the disease in Africa.Mr Mandela's younger son, Thembekile, died in a car crash during his father's imprisonment in the apartheid era.The apartheid government refused to allow him to attend that funeral.Mr Mandela cancelled several engagements over the holiday period to be close to his ailing eldest son.The former leader has three surviving daughters, one from his first marriage and two from his second marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.His first wife, , Makgatho's mother, died last year.Makgatho's wife Zondi died of pneumonia last year.Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4151159.stm

Cross posted: AF-AIDS

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