DoomsdaysCWSurviving war and #HIV: #Queer, HIV-Positive, and Running Out of Medication in #Gaza
by Afeef Nessouli, Steven W. Thrasher, January 13 2025
"Life in #NorthernGaza is precarious enough without having to worry about #AIDS. Airstrikes and ground raids are a constant threat that keep people from leaving their homes to find food. 'We have to conserve,' said E.S., a 27-year-old who lives with his mother and younger brother in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southwest Gaza City. 'People are fighting each other to get the aid boxes.'
"And then there’s the issue of medication.
"'My doctor told me that the antiretrovirals have been consumed completely and there is nothing left in store,' said E.S., who is HIV-positive and agreed to speak with The Intercept using a pseudonym to avoid community stigma and targeting by the Israeli authorities.
"He needs #tenofovir, a common HIV medication, and #lopinavir / #ritonavir, a much more rarely prescribed one. At times, E.S. has had so little left that he dangerously began rationing his pills by skipping morning doses. 'There are no more supplies coming in or there hasn’t been any supplies at all coming in to the south or to the north,' he typed in a direct message. While Israel has denied blocking medication, international aid groups like #Glia have told The Intercept that HIV medication specifically has been blocked from entering the Gaza strip.
"Without these medications, E.S. — who already uses a walker for mobility — would see his health deteriorate rapidly. Within a short span of time, he would begin to move even more slowly, and he might lose the ability to walk altogether. With soldiers mandating mass displacement and sniping Palestinians as they try to evacuate, this could mean a death sentence.
"As Israel’s war on Gaza rages around him, E.S. has spent most of his time at home with his two cats. While many of his neighbors moved south to Rafah, he stayed put with his brother and mother, who is a cancer survivor. His limited mobility, the result of a viral infection exacerbated by HIV, made leaving more dangerous than staying.
"So they chose to stay north — despite warnings from the occupation military to evacuate. His home, while offering more protection than a tent, hasn’t exactly been safe: 'I saw people get sniped right across the street from me. It was a family of five trying to cross the road after they were ordered to evacuate their building before it was bombed.' He said the parents died and the children survived.
"E.S. used to get his medication from Al Rimal Martyrs Clinic, but it was evacuated and then reinhabited by displaced Palestinians.
"'Now, with the genocide happening, I fear not only my health deteriorating, but also how my family will respond,' he wrote. For years, his family didn’t acknowledge his HIV status; now he worries that his condition will be a liability for them."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/01/13/israel-gaza-war-hiv-aids-medication/
#NorthGaza #IsraeliWarCrimes #GazaAid #FreePalestine #CeasefireNow #IsraelHumanRightsViolations
#StopArmingIsrael #WorldWarBibi #BibiIsAWarCriminal #Genocide #Palestine #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong
Dirk Bachhausen
Amelia Cervera 🧬
Miguel Hernan
