Kenyan Family Features Red Ribbons on Death Announcement, Testing National AIDS Taboo
A Kenyan family yesterday decorated a relative's death announcement with two red ribbons to reveal that he had died of AIDS-related causes, testing a national "taboo" and marking the first time a Kenyan newspaper obituary featured the ribbons, Reuters/Boston Globe reports. Margaret Muigai, the sister of the late Paul Omukuba, said the family included the ribbons in an effort to combat the stigma of AIDS in Kenya. "We wanted to make a statement, to tell the public, not just in Kenya, but in the world. We have to come out and fight AIDS. I don't want anybody to suffer the way we did," she explained. In an "extremely rare sight at Kenyan funerals," many mourners at the funeral wore red ribbons on their clothing to "remind people to avoid behavior" that could place them at risk for the disease (Green, Reuters/Boston Globe, 7/18).
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