Marseille 2007
| Abstract #346 - Testimonies of AIDS patients in Senegal: the different types of testimonies and how they are used | ||||
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Session: 22.8: Stigma (Parallel) on Monday @ 16.30-18.30 in Auditorium/Overflow Chaired by Heather Worth, Osman Malik Authors: Presenting Author: Miss Mbodj Fatou - EHESS/CRESP, Senegal |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: -identify the different types of testimonies in Senegalese society -define the meaning of the word testimony in the HIV/AIDS world - go over the history of the concept of testimony. A history that will reveal the political and moral stakes that are involved in the testimonies HIV/AIDS patients | ||||
| Method / Issue: -Testimonies of PLWA during seminars and conferences -Interview with PLWA who have already testified -Interview with people who are yet to testify -Biographical research on the topic of testimony | ||||
| Results / Comments: In Senegal, testimonies can take several forms: We find them in the work of the griot (oral historian) or the elder whose role is to keep track of and narrate facts about a community, a village or a family. He is the witness of his time and transmits history from one generation to another. It is in its historic form that the testimony is the most public. We see them in jurisprudence when the witness is a peer who can attest of the truthfulness of an event or help formalize it. A witness is usually required for a divorce or a marriage that didnt take place in front of the proper legal authorities or for issuing an individuals birth certificate years after his/her birth. We also find them in a social setting - in this case the testimonies are less formal but not less important- for instance during key life, or death, events. In the HIV/AIDS world, patients distinguish two types of what we commonly call testimony: talking about ones case and giving a testimony. The former is done in a private or semi-private setting (discussion groups with peers or health professionals); the latter is a declaration in a public or semi-public setting (companies, radio, and television.) Giving a testimony can be done in three forms: the first one is in the form of praise, a kind of griotization which is very similar to testimonies in social settings as it is practiced in Senegal. The second one is the classic testimony as AIDS patients do it in Europe i.e. they talk about their personal experience and history. The third and last form is a hybrid of the previous two. | ||||
| Discussion: The analysis of these original forms of testimonies reveals the political and moral usage of a testimony. The public testimony gives more credibility to the actions of AIDS organizations and health care establishments. This testimony is a moral act but it exposes the witness to a moral judgment. It allows access to social and economic resources. However, its different forms and its stakes raise questions about the testimony as a particular act. They also raise the issue of how testimonies could play a role in a democratic debate. | ||||
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