Borders of Blame: Histories and Geographies of HIV and AIDS in South Africa, 1980–1995

Abstract

AIDS transcends, and is implicated in, spatial and temporal boundaries that we have only begun to explore and that require in-depth interdisciplinary and collaborative engagements. This chapter explores the overlap between disciplinary interests in history and geography and considers how they facilitate analyses of various boundaries constructed or reinforced by the State in relation to the emergence of, and responses to, HIV and AIDS in South Africa in the early years of the epidemic. From the framing and blaming associated with the first officially recognised cases of AIDS in the country to the maligning of Malawian migrant mineworkers, the creation and maintenance of borders of all kinds - from the physical to the socio-political, has had a direct impact on life and death in South Africa and in neighbouring countries like Malawi. In this chapter the intersections of historical and geographical perspectives reveals borders of blame applied to people but representative of more complex and interrelated systems of power and inequities. It argues for ongoing epistemic generosity and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries to subvert increasing barriers and restrictions related to health and humanity.