David Cairns has passed awayDavid Cairns MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS died in hospital on 9th May 2011 after suffering acute pancreatitis. David will be remembered for his important contribution to equality issues and the fight against AIDS - as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS - as well as for his impressive and principled political career. He will be sorely missed by his partner, family, colleagues and friends. Please support the campaign against homophobia in Uganda with a donation to Sexual Minorities Uganda in David’s memory. In January this year David was shocked and appalled at the death of another David, David Kato in Uganda.
Kato worked for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), and had been campaigning for the end to the horrific ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’. The Bill - which is still being considered by the Ugandan Parliament - proposed the death penalty for gay men who pass on the AIDS virus. Kato was murdered in his own home, paying the ultimate price for his campaigning courage. David Cairns met Kato in November 2010 at an HIV conference in London. They talked about how difficult it was to get gay rights onto the agenda in Uganda and David agreed to press the Foreign Office and DFID on the issue – which he did. As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV and AIDS, David also spoke with authority on the way that the persecution of sexual minorities undermines the fight against AIDS around the world. This role took him on the last major foreign trip of his life, with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to Kenya and Uganda in January, just before the Kato murder. Whilst in Kenya he also worked with the national network of people living with HIV. These experiences spurred him on to be the impressive campaigner that he was. David was passionate about challenging prejudice, whether it was homophobia or stigma against people living with HIV. His work was cut short. Please help us continue it in his memory.
Since SMUG is not a UK registered charity, donations will made via the UK registered charity ‘The UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development’ (also known as the Stop AIDS Campaign), a charity which David knew himself and trusted. The Stop AIDS Campaign works closely with international partners and will pass all donations on to SMUG.
Please send cheques to : More about SMUG and your donation David’s partner, Dermot Kehoe, has chosen SMUG as the cause which David would have most wanted to support. Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) does vital work in impossible circumstances, demanding equality for all Ugandans irrespective of gender, age, sexual orientation, social status or creed, and working to tackle HIV and AIDS in the gay community. With the media and religious and political leaders fermenting an atmosphere of extreme intolerance, hatred and fear, SMUG have coordinated opposition to the ‘anti-homosexuality’ bill currently moving through the Ugandan parliament. SMUG’s work is difficult and dangerous, giving a voice to the oppressed and challenging the laws and prejudices which put the lives of gay Ugandans at real risk. It is at the centre of a movement which is asserting the rights of sexual minorities across Africa, a movement which must succeed. Your support is gratefully received.
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