People travelling to the States often have a good laugh at that first piece of American folklore they encounter on their way to the promised land: the green form US officials ask their guests to fill in on the plane. Questions regarding Nazi or Communist affiliation cause few problems. More problematic is the line regarding “Communicable disease,” a question introduced ten years ago when the US Senate voted to ban entry to HIV-positive people.

The first person to suffer from that blanket ban was a small British boy who’d won a trip to Disneyland, and had to give up his American dream after being rejected.

The Terence Higgins Trust has lately launched an “End the ban” campaign. “Most people are unaware of this discriminatory policy,” says Linda Power, head of policy at the London-based AIDS association. “In Great Britain, we’ve sent letters to Members of Parliament, but the fight needs international visibility to revive the fight against the ban and eventually get results.”

Barcelona seems indeed a good stepping stone. “Of course, we’ve been distributing stickers and found delegates from all countries highly supportive of our initiative, but where else could we get in touch with the US Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson and hand him a dossier over the matter?”

Over the years, HIV positive people have developed strategies to evade the policy, the most obvious being to lie. But the possession of HIV medicines on the plane always rises anxiousity.

US officials argue that people can declare their status to their US Embassy before departure, and apply for a special visa. This gets you filed in a databank along with Nazis, Communists, and criminals. So much for the Land of the Free.

AIDS 2002 Conference News produced by Health & Development Networks/Key Correspondent Team