Compiled and edited by Martin Flynn
second night in the queue to get a visa for her daughter.
Delegates from around the world reported similar stories. Jenita Perera
of Sri Lanka, which has no Spanish Embassy, applied via the French Embassy.
After standing in a queue from 8pm till 9am the following morning she
was told to come back on 17 July - four days after the conference ended.
Kingsley Oborn-Egbulem of Nigeria said: "It was easier for a camel
to pass through the eye of a needle than even to get an appointment to
see Her Lordship the visa officer."
Joan Tallada, the Barcelona conference local Community Chair, said that
because people had been awarded scholarships to attend the conference,
this was interpreted by some embassies that the individual did not have
enough resources for a visa.
Others blamed conference organisers for not sending air tickets out till
scholarship delegates had visas - when tickets were needed in order to
get a visa.
Professor Khalid Hassan of Bangladesh summed up the whole row: "Welcome
to 'Fortress Europe'. The Aids conference should be held in developing
countries, where people most need to hear its
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message."
When Spanish Minister of Health Celia Villalobos spoke at the conference
opening ceremony, she faced prolonged heckling and whistling. But protesting
delegates got their revenge a couple of days later when she was summarily
dismissed. (See also Xavier
Franquet's column.)
Gus Cairns
courtesy: unaids
