Audio from the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, held at the Tararua Tramping Club in Wellington on 21 May 2017. A special thank you to the organisers and speakers for allowing us to record and share this memorial service.
The service marked the first time Jason Myers had addressed a Candlelight Memorial in his new role of Executive Director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation. Jason references soon-to-be released HIV statistics. These were subsequently released on 31 May 2017 and showed that 244 people were diagnosed in 2016 - the highest number since records began in 1985.
Today you have called my name and in spirit here I am
I am one of many in a sea of stars
Rekindle my spirit with your words of remembrance
that I may be, but for a moment, present in the minds of those that I once knew
Then set me free, let me fly to the great beyond
until I am once again called to mind
Let me return refreshed and ever more youthful than the last time you called my name
For the bonds of friendship may we never forget
In the name of love let us always remember
- Chanel Hati
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2010s, aids support network, alcohol, anal sex, andrew little, aotearoa new zealand, big gay out (auckland), bill english, bisexual, body positive, candlelight memorials, cd4 count, cd4 threshold, chanel hati, chrissy witoko, church, coming out, community, community support, discrimination, ending hiv (campaign), friends, funding, gay, governor-general of new zealand, grant robertson, green party, health, health care, heterosexual, hiv education, hiv stigma, hiv/aids, honour-shame culture, hospital, jason myers, kay jones, kay'la riarn, kjel griffiths, loss, love, malaysia, manatū hauora ministry of health, metiria turei, ministry of social development, māori, new zealand aids foundation (nzaf), new zealand aids memorial quilt, new zealand labour party, nzpc: aotearoa new zealand sex workers' collective, parents, patsy reddy, pharmaceutical management agency (pharmac), prep (pre-exposure prophylaxis), remembrance, rev roger pym, safe sex, self hate, self loathing, sex work, sister paula brettkelly, stigma, stole, support, tararua tramping club, testing, trans, transgender, trench foot, trench mouth, tīwhanawhana, unitarian church, vaughan meneses, wellington, whakawahine, women, work and income (winz), youth
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