We must not hide, says Mandela as he weeps for the son killed by Aids

In Africa, it is the killer disease that many will not discuss openly. But Nelson Mandela broke down in tears yesterday as he told the world that his son had died of Aids.

The great statesman summoned the world's media to the front door of his home in Johannesburg to announce that his only surviving son, Makgatho, 54, had succumbed to the virus.

His country's elite refuses to acknowledge the enormous death toll caused by HIV/Aids. But the former South African President, 86 and increasingly frail, found the strength to admit that his family, like so many others in South Africa, had lost a loved one to Aids.

"We must not hide the cause of death of our respected families because that is the only way we can make people understand that HIV is an ordinary illness. That's why we have called you today to announce that my son has died of Aids," Mr Mandela said.

"I hope that as time goes on we will realise that it is important for us to talk openly about Aids, because it is the only way to make it appear normal, like cancer."

Mr Mandela said that he had argued in favour of breaking the taboo surrounding the disease for years, long before he knew that his son was suffering from Aids.

Makgatho, a lawyer, had been receiving treatment for several months. His wife, Zondi, died of pneumonia, one of the diseases that affect Aids sufferers, in 2003.

Mr Mandela, who was surrounded by family members yesterday, cancelled several engagements during the past month to remain close to his ailing son. He has three daughters, one from his first marriage, and two from his second marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Mr Mandela lost his first son, Madiba Thembekile, in a car crash in 1969.

Despite the mounting toll from Aids, and some five million cases - the highest HIV/Aids caseload in the world - few public figures have come forward to say that Aids has affected their families.

Yesterday Aids activists were quick to applaud Mr Mandela's decision to go public with the cause of his son's death. Grant Law, of the Topsy Foundation, said that one of the best ways of erasing the stigma attached to the disease was the involvement of the family. "We applaud Mandela for coming out in this way and making Aids a family issue," he said.

译文:

"我们不能逃避真实"，曼德拉在爱子死于艾滋病后流着泪说。

在非洲，多数人并不公开讨论这种致命的疾病。 然而昨天（1月6日），纳尔逊·曼德拉却流着眼泪告诉全世界他的儿子死于艾滋病。

这位政治伟人将世界各地的媒体召集到他位于约翰内斯堡的家门前，宣布了他唯一还健在的儿子，现年54岁的马克贾托已死于艾滋病毒的消息。

南非的中坚势力拒绝宣布因感染HIV病毒而死亡的巨大数字。而这位86岁?日渐衰弱的南非前总统却鼓起勇气承认他的家庭，正如南非许多家庭一样，由于艾滋病失去了一位挚爱的亲人。

"我们不应该隐藏我们所敬爱的亲人的死因真相，因为唯有这样做，人们才会明白HIV只是一种普通疾病。这也正是今天我为何要向你们宣布我的儿子死于艾滋病。"曼德拉说。

"我希望随着时间的推移，人们将认识到公开谈论艾滋病是一件重要的事情，因为这是唯一一条使它成为像癌症一样的正常疾病的途径。"

曼德拉先生说，早在得知儿子患有艾滋病之前的数年间，他已号召人们打破有关禁忌，公开谈论艾滋病。

身为律师的马克贾托已接受了几个月的治疗。他的妻子祖迪2003年死于肺炎--艾滋病患者易感染的疾病之一。

昨日，为了陪伴病中的儿子，在家人陪伴下的曼得拉取消了过去一个月中定下的几个预约。他育有3个女儿。一个是与第一任妻子所生，另外两人是他在第二次婚姻中与温妮·马迪克泽拉·曼德拉所生。曼德拉的大儿子马迪巴·桑贝基勒1969年死于车祸。

尽管南非感染艾滋病的人数不断增加，并有约500万艾滋病案例--全球最多的HIV/艾滋病待处理案例，但几乎没有哪个公众人物站出来说艾滋病已经影响到南非的家庭。

昨天，艾滋病运动者们及时响应了曼德拉公开儿子死因的决定。Topsy基金会的格兰特·劳说，洗除艾滋病恶名的最好办法就是家庭的参与。"我们为曼德拉以这种方式挺身而出，揭示艾滋病已成为（南非的)家庭问题的事实而喝彩。"

Vocabulary:

statesman: a man who is a leader in national or international affairs（政治家，国内国际事务中的领导者）

succumb to: 死于，屈服于

caseload: the number of cases handled in a given period, as by an attorney or by a clinic or social services agency（待处理案件之数量）

stigma: a mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach（耻辱，恶名）