--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: AIDS was something that was put upon us…" description: "\"AIDS was something that was put upon us [as haitians], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I always say, \"We ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_aids-was-something-that-was-put-upon-us_2877231.png" --- # AIDS was something that was put upon us \[as haitians\], and… ![“AIDS was something that was put upon us [as haitians], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I always say, "We are all people living with AIDS." It's not like you can avoid it. It's part of our world.” quote by Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_aids-was-something-that-was-put-upon-us_2877231.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_aids-was-something-that-was-put-upon-us_2877231.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/edwidge-danticat-2559_aids_aids-was-something-that-was-put-upon-us_2877231.png) > “AIDS was something that was put upon us \[as haitians\], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I always say, "We are all people living with AIDS." It's not like you can avoid it. It's part of our world.” [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stigma unfairly labels people with AIDS, ignoring shared humanity. **In simple terms:** AIDS stigma is unjust and dehumanizing. Key Takeaway Promote empathy and universal humanity. Themes stigma health human rights Mood empathetic serious Type advocacy inspirational When to use this quote - public health campaigns - community support groups - policy advocacy - media representation Key Concepts social justice public health identity Questions to Reflect On - How can society reduce AIDS-related stigma? - What language fosters inclusion? A Different Perspective Changing deep-rooted prejudice is slow and resistant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aids/) [Aids Haitians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aids-haitians-3968028/) [Aids Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aids-like-429097/) [Haitians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haitians-324224/) [Haitians Immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haitians-immediately-3968029/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Living Aids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-aids-2773396/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Unfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfair/) [Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Living with AIDS is like always having the sword of Damocles over your head. The disease is scarier than death itself. The disease is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-kramer/living-with-aids-is-like-always-having-the-sword-of-damocles-over/) [Larry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-kramer/) > [You have to help people who are living with AIDS. Help them to live as dignified a life as they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/you-have-to-help-people-who-are-living-with-aids-help-them-to-live-as/) [Princess Stephanie of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/) > [When I first found out I had HIV, I had to find somebody who was living with it, who could help me understand my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/when-i-first-found-out-i-had-hiv-i-had-to-find-somebody-who-was/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [It seemed from the media that we were being told that all Haitians had AIDS. At the time, I had just come from Haiti.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/it-seemed-from-the-media-that-we-were-being-told-that-all-haitians/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [One of the things that sparked my interest in this is the case of Emmanuel Constant, who started a militia called FRAPH that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/one-of-the-things-that-sparked-my-interest-in-this-is-the-case-of/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [My first understanding of HIV and AIDS was like everybody else from my generation. In the mid-'80s, we heard about this, and it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/my-first-understanding-of-hiv-and-aids-was-like-everybody-else-from/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [Parents want their children to excel, callers to a victims' hot line want help, and sick people want to get well. Offering aids is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-thaler/parents-want-their-children-to-excel-callers-to-a-victims-hot-line/) [Richard Thaler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-thaler/) > [The effect of AIDS was like a war in a minute country. Like, in World War I, a whole generation of Englishmen died all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/the-effect-of-aids-was-like-a-war-in-a-minute-country-like-in-world/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I'm not saying this because I'm looking for a soft cushion wherever I'm heading, I just feel that I've got thousands and thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eazy-e/i-m-not-saying-this-because-i-m-looking-for-a-soft-cushion-wherever-i/) [Eazy-E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eazy-e/) > [Haitians do not need development programs imposed on them by expatriates. Instead, they need help in developing as self-assured persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/haitians-do-not-need-development-programs-imposed-on-them-by/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [We have problems which will be addressed by Haitians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bertrand-aristide/we-have-problems-which-will-be-addressed-by-haitians/) [Jean-Bertrand Aristide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-bertrand-aristide/) > [Many Haitians don't want to participate in something they think will be violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/many-haitians-don-t-want-to-participate-in-something-they-think-will/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [Haitians must understand that they have to collaborate to resolve the country's problems - no one is coming to rescue them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jovenel-moise/haitians-must-understand-that-they-have-to-collaborate-to-resolve-the/) [Jovenel Moise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jovenel-moise/) > [On February 7, 2.2 million Haitians went to the polls and exercised their constitutional right to select a leader. They went by foot, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foley/on-february-7-2-2-million-haitians-went-to-the-polls-and-exercised/) [Mark Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foley/) > [Since the 1960s, exile for Haitians is a condition that ends only to begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/since-the-1960s-exile-for-haitians-is-a-condition-that-ends-only-to/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) ## More by Edwidge Danticat > [“Medicare rewards doctors far better for doing procedures than for assessing whether they should be done at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/medicare-rewards-doctors-far-better-for-doing-procedures-than-for/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-love-the-process-of-cracking-the-spine-for-the-first-time-and/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Instead I dreamt of walking out of the world, of spending all my time inside with no one to talk to, and no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/instead-i-dreamt-of-walking-out-of-the-world-of-spending-all-my-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Then what do you want with me?'... 'The pursuit of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/then-what-do-you-want-with-me-the-pursuit-of-happiness/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up, and this was, for the most part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-wanted-to-raise-the-voice-of-a-lot-of-the-people-that-i-knew/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Creating these messes that go from administration to administration and then you swoop in and clean them up - with that heroic Delta force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/creating-these-messes-that-go-from-administration-to-administration/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“Nineteen Thirty-Seven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/nineteen-thirty-seven/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“From her experience working with the weak and the sick, she'd learned that the disease you ignore is the one that kills you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/from-her-experience-working-with-the-weak-and-the-sick-she-d-learned/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I'm not saying Cubans don't deserve asylum, but if it is a national security issue, there are people who are coming from Cuba on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-m-not-saying-cubans-don-t-deserve-asylum-but-if-it-is-a-national/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [“I owe Oprah and that show a tremendous debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-owe-oprah-and-that-show-a-tremendous-debt/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/the-greatest-gift-anyone-can-give-to-a-writer-is-time/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-think-it-is-important-to-reach-people-through-arts-and-literature/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [All anyone can hope for is just a tiny bit of love, like a drop in a cup if you can get it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/all-anyone-can-hope-for-is-just-a-tiny-bit-of-love-like-a-drop-in-a/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [I very much love a physical book myself. I think people who have had this experience of also seeing a book come together, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-very-much-love-a-physical-book-myself-i-think-people-who-have-had/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) [Explore all 161 Edwidge Danticat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) ## More Aids quotes > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I donated blood today. That's what I call getting an AIDS test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-donated-blood-today-that-s-what-i-call-getting-an-aids-test/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Women's Aid is a fantastic charity which has my full support. I am proud to call myself a Real Man, a man who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-fox/women-s-aid-is-a-fantastic-charity-which-has-my-full-support-i-am/) [Neil Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-fox/) > [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [At the time when this famous historical battle was fought in Kosovo, the people were looking at the stars, expecting aid from them. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slobodan-milosevi/at-the-time-when-this-famous-historical-battle-was-fought-in-kosovo/) [Slobodan Milosević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slobodan-milosevi/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I don't think I could compare myself to Macaulay Culkin, because we're pretty much two different kinds of actors. He's done a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-bonsall/i-don-t-think-i-could-compare-myself-to-macaulay-culkin-because-we-re/) [Brian Bonsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-bonsall/) > [It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) [Browse all 1,983 Aids quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aids/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "AIDS was something that was put upon us [as haitians], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I always say, \"We are all people living with AIDS.\" It's not like you can avoid it. 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