They know about HIV and AIDS and how to protect themselves

Sadly this is the fact around which all this trading occurs. Most of these people (including the woman selling tomatoes and various seeds for brewing traditional beer) have HIV and AIDS sketched into their lives like a stubborn tattoo that refuses to be undone. They know about HIV and AIDS and how to protect themselves. They have countless relatives that have died because of it. But there is more to overpower their will than just HIV education.

They do not wake up every morning because they adore the hustle and tussle of the market place. Most wish they could escape it. Some are school dropouts and some are forcibly retired technicians. The brutal reality they are born into is one where a mother walks into the market place in the morning and organizes her wares, and tries to organize something greater than the table in front of her. She is trying to feed either a dying husband, or a needy orphan. Ultimately, she is fighting the menacing threat of HIV and AIDS upon a loved one’s (or more) life.

Photographs by Emily Wilson. Oxfam, Canada

I stared into the eyes of a woman now showing us the various types of seeds, stacked in different piles in front of her. In her eyes, I appeared blessed because of my apparent western connections. I tried so hard to look back into her eyes and convince her I too have suffered the same. But all she saw and cared to keep contact with were the eyes of my fellow traveler. Her eyes spoke of suppers unprepared but possible, medications not given but possibly provided, and an understanding shared only through buying what she had to offer in front of her.

The sad fact is that in that marketplace, it is hard to place a price on the tangible suffering of its traders. It is hard to place a price on meals that still have to be delivered to HIV patients with no medical cover. It is hard to place a price on orphans that might not live long. It is, ultimately, hard to place a price on goods that those who care for them bring to the marketplace. So, the market place remains vibrant. You are welcome to visit, browse and buy, or even sell. But ultimately, you have to realize, you are actually saving a life.