Vandals destroy AIDS billboard in Dangriga

Members of the Dangriga HIV/AIDS Society are the victims of vandalism after someone or a group of people attacked one of their billboards over the weekend. According to officials of the N.G.O., the sign at mile three on the Stann Creek Valley Road was a symbol of fighting stigma and discrimination. But as we later discovered for ourselves in January, the society had met severe resistance from some residents who complained that promoting Dangriga as an “AIDS-friendly” could be misconstrued to mean that everyone in town had the deadly disease. Undeterred, the HIV/AIDS society says the destruction of the sign is just more evidence of the level of ignorance, denial, fear, and lack of social responsibility by particular members of the community. We understand that the billboard will be left as is for a while and then will be reconstructed using the torn pieces.