Positive Voice in a rough terrain: A look back at the history of HIV/AIDS in Greece

By George Gilson

It was only when fashion designer Billy Bo (Vasilis Kourkoumelis), who catapulted to fame at a very young age, opened his own boutique on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, and was referred to in the Greek press as an Adonis or Apollo due to his beauty, and Alexandros Iolas, a world-renowned gallery owner and art collector who was friends with some of the towering divs in 20th century art, were diagnosed and died of AIDS that it drew public attention in Greece.

Beloved by the public and the darling of the Greek rich and famous, Billy Bo's suffering and death at age 33 in 1987 brought an outpouring of sympathy. Iolas, who was better known to the international art world and the jet set, died five days earlier in a New York hospital.

Few know more about the long history since then of HIV in Greece, its social impact and stigma, and the often inadequate and biased response of the state than Nikos Dedes, one of the founders of the association of HIV-positive individuals, named Thetiki Foni (Positive Voice), which stepped in with its successful Check Point organisation to offer free, confidential testing when the state did not.

Dedes has for many years worked in the area of health policy. A graduate of Thessaloniki's prestigious Anatolia College, he went on to study film direction at the Stavrakou School and worked in theatre and commercials. After he was diagnosed with HIV in 1995, he made public awareness and lobbying for the rights of HIV-positive individuals his mission.

In an exclusive interview with in.gr, tovima.gr, and tanea.gr, he details the longstanding indifference and bias at various levels of the state.

There were delays and tragic omissions in offering proper services to patients.