8 Year Old AIDS Victim Denied Visa for Disneyland
The US Embassy here has again denied a tourist visa to an 8 year old girl with terminal AIDS. Marlone Ávila, Director of the Fundación Vida, tried to assist the girl with her dying wish to go to Disneyland. " I took everything they asked, but the consul said that AIDS infected people may not enter the US and the only thing left to do would be to send a letter to Washington. I said, What? People with HIV can’t enter the country? And they said that that is the law. Well, I think then they shouldn’t let people with HIV leave the country either, that’s pure discrimination, in my opinion."
The girl, who was infected by her parents and then abandoned by them, has the support of several companies who have paid for the trip and even a $1 million insurance policy. While Ávila has faith that the Department of Homeland Security will grant a 4 day trip, the consul did tell her not to generate false expectations. They study humanitarian cases closely, but the law prohibits the entry of people with AIDS.