Not a good sign

We laughed when we first saw this sign on our first day in Botswana, thinking that it was a mistake or strange unfortunate combination of services.



Unfortunately, funerals are all too common in Botswana, which has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. While we were in there, many people around us experienced the death of friends and relatives. When we arrived in Gaborone, Caroline was not able to meet us because she was attending a funeral. Our game cruise was cut short because the boat driver received a call informing him that his sister had passed away. While staying with Olga her cousin died and later while we were driving her to pay her respects to her relatives, she received a call to inform her that her friend's son had hung himself that morning. (We were supposed to be at that woman's house for lunch but had to cancel because of the death of Olga's cousin.

The high rate of HIV infection has also been connected to the rise of so called "passion killings" when men murder their partners and then often commit suicide. I am told that these "passion killings" can occur because of suspicions of cheating, anger related to the disease, and when women threaten to leave their partners because of affairs or a positive diagnosis.