Problems posed by AIDS in the Republic of Congo have been complicated by the social and economic disruption of difficult political transitions over the past two decades. The volubility of modern medicine about the epidemic in the country, especially in its capital, Brazzaville, has at times contrasted with seeming silences about AIDS in other spheres of public life. By looking more closely at these apparent silences, though, we can trace the effects of the country's recent history, and discern understandings of social relations and affliction which have animated experience, constructed knowledge, and defined choice in relation to HIV and AIDS. In this paper, I consider how these understandings have provided many Congolese with languages of life and hope through which the treacherous terrain of the epidemic can be pragmatically navigated. I also describe, however, how these ways of knowing AIDS have complicated acceptance of the epidemic's dangers and problematized the place of HIV antibody testing among affected individuals and communities. I conclude with reflections on the ambivalent potentials of speech about illness, with special reference to the contexts of therapy and diagnostic disclosure.
To address perceived causes of suffering while respecting and protecting the patient and the family, medical personnel have had to engage circumstances and conceptions of person, responsibility, and misfortune specific to social life as lived in Congolese communities. These continue to shape the possibilities for AIDS awareness and treatment, and especially for HIV testing, in this region of Africa as elsewhere throughout the world.