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| (Photo: VARA) |
Dutch
doctors diagnosed the first case of HIV in 1982. The 30th anniversary of the
arrival of AIDS in the Netherlands is no reason for celebration, but Dutch
public broadcaster VARA is marking the event by broadcasting a documentary this
evening, entitled: “Grounded by AIDS”.
The main
character in the documentary is the Dutch national airline KLM, a company that
was hit hard by the new disease in the 1980s. Documentary-maker Hetty Nietsch
came up with the idea several years ago after speaking to Dr. Joep Lange, a renowned Dutch professor of
infectious diseases. The first group of AIDS patients he and his fellow
physicians saw at the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) in Amsterdam were all gay
men. Many of them worked for airlines, particularly KLM. The flight attendants
travelled all over the world. They had sexual encounters in numerous cities and
brought the virus back to the Netherlands.
"Mysterious
gay cancer”
Nietsche
managed to discover the names of 35 of the victims. It’s unclear how many KLM
employees died of AIDS. The company doesn’t register the cause of death, and
many stewards who became ill didn’t want others to know their status. “If you
had cancer”, says former purser Dennis van Puimbrouck, “then you were a victim.
If you had AIDS, you were a pervert.” 30 of the colleagues he trained with died
of what was then considered a mysterious gay cancer. “The impact was enormous”,
says van Puimbrouck. “It was a huge blow to gay emancipation at a time when
homosexuals were only beginning to come out of the closet.
In the
documentary, Nietsch presents a colourful picture of the atmosphere 30 years
ago. It was a time when KLM was booming: its jumbo jets were flying to the
furthest corners of the globe, including Sydney, New York, Rio de Janeiro and
San Francisco, all popular destinations for the company’s gay stewards. At the
time, Amsterdam’s gay scene paled in comparison.
The world’s
first AIDS patient was also a steward. He didn’t work for KLM but for Air
Canada. Patient Zero, as he became known, had already infected 40 other men.
Because stewards travel frequently, the virus spread extremely quickly.
AIDS also
affected other businesses and airlines, but Nietsch consciously decided to
feature the iconic Dutch airline. The documentary reveals how the disease
appeared and spread, based on interviews with colleagues, family members and
AMC physicians.
Big family
Nietsch
made the documentary without the assistance of KLM, which 30 years after the
outbreak of the disease still refuses to discuss the issue. “All the former KLM
employees I approached were willing to speak,” says Nietsch. “The people who
are still employed by KLM were barred from taking part. At the time, KLM didn’t
know how to deal with the disease. It was a huge taboo, and it was commercially
uninteresting to discuss these issues with the outside world. The airline could
talk about it on an individual basis but not as a company to the general
public.”
Nevertheless,
KLM did not abandon staff who contracted HIV. Its medical service was in close
touch with AMC specialists, employees who fell ill received regular visits from
their bosses, and the company chartered buses so colleagues could attend
cremations. When stewards who had the disease felt better, they were put back
on the roster. According to Nietzsch, “the image that emerges is that KLM was
one big family. The airline should be proud of that. Some KLM employees were
even buried in blue KLM coffins.”
KLM is not
planning to organise a memorial service to mark the 30th anniversary.
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