Dominic D'Souza: Difference between revisions

'''Dominic D'Souza''' was an [[India]]n [[AIDS]] activist. His life was the basis of the film ''[[My Brother…Nikhil]]'' (directed by [[Onir]]) and the novel ''The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay'' by [[Siddharth Sanghvi|Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi]]. D'Souza was a frequent [[Blood donation|blood donor]] and a worker at the [[World Wildlife Fund]]. In 1989, after mandatory blood testing under ''The Goa, Daman and Diu Public Health Act, 1985'', he was found to have contracted [[HIV]], making him [[Goa|Goa's]] [[Index case|patient zero]] for the virus. Upon learning he was infected, authorities forcibly [[quarantine]]d him, keeping him [[Solitary confinement|isolated]] in a tuberculosis ward for 64 days.<ref name="tehelka">{{cite web|last1=Faleiro|first1=Sonia|title=Philadelphia Blues|url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main11.asp?filename=hub040905Philadelphia_blues.asp|website=Tehelka|accessdate=24 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030114431/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main11.asp?filename=hub040905Philadelphia_blues.asp|archive-date=30 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="firstpost">{{cite web|title=Students discriminated: Goa has always treated HIV positive patients badly|url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/students-discriminated-goa-has-always-treated-hiv-positive-patients-badly-1633795.html|accessdate=17 August 2014}}</ref> He legally fought against the quarantine and, following his release, resigned his position at the [[World Wildlife Fund]]. Together with his friend [[Isabel de Santa Rita Vás|Isabel de Santa Rita Vas]], he founded the HIV/AIDS [[non-governmental organization]] ''Positive People'' in April 1992.<ref name="firstpost"/> D'Souza died in a [[Mumbai]] hospital in May 1992, a month after registering the new organization.<ref name="tehelka"/>