108 Medical Anthropology Quarterly
J: This is how the white people dance. [laughs] You know what? I think some people are eaten and some people are eaters.
CL: What do you mean?
J: You see the eaters . . . you know all this bad luck that follows me around? Always suffering. All this shit, you know?
CL: Where do you think this shit comes from, Juma? Or who or what is to blame?
J: Somebody is always eating and some are always suffering. I think these guys who came to see my mother—these guys who drive around in their cars and wear their fancy suits. Like these traveling businessmen. These guys are to blame. They’re going about with their big bellies, preying on schoolgirls and others who can’t protect themselves and spreading AIDS. Truly. They gave my mother AIDS. But I don’t know where they come from and how they came to be. And these people don’t just drop from the sky.
You always ask me these questions, but I can’t give you the whole story. What can you tell me? We’re brothers now. What can you tell me?