A viewer of BizNewsTv recently left a message which sums up many South Africans’ fears, frustration and hopes surrounding Covid-19 and the way in which the pandemic is being handled by authorities. Neville Sealy posted Thesna Aston’s article in which she writes about media coverage, which is skewed towards tragedy and the worst possible outcomes and how this affects the mindset of the nation. She explains why many are sceptical about yet another ‘wonder drug’. Aston also delves into the world of ‘Ivermectin Angels’ and the underground movement of South Africans who believe that people should be free to use a wonder drug if they so choose. These ‘Ivermectin Angels’ are working tirelessly for what is right and heading to the High Court in Bloemfontein to legalise the drug for use without restrictions. There is hope amid the anger and frustration writes Aston. – Melani Nathan
*Updated with the correct author
The underground of Ivermectin (A South African perspective)
By Thesna Aston*
You hear about this “alternative” drug that has been touted as “life-changing” and your conscious mind immediately dismisses it although remnants of what this medication is all about, clings to the walls of your psyche. Let’s be frank, every pharmaceutical company boasts about “the wonder drug” – the one that will heal all the sick as if Jesus himself had placed his hand upon the creation of it. We have seen how people responded to Viagra; for men, it was as if they were granted a reprieve from living their lives in sexual limbo…
The same can be said about Ivermectin! Due to the fear-mongering and the emphasis on becoming vaccinated, you know deep down that should you contract Covid-19, your chances of survival is slim, even more slim if you have co-morbidities. Words such as death, pandemic, hospital, oxygen, ventilator, are what swirls in your mind round and round, like a hamster on a wheel, and all the swirling does is create more stress and anxiety which isn’t conducive to healthy living.
You eagerly await the Presidents speeches and hope and pray he talks about a real & meaningful solution to Covid-19 which Ivermectin is, instead of the economy. (What good is an economy when there are no people to keep it going?) Meanwhile, the headlines are filled with stories about hospitals being unable to cope with the amount of positive Covid-19 cases, faulty equipment, lack of beds, and oxygen. Stories about corruption, vaccination, lockdown, and deaths all seem to occupy the front page of newspapers and other mainstream media. The grief from people who have lost their loved ones is palpable. You pray, sanitise and wear a mask in a vain valiant effort not to be a statistic for having succumbed to the virus. You know death will be painful as will the long road to recovery if you survive.
One day you look through a group on Facebook called SAHARI (South Africa Has a Right to Ivermectin), which advocate for the rollout and use of Ivermectin for Covid-19 in South Africa. Your eyes skim over words like, “getting better,” “survived”, âno side effectsâ, “not on a ventilatorâ, and you stop!… And like a 1950’s movie reel you rewind going back to the very beginning and start to read. You read articles, watch videos, hear repeated survivor testimonies about this “Wonder Drug” and along with hope springing inside you, there is growing outrage; Outrage that governments worldwide and pharmaceutical bodies are against the use of Ivermectin for humans, particularly in the fight against Covid-19.
Your outrage, coupled with the fear of not surviving should you contract the virus, is heightened by your economic status. Due to the highly suspicious, questionable & now found to be illegal banning in South Africa of Ivermectin in 2020, the black market has flourished with opportunistic so-called business people who much like during prohibition, seized the opportunity to inflate the prices of this medication – Effectively placing it further out of reach from the ordinary citizen! In other words, you are “waiting” in line like dominoes, all ready to fall and die; one after the other.
Still, you hope that you could be saved if only the odds weren’t so stacked against you. You feel alone, fearful and resigned to your fate and that of your family. As you go “deeper” into the groups on social media platforms, the weight begins to “lift” from your shoulders. Not only do you find like-minded people but health professionals, journalists, activists and business owners who advocate for nothing more than the right for you to make informed choices about your health.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Adults being rendered powerless by Governments, statutory bodies and pharmaceutical companies! Governments that consider you old enough to vote on how the country is run and by whom, to be employed and become independent, to have a family, to decide which religion to follow, to apply for credit, to pay your taxes, to legally consume alcohol and cannabis… But NOT be able to use a medication to survive during this pandemic with a 45 year/3,7 Billion (With a âBâ â Nine zeroâs) doses pedigree with no fatalities or side effects to date, been recognised by WHO as an essential medicine & won a Nobel Science recognition award in 2015 for its contribution to medicine.
There must surely be a bigger picture, and as you venture “down the rabbit hole” the picture becomes clearer – Stark & almost unbelievable in its ugly reality thatâs playing out like a Hollywood blockbuster thriller… There are the “bad guys” aka the 3 mentioned above; The countless victims & their loved ones of this crime that have fallen prey to the “criminals” – Banning the use of Ivermectin is a crime against humanity!
Then, like knights in shining armour are the âIvermectin Angelsâ who, on an average day, we don’t get to see or hear about – Those that have given freely their time (countless hours), skills, expertise, finances, energy, & influence to advocate for the use of Ivermectin. They do this not for recognition but because itâs the right thing to do. Because there is supposed to be a Batho Pele principle attached to the services rendered to South African citizens – A “People first!, We belong, We serve & We care!” service that has been written into our Constitution.
Unfortunately, the only ones adhering to this are the Heroes & Heroines in our story – People who don’t agree with injustices, unequal treatment, misinformation or lack of basic services & advocate for a better life for all of us. The quiet, efficient & sacrificial manner in which they deliver advice, support, information, etc. is reminiscent of the Underground Railroad started by people like Harriet Tubman, to free Slaves in the USA. In the same manner, South Africans have formed an “Underground Ivermectin” network where everyone has joined hands in fighting for the basic right to free-wilfully make informed decisions about which medication to use. These “Angels” have given hope & help to millions of hopeless & helpless people… Not false hope & help but a real & meaningful hope & help that has made your spirit a bit lighter and your smile brighter.
Finally, we all have a chance to get out of this dark place, away from the path that inevitably led to our demise because of power, greed and corruption. Tonight, we can lift our hands in praise and give thanks to those âAngelsâ who walk among us, often at great cost to themselves… While Government and SAHPRA (South African Health Products Regulatory Authority) ban the use of Ivermectin, try to arrest people for using it, penalise Doctors who are putting their Hypocritical Oath first for prescribing it & make Health Professionals jump through hoops to gain legal access to it! And if thatâs not enough then adding propaganda on mainstream media outlets about the so-called “serious side effects” of Ivermectin & total untruths about its past track record! The âUnderground of Ivermectinâ is being strengthened daily by people who are tired of being labelled conspiracy theorists when all they want is to save lives – Including our overseas âAngelsâ through social media, also selflessly serving the same cause & facing the same enemy!
The good news is that it has now been established by some of our South African âAngelsâ that the restrictions implemented by SAHPRA were illegal because a public notification in the Government Gazette was not issued. Even if it had been, the Medicine Providers & Pharmacies who wanted to continue supplying Ivermectin would have had another 6 months from the date of publication before it became illegal to do so.
To this end on Monday 29th, 30th & 31st March a group of them are going to the High Court in Bloemfontein to get the Killer of âALLâ mutations of Covid-19 legalised & available for Doctors & Chemists to issue without restraint.
(For more info. on this article Google: âDoctors Believe They Are Winning the Ivermectin Battleâ) Your ongoing Prayerful Support in the Courts of Heaven before the Great Judge leading up & during this time will truly be appreciated… Remembering that darkness (Including artificial man-made light) can only prevail where there is an absence of True Light! Please pass this on to ensure people are aware of this crime against humanity.
- Thesna Aston, The Fair Digest, Sahari THJ member
Watch the Inside Covid-19 video about Ivermectin on BizNewsTv:
Read also:
- Inside Covid-19: Ivermectin could help to slow virus; financial services innovations in era of pandemic
- âWe think that Ivermectin can help break transmission chainâ, says Prof Schwartz
- Medicine professor slams SA Ivermectin sceptics; many experts arenât looking at the right data
