On Monday, Dec. 1 — World AIDS Day — we will find ourselves nearly 45 years into a pandemic that has cost us millions of lives. Most of us don’t know of a world in which HIV doesn’t exist, and it’s been added to the list of decades-long crises that compete for our attention.

This year, more than ever, we must take bold action to ensure that the communities most impacted by HIV are valued and invested in. An international kiss-in on the U.S.-Mexican border is a provocative public action to call attention to people living with HIV and queer migrant communities.

A kiss-in, like a sit-in or a die-in, is part of a long tradition of occupying public space to make a political statement. At 2 p.m. Sunday at Friendship Park/Parque de la Amistad, MPact is hosting the International HIV Kiss-in or “Besoton Sidoso Internacional,” to declare that queer HIV-positive and migrant communities exist, that our lives have value, and that action must be taken to protect our health and rights.

HIV disproportionately impacts gay men in both the U.S. and Mexico. In the U.S., gay men are the majority of all infections and new infections. We have medication to effectively treat and prevent HIV, yet thousands of people die of HIV every year.

Many queer migrants with HIV are seeking a new life in the U.S. because they are fleeing violence or persecution because of their sexuality or gender. Yet they can end up stuck in poor conditions on the Mexican side of the border or in detention centers in the U.S. where their rights are violated, and they are regularly denied access to HIV care. Migrants are particularly vulnerable to HIV and must endure an increasingly hostile environment.

The LGBTQ, HIV and migrant movements cannot be separated. We desperately need strong HIV and immigration policies and reform, but under the current administration we are moving in the opposite direction — creating more fear and prejudice and putting the lives of our communities in danger.

A kiss has always held tremendous meaning and power. We kiss someone on both cheeks as a warm greeting. We kiss a loved one to bid them farewell as they make their treacherous journey to the north, hoping to find safety in the U.S. We tenderly kiss someone goodbye when they’ve succumbed to HIV, and that kiss is full of sorrow and anger. We kiss someone with intense passion when we find a meaningful and pleasurable connection. Our lives are full of a variety of kisses, and this International HIV Kiss-In will leverage the profound meaning of a kiss to advocate for the lives of queer people living with HIV, celebrate cross-border communities and increase visibility.

Visibility has always been a crucial part of queer and migrant movements. Coming out began as a way for LGBTQ people to tell people around them that queer people exist and are everywhere. That same act of coming out was instrumental during the AIDS crisis, most memorably with movie star Rock Hudson. In the last 20 years, we have seen Dreamers who boldly declared their status as “undocumented and unafraid.” I’ve been living with HIV for nearly 30 years, yet coming out about HIV is still powerful for me and impactful for others.

The International HIV Kiss-In will gather community advocates against the backdrop of the world’s busiest international borders to take public action fearlessly and shamelessly, showing the world that they exist and matter.

HIV knows no borders. Human rights are universal regardless of where one was born. A kiss among HIV and migrant communities at the U.S.-Mexican border can transcend fear, hate and prejudice. It reminds us that existing is resisting.

That is when we come together as a community, arbitrary borders of nations, gender and sexuality shall not restrict our dreams, hopes or freedom of expression. History has shown that we can dismantle these borders and create a world that respects the humanity of all. In this case, it will be done with a kiss.

Garner is senior director of strategic initiatives and communications at MPact and lives in San Diego County.