AIDS, Politics and Civil Unrest

[Guest guest]

Dear all--

I received a very helpful response to my recent posting...below I will

illustrate some of the reasons I feel that a more proactive response is

critical--and that politics DO interfere with AIDS in many, many ways. AIDS

shines the spotlight on our public policies, both their strenghts, their

weaknesses--and their abject failures.

Jeanne wrote: I felt compelled to respond to this post both as a citizen of

the US and as an HIV educator. I'm glad for the reply. Because I feel you

have raised MANY important points, I am sharing your reply with the folks

on AIDS-India.

Jeanne and I agree that Bangkok is a good venue for the next

conference....2006 is to be held in Toronto--and I have SERIOUS

reservations about that.

Jeanne: Certainly, the United States may NEVER hold such a conference;

NEVER is an all inclusive term. I see no reason why the US conference could

not or would not host a conference.

NEVER is a long time--I did use " may " as indicator of my hope that things

can change! the outrageous laws against HIV+ immigration were the reason

Mann had the site moved from Boston to Amsterdam in 1993 (I believe).

Jeanne: The " outrageous law " you refer to is simply a different term than

has been used for decades. I have to ask you in all honesty - do other

countries throw wide the door for the sick and indigent, and take care of

their needs including housing, food, education and medical needs?

This is not exactly true; the " outrageous law " was enacted in 1991. Til

recently, NO other industrialized country, as far as I know, has a

ridiculous law that bars HIV+ people from immigrating based purely on their

HIV status. This is simply horrid discrimination. In the U.S., TB patients

are not so treated. People with 'flu are not so treated. People with

syphilis are not so treated. It is an exclusionary law that stinks simply

of discrimination. Unfortunately, Canada has now instituted a mandatory

testing for immigrants (see

http://ww2.aegis.org/news/ips/2002/IP020624.html) New Zealand is

considering such a law. A law initiated in the US by our dear, deranged

Helms in 1990, bigot and homophobe extraordinaire and signed by Bush,

Sr. in 1991.

Such laws merely dump the problem of HIV-infected people back onto

countries often with faltering economies (often those raped by American

" free trade " policies rather than using " fair trade " programs which can

stimulate local economic growth by helping the poorest of the poor and

assuring decent compensation for actual work done.) Places where there is

no treatment at all, partly due to America's lack of meaningful commitment

to the worst pandemic in human history.

Jeanne: Well with that language you certainly won't get very far.

I should simply sit back and stare happily at the world and be silent?

Possibly.

But it is hard to watch so many friends die around the world, very often

needlessly, but for the greed, stupidity and avarice of cheap, weak-kneed,

prevaricating politicians and the corruption upon which so many of them

nightly dine.

I believe there is room for those who cry out in despair and anger--as long

as the anger is not rooted in a desire to cause violence or harm others.

Indeed, it is sometimes NECESSARY--as too often " civil discourse " is an

easy way to lie and hide from the truth. (Not you, Jeanne--but the

politicians, pharma execs and others who have vested interests in

indifference.)

Jeanne: That should not be surprising [regarding the apparent lack of

alternative treatment topics at Barcelona]. Our cultures are very

different. Sometimes those differences seem insurmountable. I don't think

so. I think we can all - every race, religion, culture learn to accept, and

if not accept, at least tolerate each other. If we cannot - the human race

is doomed. It has always been my dream to have a holistic medical

clinic....one that used western/eastern/ whatever works. That would be the

only criteria - proven to do what it claims. I have been the target of a

lot of abuse,. mostly verbal from some " mainstream " practioners but that

doesn't stop me.

Excellent! I agree with all you say in this paragraph! With the slight

exception--perhaps due to not understanding what you mean--with regard to

different cultures? Maybe we do agree--the " culture " of these International

AIDS Conferences is mostly one of the people who run the International AIDS

Society (IAS)--and they are very often extremely conservative. As opposed

to the Spanish culture--the milieu in which the conference is held can

influence the shape and flavor of the conference, but the IAS (and

apparently the US govt) has often undue influence on its content and the

participants.

Jeanne: I was not in attendance in Barcelona because I did not have the

money to do so. I don't know where you got the idea that the US supports an

abstinence only persepctive. Nothing could be further than the truth! I

have a very active but poor non profit organization to help prevent new HIV

infections and provide support for their loved ones. We provide condoms

free of charge to anyone who needs or wants them. They are from the public

health departments, the US public health departments.

GMC: I wasn't able to attend Barcelona either. Are these state public

health dept? Be aware, tho, that Bush has earmarked a stunning $50 million

for " abstinence only " programs. This is obscene. Second, there have been

witch hunts like the one in San Francisco where safer sex videos were

" condemned " by this Rehnquist woman. Investigations are underway that are

designed to prevent honest, clear and realistic information on safer sex,

injection drug use....of course, there are still plenty of programs, thank

heavens. I do hope your funding is not threatened--but it may well be

unless we raise a stink about it.

snip...Perhaps I missed it, but in yet another stellar example of our

appointed " leader " 's ability to exert his muscle without the benefit of

brains, it appears that the Bush administration also forced the removal of

Thai speaker, Mechai Viravaidya from the speaker's roster.

Jeanne: I would like to see your documentation of this action.

I report on what was reported in the Science article. I could send you a

copy or fax you one. Or you could obtain it from Science directly? What

works best? Ref: Cohen, J. Science, 2002 Jul 19;297(5580):312-313.

Jeanne: I respect everyone's right to their opinion. However there are some

serious errors here, especially in regard to condoms. The citizens of the

US are no different than any other Republic. Individuals do not make laws -

politicians do.

GMC: Politicians and the laws they create are affected by pubic interest

input in the United States. Silence = Death.

Jeanne: For the most part those decisions are based upon the reward the

lawmaker earns. The US has no more or no less " evil " politicians than other

countries. Abstinence is a great idea - but it is only an idea and has no

basis in reality. People were designed to procreate. It is a normal

physical function. Some people here believe abstinence is the only way to

stop AIDS.I believe they are completely wrong, and although it may work for

some I teach to use protection every time someone engages in sexual

contact. I do not do this for religious purposes. To me it is a huge

mistake to make HIV a religious issue. HIV is a health issue.

GMC: LOL! Agreed! Tell that GEORGE BUSH, JR!! What do you think the root of

his ridiculous policies are? YES! Many countries are strapped with evil,

corrupt and inept politicians. But as an American, it is my DUTY to speak

out against the evils of this administration. The erosion and destruction

of civil rights by people like Ashcroft, the cronyism, the corporate

welfare/corruption; the racism, the homophobia, the egregious, failed,

costly and lethal " war on some drugs; " the crippling horror of

international debt; the rigidity, hypocrisy and cruelty of religious

zealots who demean the very value of the Golden Rule that underlies most

world religions...I SHALL stand against these injustices. And when I see it

in MY country--and know it kills the people I know you care about as

well--for we DO agree on a great deal--then it becomes part of a mosaic of

evil that stands intolerable.

Jeanne: I believe so strongly in all people living together in harmony I

have another non profit organization that works towards peace - for all

people, everywhere on the planet. I realize people are not going to throw

down weapons and dance with their enemies but I had to do something.

I agree wholeheartedly. Indeed, peace through turning attention on the

scourges of poverty, AIDS, malaria, TB and environmental degradation could

heal the world of much of its suffering and away from the sick urge to harm

others we see every day in places like the South Bronx, Tibet, Palestine

and Israel, northern Ireland, the Congo, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir,

Nepal....

Jeanne: Many of the issues that have been posted recently are not that

different from what I see and do every day. I receive no money from the

government for the AIDS Council or the Peace Foundation. I have many

clients from all over the world. We struggle with many of the same issues.

Making testing and counseling available, providing condoms, getting

medicine when you have no money. We are more alike, than not alike. Don't

tell me I am too idealistic. Don't tell me there will be no improvement or

cure for HIV. Don't tell me peace and cooperation is not possible. I know

the enormity of my cause, but I also know there are others who feel the

same. AIDS has already created over three million orphans worldwide, if not

more. It destroys families and eventually will entire communitites. Let us

start here, now, working together, with the attitude that we have to put

aside our differences. " Miracles " can be acheived when we work together.

Thank you for listening. Jeanne Hatfield Chairman HIV/AIDS Education and

Prevention Council http://missoula.bigsky.net/ravaids/ravaidsbigsky (DOT) net

Jeanne--I could not agree more with your sentiments and wouldn't dare call

you too idealistic! lol--that would be me too. Nor could I agree more with

the last paragraph that you have written. Perhaps it is simply that our

tactics are different.

Politics plays a MAJOR role in the practical approaches that we both agree

are essential in terms of condom distribution, safer sex education, needle

access programs, medical interventions and access, and so forth. Religious

fundamentalists are very often, at least in the United States, behind the

invidious programs that are AGAINST distributing condoms...or talking about

sexual activity with young people. They live in a " just say no " la-la land

(often rendered absurdly hypocritical by their own sexual shenanigans). And

right now, some in Congress are pushing to defund many AIDS Service

Organizations in the United States--a threat to prevention and treatment

programs nationwide; let alone the huge numbers stuck on waiting lists for

AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, partly because they are inadequately funded,

partly because the pharmaceutical industry is price gouging people to death.

I think much of the reluctance to speak about sex in India is rooted in the

holdover of n mores thrust upon local people. But situations CAN be

created that help people to see which activities put them at greater risk

of infection. We must encourage that--but the Bush administration wants to

defund ANY family planning programs that dare mention the word abortion.

This is our part to play--for all those NGOs struggling so valiantly in

India in the face of indifference and outright oppression by local police.

Indeed, it is not simply a matter of fundamentalism. Yes, the leadership of

the Catholic church should get a BIG damn clue about condoms. It's

despicable that they do not in my view. But fundamentalism need not act as

a barrier. Look at the situation in Iran! A very fundamentalist Islamic

state, yet they have the capacity to be very adult about sexuality, condoms

are made available and as a result their population has not gone through

the roof. And indeed, it may have helped to slow the rate of disease spread.

So how do we induce change? First we have to recognize the problem. Then

discover solutions. The condom/lube and safer sex approach is THE most cost

effective prevention/vaccine approach we have today. And in an environment

of access to treatment, it can be truly successful. But when our country

blocks and destroys those efforts by failing to fund programs, by blocking

funding to family planning, by propounding idiotic ideas like " abstinence

only " to sate some ersatz prudery--when intellectual property rights take

precedence over human life, then I shall raise my voice loudly and angrily

against these acts of unmitigated evil.

M.