The Virus is on the wheels and the response is 3 Cs

[Guest guest]

Virus on wheels. The response is 3 Cs

Prasreen Kunnampalli

The HIV epidemic in India is complex due to various reasons such as the vastness

of the country, the large numbers of people living in India (over 1 billion)

and the difference in HIV prevalence in different states in urban and rural

areas.

The alarming challenge of virus is the spreading route of transmission and

trace or filters it, especially with the migrants who are one of the most

prominent vulnerable high risk groups. We have initiated lot of interventions

strategies in different categories of high risk target groups; it's a truth of

risk spreading the virus in deep grass route level of our country by migrants.

The human race has started moving in and out of their origins to near and far in

search of career (jobs), knowledge (students) and for fun and relaxation

(tourists). On the other hand globalization (open market), information

technology, political situation, victims of

natural calamities and war, has given larger boom in this shift of origins on

other side the desire of making money, status, and livelihood, and drastic

shifts in the life and life style.

The migration varies from illegal migrants, nomad migrants, mass migration,

seasonal migration, chain migration, forced migration, free migration, rural

urban migration and political migration.

Some of common migration happening in India is from rural to urban, seasonal

migration and temporary visits and certain percentage migrate abroad in hunt of

jobs and few for education. A good percentage of this population is with out

their families and

experiences a tough life away from families.

HIV / AIDS, trafficking has taken on wheels with mass movement of human race.

Once believed Flesh trade is inevitably linked to the spread of STI and now HIV,

although this is an old linked but old times limited or in old forms of

Devadasis, Venkatsani, Vaghya-Murali.

Today the flesh trade is seen obviously everywhere like ugly blister on the face

of civilization. Now we can widely see common pick up points like railway

station, bus station, market, dance bars, gambling dens, mass media (internet

and some printed media friendship clubs), & in star facility we openly see the

silicate for sex. The sex trade or can say the hetero-sexual practice has

shifted its forms and practices with shift in our new social life. This scene is

at once shocking and the shock is not merely borne out of any conservative

morality.

Now a common saying of 3J " JJJ " JAM (liquors) JUVA (gambling) JAVANY (sex) is an

attraction of so called urban and developing centers, and it varies from the

corporate bosses to shelter less casual labours. The social changes which has

focused more on individualism and reduction in social values and humanism has

made availability of

free sex practices on one hand and on the other criminalization of the Global

network with human trafficking which is closely associated with gambling dens

and drug abuse. Sex trade is a multi billion dollar business with often highly

criminal and covert

structure.

Or can say as a japaness proverb goes, " the travellers know no shame " or as

European one states " the further I go from home, the less moral I become " the

tourist thus embarks on the path of sexual experiment

The common forms of migration we see around us can be grouped as follows:

Internal Migrants: - the people who travel temporarily or permanently within the

country for jobs / studies and business which include skilled, semi skilled

workers, labourers, students and business class.

International Migrants: - the people travel for long period for livelihood

outside country, most of them away from their family and also is being uprooted

into a different culture, social structure and practices. The nature of work and

exploitation of these groups,

the feeling of loneliness etc make them easily susceptible to deviant social

behaviour.

Tourist: - a good number of tourists are visiting India, business trips,

education trips, leisure trips and health tourism. It is said that now tourism

has increased seven fold when compared to 1960s. As of tourism flourished

different new practices like gambling dens,

bars, massage parlours, domestic tourism, trafficking and commercial sexual

exploitation, having sex with children especially young children, pornography,

etc has increased. Or can say attempts to gratify all his socially unacceptable

sexual desires and fantasies a

platform is being set with the exploitation of vulnerable groups.

Forced movement / migration: - a good number of women and children are forced or

been moved out of family by rackets and other situation viz, family and social

situations leading to move from family and origin place and are subject to get

abused and exploited.

We can see good examples of them present in slums, working in hostile situation,

in child labour and in prostitution.

Of all said HIV is an alarming issue to the vulnerable population especially the

floating people around the globe. One of the basic reasons of finding a large

number of affected persons in rural areas and in house wives.

This bridge group of truckers, seasonal workers, construction workers, house

maids, sailors, men in uniform, child labour, people working abroad with or with

out family, entertainment industry workers, young working in various industries,

metros is

more at risk of abuse and exposed to the high risk behaviors.

• Most of these enjoy the privileges of anonymity, experimenting in new place

and opportunity of availability of sex.

• The risk is high with mental, physical and sexual abuse faced by the migrants

in their work places and living areas.

• The basic facility in urban slums and working areas has increased the

influence of substance abuse, physical abuse and sexual practice.

• Adding to these facts there are good percentage of these separating partners

leading to develop and maintain temporary relation on both end and practice in

the same way as of their partner leading to risks of getting infected and

spreading.

It is appreciated that The Government health workers and voluntary agencies are

working with this bridge groups and would step up HIV prevention campaigns at

large " source areas " for migrant workers before they leave for high-prevalence

cities or in the metros / cities they reach.

All said, we still have lot of questions to be answered to combat with the real

scenario which is leading the present situation!

• Do we have a comprehensive formula, policy programme to deal with migrants?

• Do we have any sustainable strategy to deal with international migrants and

their problems?

• Have the cross border initiative worked out in India, especially in Risk

awareness and trafficking of young ones?

• Are we able to deal with the changing sex preference and practice?

• Have the corporate sector directly dealt and got involved with the issue in

long run?

• Are we addressing the issues related to trafficking of human who are

exploited and abused?

1. Rise in sex tourism

2. Large scale vulnerability of young women and children.

3. Rise in organized crime and failure of state to curb it

We need a dream and a specific plan to club so that these groups move in and out

of family and come back safe home. This need a combination of 3Cs " collective " ,

" corrective " , and " community " based intervention (quoted from Kiran Bedi, in

her work `It's always possible')

Prasreen Kunnampalli

e-mail: <pknbiju@...>