Concerned groups take up the cause of AIDS awareness

Candles in the wind

Where do you go...

By Chamintha Thilakarathna

An AIDS patient was allegedly assaulted and died in January '97. The patient's body lay in a mortuary for seven days because doctors were too scared to perform an autopsy. The alleged assailant was never brought to justice.

Also, in July the same year, a returnee from the Middle East was diagnosed as HIV positive. Her confidentiality was breached, and the police took it upon themselves to educate her, her husband and her community.

In '95 a doctor in a semi-governmental hospital acquired HIV from a blood transfusion and was told by the hospital matron never to come back. The doctor's family suffered great humiliation.

And in many other cases, families of AIDS victims have not only faced such public humiliation but also not been able to give their loved ones a decent burial. Last week, as AIDS Day was celebrated on December 1 a concerned group got together to pause for a moment in remembrance of the AIDS victims and of hundreds of other probable AIDS patients in hiding.

'Safe Sex for a Healthy Future' read banners at the AIDS commemoration day at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. 'Stop discrimination and help create awareness' read some others. And another said 'We Remember You.'

For the past eleven months, at least one AIDS victim per month has been identified, according to Dr. Kamalika Abeyratna, Chairperson of ACCESS (AIDS Coalition for Care, Education and Support Services), the organizer of the memorial. According to her, the situation is serious, becoming worse and thus cannot be ignored.

Participants gathered in dim light to burn candles in memory of the many AIDS victims whose lives have been lost. With each burning candle the cause seemed less out of reach. As the melting wax ran through the fingers they read an oath.

'We believe even if one individual is infected it requires immediate action as he or she can unknowingly pass the virus to another person, that people with HIV and AIDS need love, acceptance, care and support, that every human being has the right to live with dignity. Therefore, we strongly oppose any form of discrimination and harassment. We believe every person should have access to medical care, social and other services available with no, that there is a need to create public awareness for social change by means of discrimination, public rallies and NGO networking. We believe that every person should be informed of the social, economic and political impact of HIV/AIDS.'

An AIDS quilt was held by the participants, each hand rotating thrice in acceptance. Embroidered with flowers, butterflies and triangles, the quilt symbolizes the 68 persons who never really got a chance to say goodbye to the world the way they would have hoped. Hand - made by family, friends, sex workers and volunteers with loving thoughts of the victims, it has been carefully made large enough to cover a coffin, symbolizing the lost lives.

"It is rarely that an AIDS patient receives an acceptable funeral. It is rarely that they feel appreciated. With this memorial we hope to let them know that we care," said Sherman de Rose, member of ACCESS and President of Companions on a Journey.

For 26-year-old Prasad Palihawadana, participating at the candlelight memorial, it was not merely another event but a cause close to his heart. "I have seen many people die from AIDS. And I have lost people known to me as well. They were ostracised and not given a decent funeral," he said.

"You want deep within yourself to remember them. They live in fear not knowing who will cast them out next," said Janaka Solomon (29) from Rajagiriya, another participant.

Dr. Mallika Ganasinghe, participant and member of the coalition said that this was not only about AIDS patients but also about helpless sex workers who are being marginalised.

"People are most often not given the opportunity in life to get away from prostitution. And they should be a concern. An AIDS patient undergoes psychological trauma and fear at many stages, starting with having to face the fact of being HIV positive, to revealing it to family and coping with it socially. Friends and family are also dragged through the discrimination," she said.

"Every time I look into the eyes of these people I feel the self-pity and helplessness they are faced with. And that is what we ought to rid these people of. That is our objective," she said.

Where do you go...

Condoms, since their introduction twenty years back, were predicted to be the most popular form of AIDS prevention. But officials regret that they have not played as big a role as expected.

Family Planning Association officials say condom sales have not seen an increase. "Sales are almost the same as when condoms were first introduced. The problem may lie in the public not being aware of how to use condoms," said Field Director of the Association Mr. Abeysinghe.

At the same time, sexual activist unions say that access to condoms is limited. Sherman de Rose, President of Companions on a Journey complained that each male in Sri Lanka averages only three condoms an year. "We have volunteers going to beaches, cinemas etc., encouraging people to use condoms but when they want to get one these people don't know where to go," he said.

According to marketing officers of the Family Planning Association some 9000 sales outlets around the island have been established. But some coin booths with condoms have been forced to close especially in Kandy due to problems from vendors.

"They have been broken and the money stolen," said Association officials, who add this makes it difficult for them to maintain the only confidential access to condoms.

Social activists argue that the public has not been well informed on how to use condoms. They say that with a majority of people in Sri Lanka being very conservative, it is unlikely that a person would walk to a store and ask for a condom and this is why machines would prove to be the best method.

What can be done about the situation?

Create as much awareness as possible on how to use a condom and where one could get it, for incorrect usage is also seen as a reason for the poor response.

As for making them more accessible, the association in collaboration with social activists and NGOs is doing its best to run information campaigns.

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