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Breaking the Silence for Australian Youths |
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The
first of XIII International AIDS conferences to be held in a developing
country, Durban 2000 'Break the silence', was undeniably a great success.
However, this was not due to the scientific break throughs of new treatments,
policy or vaccine developments. It was successful for far more humbling
reasons, the ability for conference co-ordinators and leaders to address
and focus on failures while only acknowledging successes, and not vice versa.
It is only by being willing to learn from our mistakes that we can achieve
the kind of solidarity necessary to impact on this virus the way it is impacting
on us.
The conference followed a program that bridged issues of the individual both infected & affected with research priorities and policies. Interlinking the scientific with the community responses of over 12,000 delegates drawn together world wide to fight one common goal relevant to all fields of interest -to break the silences of HIV/AIDS. The general attitude
amongst the majority of delegates including those from Africa seemed to
portray the idea that it is the so called first world countries that are
leading the fight against AIDS. This was emphasised by the large focus
on access to treatments in the developing world. I have no argument against
this, it is a human right to be able to access the resources, including
medication required to maintain and improve your state of health. After
all, we are the privileged ones that often take for granted the basic
necessities so readily available to the majority of us, such as good nutrition,
housing, and health care.
We refer to South
Africa as a developing country, however I didn't feel that enough emphasis
was placed on the achievements of its communities in regards to the wide
spread social acceptance and awareness of AIDS that I witness while travelling
there. This made me question who is really leading the fight against AIDS?
Do we as Australians really need to wait until the problem grows before
we are prepared to wake up and pay attention? All the medical treatments
in the world cannot help people who are naive, and who continue to put
themselves at risk of infection. At this point in time we have no proven
vaccine, and many treatments turn out to be more of a hindrance than help
for the majority of patients taking them. However, we do have one reliable
defence against this disease, and that is the simple spreading of the
message and understanding that AIDS IS PREVENTABLE. It was obvious to me that it was the youth of Africa who were making the greatest impact in spreading this message, regardless of differing views on abstinence V's protection in regards to prevention measures. It was the few young African delegates whom I connected with during the conference that had the greatest impact on me. They inspired me to take the initiative to break the silence here in my own country, not just for myself but for the wider youth community, using my own voice as a young person that has grown up affected by AIDS. This incredible experience and inspiration has become the focus for my energy and involvement within the positive community. Support groups that
aim to bring together young people who are infected and affected by AIDS
as well as those just wanting to educate themselves and their peers do
exist in many countries, including other first world countries, but not
in Australia. After deciding to postpone my studies with the full support
of La Trobe University, I have chosen to focus on launching such a group
here. The object of the
group will be to help youth rather than be comprised entirely of young
people. My intention is to form a group that has no discriminatory restrictions
due to gender, sexual preference or age, but rather have an inclusive
membership that brings together all people interested in promoting peer
support and awareness amongst the broader community of young people, including
those that are infected and affected by AIDS. The level of naivety regarding HIV/AIDS amongst young Australians is incredibly high. This puts the young people of this country in a very high-risk category. The information they require in most cases is not available through school or from their parents, and many young people rely on the excuse that the system has failed them, they expect to be told what they need to know and think that whatever they don't hear doesn't affect them. I would like to EMPOWER young people, my peers, to realise that it is both their right and responsibility to be informed about AIDS. This is something that is a potential health risk for all naive people growing up in the face of this disease. Young people get
as much information from their peers as they do from their parents and
teachers, so it is vital that as many young people who have been touch
by AIDS can pass on reliable information to their own age groups. I hope
that the formation of this youth group will provide an avenue through
which young people can achieve this, whilst also facilitating their rights
and responsibilities to access reliable information about HIV/AIDS. I am a true believer in the saying that 'from little things big things grow', and it has been the inspiration of Durban 2000 that has lead me to want to help break the silence for Australian youths.
Story added to the
site in 2000. |
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