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Letters to GayToday |
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HIV/AIDS: Stigma and Discrimination
At the XIV International AIDS Conference 2002, Nelson Mandela said, "Stigma, discrimination and ostracism are the real killers." People living with illness are no different from anyone else, except for their disease. Prior to this, they were hard working people, contributing to society. Once sick, they are expected to do without and not have those things they had in their life before sickness! Why do we allow this? Many people have nothing due to the lack of funding and the effort it has taken for them to survive through their illness. People should be entitled to the right to a quality and standard of living, which promotes wellness and healing, not death and dying. There are people dying due to the stress on an already stressed and suppressed immune system. There is added stress due to a lack of funds available to support nutritional diet and good health. Proper nutrition is necessary for HIV infected individuals, as those who eat well feel better compared to those who consume a less than adequate diet. Malnutrition can compromise their ability to fight off infection. The stress that people are enduring while trying to maintain a home, food, and health is putting them at risk of continued health problems. This in turn means they are in greater need of medical attention! We should be making good nutrition a high priority in AIDS treatment! My concern and disappointment is directed at the lack of consideration given to the present situation of poverty, poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation and housing for people living with HIV. These issues are of the utmost importance to individuals who are trying to maintain their health and living. The present situation is driving people below poverty, affecting their health and forcing them to live in standards no one would want to experience! People, who have worked and contributed to society, should not be subjected to living in inadequate conditions due to health and inability to work when diagnosed with a life threatening disease! A call for action is necessary. The present situation dictates that these are vital necessities for people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the world! Since many people infected with HIV have neither the health nor energy to work towards creating awareness and change, it is my intention to speak through my experience for those whom I hope will benefit. Ignoring the importance of meeting these needs will bring an ever-increasing cost to our health care systems and us worldwide. A simple exercise in these directions and implementation would have an enormous impact on the fight against AIDS! We are all here together, connected. Nothing is happening to just one of us, but affecting ALL of us! Illness and poverty can strike any one of us, at any time! What is happening affects us all. We can no longer look at others or view other places in the world where people are sick and dying and continue to neglect caring for them, without recognizing how it affects society. We have the means to provide all that is necessary, but we will have to work together to correct the global imbalance. The richer countries have a moral responsibility to help out poorer countries. We have been warned by science that we are faced with an ever-increasing battle -- the battle against the bug! Every country is at risk of every disease. Here in North America, many people take for granted our quality of life, while others here and elsewhere in the world are faced with poverty, poor sewage and sanitation, famine, drought, environmental devastation and disease, along with millions of people dying. These are problems facing us all. These very same circumstances affect people in every part of the world. We cannot continue to allow millions to suffer and millions to die and expect we will not be affected. We have to make the necessary changes and care for one another. If HIV and AIDS have not brought this realization, then surely West Nile, SARS, Mad Cow, Monkey Pox and Ebola are convincing enough! It is time to realize that it is only a matter of time before this major global epidemic will affect each and every one of us and that possibly, we will have to deal with some other new bug as well! This is happening already. Look at the impact of SARS and its effects on health care, travel, tourism, jobs, our economy and relationships with other countries. We would do well to pay attention and learn from the enormous poverty, illness and deaths worldwide caused by HIV/AIDS. At the XIV International AIDS Conference in 2002, Nelson Mandela in his closing speech said, "AIDS is a war against humanity." There is no doubt this situation is going to have an enormous effect on all our lives. When will our eyes be opened to what is going on all around us?
Bradford McIntyre Trikone: Special Issue on Immigration: Call for Submissions Submissions are sought for a special issue of Trikone, to be edited by Ruth Vanita, on South Asian LGBT People's Experiences with Immigration Laws and Authorities. Topics may include: separation or reunion of same-sex couples due to immigration laws; difficulties or successes of LGBT people bringing partners/children/parents as immigrants; same-sex marriage/civil union and immigration law; political asylum for LGBT people;employment and immigration; HIV/AIDS and immigration, being openly LGBT while immigrating. Countries may include the U.S., Canada, the U.K., European countries, Australia, New Zealand, South Asian and any other relevant countries. Please send queries and suggestions to: ruth.vanita@umontana.edu Deadline for submissions: February 15, also to Ruth. Please forward this announcement to anyone who may be interested. Ruth Vanita The Best and Worst Movies of 2003:
After seeing My Life On Ice - the year's other video masterpiece - I feel
certain that this is a valid, true reflection of my enthusiasms over new
ideas and visions at the movies 2003. Each good-to-great film responds in
unique, special ways to contemporary (social, personal) spiritual needs,
while the bad ones exploit them. This list is tight.
The Best Movies of 2003: 1. In America 2. Together 3. Porn Theater 4. My Life On Ice 5. The Company 6. Intolerable Cruelty 7. The Good Thief 8. Peter Pan 9. Phone Booth 10. Stuck On You Special Mention: Baltimore / Paradise Omeros (Gallery Installations) Come Into My World (Music Video) Warming by the Devil's Fire (Television Documentary) Runners-Up (Alphabetical): - Biker Boyz - The Cat In the Hat - Confusion of Genders - El Bonaerense - Gigli - The Lizzie Maguire Movie - Marci X - Open Range - The Rundown - Willard Worst: 1. Spider 2. Identity 3. Daredevil 4. The Matrix: Regurgitated and The Matrix: Revulsions 5. Elephant
John Demetry Ft. Lauderdale: Merrill Lynch to Sponsor a GLBT Seminar
On Tuesday, January 20, 2004 at 6:00PM, the Stonewall Library & Archives will host a
seminar on financial and estate planning for the GLBT community. The program,
sponsored by Merrill Lynch, will provide information for individuals and domestic
partners. Topics to be discussed include the unmarried penalty for gift and estate
taxes and community property issues specific to gay and lesbian couples and
individuals.
David Ratcliffe, Director for the Center for Philanthropic Planning, and Jeff Shover, Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor of Merrill Lynch will be the speakers. Refreshments will be provided by Storks Bakery and Cafe. Please join us for this interesting, varied, and timely program on Tuesday, January 20, 6:00PM. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Call Nate Klarfeld, Chair, Author Series, at 954-568-9484 for reservations and further information. The Stonewall Library & Archives is located at 1717 N. Andrews Ave (inside the GLCC) Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Nate Klarfeld |
Activist Bradford McIntyre