2.12.07

World Aids Day

It is important to keep referring to forgotten issues. HIV/AIDS is never spoken off in the Arab World. If it is, then with a mixture of derogatory and somewhat humiliating tone. There are no reliable statistics about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in th Arab region simply because people prefer not to know and more importantly because the lack of sufficient awareness raising activities and support to infected individuals.
Arab societies offer one solution to HIV/AIDS: abstinence. In a society were sexual relations are the most extreme of taboos, there is a segment of population that tends to outcast those who are infected (regardless of the means of infection). While stigmatising HIV+ is common elsewhere, it carries extra weight in Arab society due to its association with sex.
It is probably worth it to come out with real information about HIV/AIDS, providing other alternative solutions to avoiding infection (safe sex), facilitating access to health care and (if needed) rehabilitation services to these individuals. More and more people should speak up in order to be able to put a stop to this disease. The ridiculous "don't do it" is not really an answer. If people are not able to access information on HIV/AIDS it is likely to spread more.

5 comments:

Progressive Pinhead said...

Ned, I stumbled across your blog and liked it so much that I am linking to it. Here in the west were the Zionist propagandists dominate the discussion and one cannot criticize even the grossest of Israeli atrocities without being labeled a terrorist and a racist, among many other names which I will not repeat, it is nice to hear things from a Palestinian prospective for a change. I look forward to reading your blog on a regular basis and hope that I can gain some insight from someone who is actually living in Palestine that I could not get anywhere else.

Anonymous said...

i think thats why in arab regions the statistics shows large numbers of patients who got cancer

Anonymous said...

finally we got rid of the fucker

Ned said...

You're wrong gilad, I was out of the country and I was very busy. I am back now!

Anonymous said...

This is the teacher from Vermont, USA again.

This is another area that interests me. How is HIV/AIDS dealt with in Palestine? What are the cultural norms about homosexuality? What is the HIV rate among women like? In African countries, many women end up infected because they cannot refuse to sleep with their husbands but their husbands either abuse IV drugs or, more often, are being promiscuous. How does that compare to Palestine (or other Arab countries)?