According to the Gleaner today, the Ministry of Health and Environment have revealed that AIDS is the second leading cause of death for youths between the ages of 15 and 24.
"Youth in school and out of school are called upon to champion the cause by example. Schools are no-sex zones and the National HIV/STI Programme (NHP) calls on youth to keep and promote schools as no-sex zones," Rudyard Spencer, minister of health and environment, said in his World AIDS Day message.
90 per cent of persons infected with the disease, got infected while engaging in heterosexual practice. There are some 21 per cent of persons who are infected with the disease did not report high-risk behaviors.
This was the cartoon in today's Jamaican Observer. I feel that more education needs to be given to the school children at an early age. Not talking about sex is not going to have it go away, In 1991 the Jamaican Aids Soiety was founded. It is the largest Aids, Human Rights, Non Goverment Organization in Jamaica. The JAS currently has 3 chapters, 33 members of staff and over 300 volunteers.
In a recent report from the United Nations Development AIDS programme, of the 27,000 Jamaicans living with HIV, it is estimated that 18,000 are unaware of their status.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Health, Jamaica has now adopted a a National AIDS/HIV workplace policy. The policy it seems will enable countries to screen employees for the virus as a means of preventing the spread of the disease. There is also support for many who have already contracted the disease.
I don't know how I feel about this. Is it and invasion of privacy? Aids still has so many bad stigmas to it. I can imagine and employer who finds out his employee has AIDS or HIV POSITIVE might use this as a means to have them fired or (with the current homophobic atmosphere on the island) place them in danger.
What happens when the investigations turn to the schools? I fear for the young children who already have the virus. Being ostracized is the least of the concerns.
Jamaica’s leading gay rights activist, was murdered in his home, his body mutilated by multiple knife wounds. Within an hour after his body was discovered, a Human Rights Watch researcher witnessed a crowd gathered outside the crime scene. A smiling man called out, “Battyman [homosexual] he get killed!” Many others celebrated Williamson’s murder, laughing and calling out, “let’s get them one at a time,” “that’s what you get for sin,” “let’s kill all of them.” Some sang “boom bye bye,” a line from a popular Jamaican song about killing and burning gay men.
The Aids epidemic in Jamaica is on the rise, primarily because of the silence. It has more to do with ignorance then anything else. Aids is not a "GAY DISEASE." It is a disease that can affect anyone, kids,women or men. With the rise of drugs in Jamaica, sharing the needle is also sharing the disease.
Because HIV/AIDS and homosexuality often are associate, people living with HIV/AIDS and organizations providing HIV/AIDS education and services have also been targeted. Both state and private actors join violent threats against gay men with threats against HIV/AIDS educators and people living with HIV/AIDS. In July 2004, for example, the Jamaican Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) received an email threatening to gun down “gays and homosexuals” and “clean up” a group that provided HIV/AIDS education for youth. In a 2003 case, a police officer told a person living with HIV/AIDS that he must be homosexual and threatened to kill him if he did not “move [his] AIDS self from here.
In interviews with people living with HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch found that health workers often mistreated people living with HIV/AIDS, providing inadequate care and sometimes denying treatment altogether. Doctors failed to conduct adequate medical examinations of people living with HIV/AIDS, sometimes refusing even to touch them. And, in some cases, lack of treatment in the initial stages made it even less likely that people living with HIV/AIDS would receive health care services at a later date. Visible symptoms heightened the discrimination they faced, which in turn created further barriers to obtaining treatment. People suffering from visible HIV-related symptoms were sometimes denied passage on public and private transportation, making it difficult to obtain any medical care at facilities beyond walking distance.
People come and visit Jamaica and see the beauty of the island, while the truth remains hidden. The ugly side of hatred and fear borne from years of misconceptions and lies. Jamaica’s failure to take action to stop human rights abuses committed by state agents, to take measures to protect against abuses by state and private actors, and to ensure access to HIV/AIDS information and services to all Jamaicans violate its obligations as a state party to regional and international human rights treaties.
In recognition of the growing problem with Aids in Jamaica I am gearing this post about the influence of Sexual Lyrics in Dancehall and whether or not it should be a responsibility of the artist or artists to monitor themselves.
The fact is most Reggae Artist have very young listeners, (especially in Jamaica). Music is the spirit of the Jamaican Soul. It was through music that many of the slaves were able to endure working in the cane fields (similar to the Western experience of the blacks in the Cotton Fields).
One artist I that was always bringing some positive vibes to us was Bob Marley. That is not to say Bob didn't have his slackness tunes as well. He made commercial success though by marketing the positive aspects of the reggae sounds
I find in Jamaica, where the Aids epidemic is so very high that it IS the the artist responsibility to make sure they monitor the contents of their lyrics. Sometimes people have a tendancy to act on the words of the entertainers, so they should know the message they are sending. Two songs come to my mind instantly. (Tek Buddy Gyal and Elephant Man's "Bring Yuh P---- ) Mavado has a recent hit with "Force It Up"
When I see a little 3 year old whining up herself and doing the "dutty whine dance," I don't think it is cute at all. Can music breed promiscuity. I believe it can. Music sets the mood and tune for many things we feel emotionally in life. I never saw anyone making love to " Theme from 007 by James Bond." I can however see people doing it like Luther Vandross or Marvin Gaye."
Several Artist such as Ce'Cile will be performing tomorrow in Africa Jamaican Observer, that she felt it was her duty as an artist to help raise awareness.
I fear those as long as Sex is sells records, that in Jamaica it will always be a #1 best seller for all artist that feel they have to go that route.
