Speaking out against AIDS discrimination<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Tonight, a candle is lit -- for you, for friends
\nwith shared feelings and for those who have already preceded us.
\nThese are the words from a poem titled Together Building Hope,
\nwritten by Suzana Murni and recited from memory by Rachmawati
\nfrom Bandungwangi, who works for a sex worker cooperative in
\nNorth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
There were perhaps 100 of us crammed into a small youth center
\nmeeting hall in Warakas, one of the poorest areas of Jakarta,
\nclose by the port. Beside members of the local youth group and
\nBandungwangi, there were also several representatives from the
\nlocal branch of the Family Welfare Movement.<\/p>\n
The district head, (lurah), was there as guest of honor,
\ntogether with several of the local community heads. We were all
\nthere in solidarity with thousands of others around the globe who
\nwould be commemorating the 17th International AIDS Candlelight
\nMemorial on the same day. We had just lit our candles, and the
\nroom hushed as Rachmawati continued reciting.<\/p>\n
I witness in my mind's eye as your body is wrapped in plastic\/
\nwhile your soft blanket that I recognize is thrown into a hot
\nflame ... She, like many of us, can no longer control the tears,
\nwhich roll down her cheeks. Although I have heard this poem read
\na hundred times, it always has the same effect on me.<\/p>\n
Earlier, another speaker asked why it was that, even when we
\nnow all know how HIV is -- and is not -- spread, only last month
\nthe body of a person who died of AIDS in Jakarta was sent to a
\ncrematorium nailed into a simple coffin, the body unwashed and
\nwrapped in plastic while still in hospital robes. It is this kind
\nof inhumanity and indignity which triggered the first Candlelight
\nMemorial in 1983. Surely after 20 years of the epidemic, we
\nshould have learned?<\/p>\n
Tonight I light this candle for you\/ for all the meaning that
\nyou gave me of life and love. The poem takes on a brighter note,
\nbut Rachmawati's tears still fall. Later we will all join
\ntogether to sing a song written many years ago by James F. Sundah
\nfor children, Little Candles. This simple song was \"adopted\" by
\nThe Candlelight in Indonesia in 1996, and is now sung at every
\ncommemoration.<\/p>\n
What drove the Warakas youth group to organize this
\ncommemoration? And the others to attend? Few if any have had any
\ndirect contact with AIDS. So far, it has hardly touched their
\ncommunity. It's a question I often find myself asking as, once
\nmore, Indonesia is listed with the second highest number of
\ngroups participating in The Candlelight, not far behind the U.S.<\/p>\n
Somehow our candles unite us with other groups with similar
\naims -- like Bandungwangi. We all see in AIDS a reflection of the
\nills sweeping through our society, the intolerance, suspicion,
\nviolence toward women and children, and the strife which has
\nengulfed so many parts of the country.<\/p>\n
Such ills so often form a fertile breeding ground in which the
\nAIDS epidemic develops.<\/p>\n
Embrace love which makes us feel strong and willing to face
\nall challenges;\/ love's miracle that lives on because life is
\nindeed precious.<\/p>\n
The poem ends. Silence. You cannot applaud that type of
\nperformance, those words. The strains of the Little Candles
\nbrings us all back down to earth as we start singing with all our
\nhearts.<\/p>\n
--Chris W. Green<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/speaking-out-against-aids-discrimination-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }