AIDS in Irian Jaya

Congratulations on your fine and accurate reporting on the HIV/AIDS situation faced by the community at Merauke, Irian Jaya (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 14, 1994/Features).

However, to avoid another kind of scapegoating Yayasan Mitra Indonesia feels it necessary to comment on two allegations reported to be made by our team members while working there. The two stories, (1) that "(people) put (news)papers on bus seats (to avoid contracting AIDS by casual contact)" and (2) that "the (Thai) fishermen are former criminals (with disproportionately high rates of HIV infection) who provide cheap labor for the Thai fishing companies", have been around for some time and were told by the locals to our team members.

Had your correspondent interviewed the local people instead of our team members, she would have heard the same stories told. Therefore, we are not the origin of the stories, nor are we accountable for the accuracy of those allegations.

Not reported in your article, however, is another allegation that has been around for some time, and is much more disconcerting. It has been said that some women of the indigenous tribe around Merauke--who were not prostitutes by profession--often boarded the Thai ships to exchange sex for money. It has been said that the local health authorities did not have the means to access these people. They could only access the professional prostitutes--who were transmigrants from Java and other islands--who resided in the local officially designated prostitution area.

Currently, a local indigenous non-governmental organization (NGO) is very much concerned about this situation. Should HIV enter this community, and no prompt actions taken, it could cause major devastation, the magnitude of which is comparable to the one suffered by this same tribe during the 1910s when a considerable segment of its population was wiped out by venereal disease. At this time the leaders of the said NGO are preparing to launch an educational campaign among the people of this tribe, and we at Mitra Indonesia are committed to help them. The educational material will take into account the cultural habits of the tribe, and condom use will probably comprise its main message.

Hopefully your fine article will enlighten the government and other parties on the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS threat faced by the local community--especially the local indigenous tribe.

Hopefully they will take appropriate, prompt, and adequate actions to eliminate the threat completely.

HUDOYO HUPUDIO

Director

Yayasan Mitra Indonesia

Jakarta