RI holds AIDS candlelight vigil
RI holds AIDS candlelight vigil
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians gathered for the fist time on Sunday
night to commemorate the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
and Mobilization.
In Jakarta, more than 1,000 AIDS campaigners -- many of them
teenagers -- massed at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center to
pray for those who have died of the disease and console those who
live with it.
The participants lit candles to signify the undying hope in
people living with AIDS and HIV. They sang Lilin-lilin Kecil
(Little Candles), led by its composer James F. Sundah.
The memorial has been held in other parts of the world since
1984 to remind people of the dangers of the disease transmitted
through the exchange of body fluids.
Similar ceremonies took place in 30 other cities in 18
provinces throughout Indonesia.
"Those who have AIDS and HIV should not feel that life has
lost its meaning. Never give up hope. Many people are willing to
help," Jakarta's deputy governor of public welfare R.S. Museno
said.
On hand were prominent AIDS campaigner and legislator Nafsiah
Mboi, assistant to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare's
Suyono Yahya, Director General of Communicable Disease Control
and Environmental Health Hadi M. Abednego and several other
public figures.
The annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial and
Mobilization, which was first started in 1984, was held in more
than 300 cities in 50 countries this year.
The theme for the international memorial is "AIDS
Discrimination is a Global Endemic", while the local theme is
"Together We Build Hope", which is considered more relevant here.
In Jakarta, the participants crowded around stands providing
information on AIDS and HIV.
The event was enlivened with a seminar and messages aimed at
improving people's awareness about AIDS. These included poetry
reading, and displays of paintings and photographs.
Gita, a student taking part in the seminar, said she hoped
HIV/AIDS would be included in the school curriculum in the
future. "Currently, students get information on AIDS from
unreliable sources and this could be dangerous."
G.M. Sudarta, a leading caricaturist, explained that people
with AIDS/HIV and those who are healthy are not very different.
All people will naturally die, he said. The difference is that
death usually comes sooner for people with AIDS/HIV, he added.
According to the Ministry of Health, 401 people in Indonesia
have been reported to have contracted AIDS/HIV.
Jakarta still tops the list with 139 HIV and AIDS carriers,
Irian Jaya is second with 102, Bali and East Java each have 33
and Riau has 29. (31)