Catch Our Fall
By Isaac H.
Just like a moment, everything could fade, and that’s what’s going on with the Jordanian citizens’ knowledge on AIDS and HIV and on the whole gay community stand, and as untrue that is, it’s happening by the worst ways! Since last year till now, the media has been on the attack of the gay community with brutal words and the discrimination of their unfair points, incomplete, untrue and misleading news and articles turning a shedding heart against them, giving an example out of many, the fake interview a weekly tabloid paper (we hold on publishing it’s name) made last year with “a gay” guy called Ramez, were he claimed homosexuality is a disease, not only that the news paper had confirmed that in continuous articles about homosexuals (PS. All major mental health organizations, including The American Psychiatric Association; APA, declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, and it isn’t considered a disease nor a mental disorder anymore, at least not since 1973, which proves the lack of knowledge those papers are onto, therefore science is proving and onto clues that homosexuality is genetic, and you know you can’t argue with science!) However, using the power of speech to root the generational hate to the gay community and erasing the open mind ready-to-be brains, yet, this is all a different issue from what I’m onto, which is, most of the media is casting the blame of HIV and AIDS on the gay community!
Here we start this convo right out to the public; (straight, gay, and media), about the real story of HIV and the growth of its issue, and how the media isn’t helping while it should be! For the last couple of months the media had been on a continuous attack about the meeting; (27/4/2008), that was held by The National Human Rights Center on spreading awareness and the development on the AIDS program to include more categories that could include “people” who can get affected by this (not-yet) curable disease, with the giving rights for those whom are uninfected, and protecting them from not falling into the HIV loop. This meeting, which was supported by the Ministry of Health and The National AIDS Program in Jordan, aimed for a higher awareness on the issue. According to an HIV report JO magazine had published, “That activists say it isn’t enough and unless some of the holes in the current system aren’t fixed and focused on soon, Jordan could be in trouble.”- (JO magazine November 2006).
“Luckily Jordan is considered to be in a low prevalence when it comes to HIV and AIDS,” Said Dr. Basam Hijawi from The National AIDS Program in Jordan. “the percentage of the people who tested positive for HIV won’t climb higher than 0,1%, that includes Jordanians and foreigners.”, “And even though Jordan is classified to be in a low prevalence, we can’t depend on numbers, but we have to keep looking and searching, to avoid more cases in the coming years, because if not, the percentage could reach 3.5% in ten years” Stated Dr. Hijawi; -(Al Arabi al Youm-Al Gad 28/4/2008). And according to the Ministry of Health, 58 people had tested HIV positive in the year 2007.
Even though People like Ahmad A’abaidat calls to give the AIDS and HIV patients their rights, raising awareness, and helping protecting the rest of the citizens, other papers post articles indirectly attacking the gay community, and the campaign that could’ve helped raise awareness not only among the gay community in Jordan, but for the entire country, therefore, pushing the campaign to be post poned.
When it comes to living and dealing with the HIV, life could get darker in one’s view, therefore, his rights and help must be provided whether it’s emotional which the family takes part in it, or medical where centers and programs take care of them. “The rights of the people who tested HIV positive or carries AIDS, are cut short in hand, and aren’t complete, which hold them back from seeking help in the governmental health centers or else, which leads to increase the percentage of the spreading AIDS” said Dr. Hijawai. And as many do miss understand on how you could catch it from HIV positive people, HIV won’t be transmitted to you by daily life activities, not by touching, not by breathing face to face, and certainly not even by kissing, unless you’re exchanging 30 litters of saliva which is impossible! We need to be sympathetic and considerate to such issues.
However, there’s this theory I’d like to call it “The Mini Cooper Theory!” I know a friend who owns this Mini Cooper car, and he always told me how he thinks that he and other people who own a Mini Cooper car do feel like they have this connection going on, like they’re in a sorority or something! Even though he’s talking about strange people he never even know, his point was proven, when we were waiting in this drive through at the Hardees restaurant, then my friend did wave him and flashed him a light; it’s like “hello there I’m a mini too!”. After we ordered and waited for our turn, we chatted till our turn came up. When we took our order, we wanted to pay for our order, the staff told us that our friend in the red mini that was here already paid! Then the red mini flashed us a light from a far. (FYI, this is a true story!), you see what I’m talking about, it’s like people need to support each other even if they belong under one category or not and even if you don’t know them at all, so for this world to be in a better place, and that’s what the media should do, help, trust, and support and never take sides, because at the end, what makes a good journalist is, never taking sides nor putting his/her outer look and personal opinion into an article that is about to be published to the world to read. You need to think that the power of making a change could be possessed by a simple paper and pen. This could be the boldest article I write or this magazine ever featured, but by it, we only claim for more awareness. We claim for more support and maybe a change.