MESSAGE
FROM PIAF'S FOUNDER, MISS MAIRE BOPP
I
have often been asked what motivated me to tell my story?
Why I got involved in advocacy? But no one has ever doubted
the positive impact of it. Being able to talk about it,
confidently, honestly, has been gratefully appreciated,
but more importantly, it has helped people change their
lives in a way that no other awareness campaign would have.
I
often reply, ' Maybe I do it for those who do not have the
strength to do it.' But in fact I have less ambition to
talk for others than simply to do what I felt was ' normal'
I
have never understood the negative social implications that
came with HIV. And I still felt it was unfair when I myself
got infected. Why the rejection, why the antipathy? Why
can' t HIV positive people get a loan? Why a young man cannot
attend his own church but has to walk to neighbouring village
church? Why a 16-year-old is kicked out of his family home
and village when disclosing his status to his parents? Why
a wife and mother loses her husband, son, job and family?
Why people are hung, beaten to death, tied to a tree, or
stuck under a house and fed like a pig?
So,
I felt like it was a ' normal' thing to tell everyone. '
HIV is not contagious, it is transmissible and preventable!
But HIV can affect anyone!” and HIV is hard to handle
sometimes. Yet life carries on; lifestyles can become, in
some ways, even healthier! But, HIV kills eventually, if
we do not take care, if we do not have safe practices and
most important if we do not talk about it.
Every
step I made in the last four years of advocacy was motivated
by the thought of elevating people' s knowledge and heart.
For me, ignorance and complacency have allowed the spread
of the virus and revealed the evil that exists in many of
us, even the most Christian among us, provoking hate and
suffering instead of love and joy.
Each
of us is responsible for these human tragedies. We are responsible
for the shame and fears we have projected to the point where
he/she would rather ignore HIV, suffer alone, commit suicide,
or/and seek revenge by willfully contaminating others. It
is what we say, or don' t say, what we do, or don' t do,
that creates and perpetuates the kinds of attitudes that
have deprived the AIDS movement of some of its best advocates.
Today,
while I still enjoy meeting with communities and school,
I see the need to ' continue the fight' against HIV/AIDS
in such a way that takes better account of the key role
PLWHA can play to boost more effective awareness campaigns.
And to direct part of the fight to answering their basic
needs and right to life!
I
first shared the vision of the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation
before a health meeting hosted by the Asia Pacific Alliance,
in Christchurch, NZ during October 2000. I knew no one in
the room other than SPC Senior Deputy-Director, Dr. Jimmie
Rodgers. I had met him for the first time on my arrival
under the heavy rain of Auckland and its domestic airport.
I did not know that our roads were crossing for a bigger
plan until he stood up right after my speech and backed
my vision strongly, reinforcing the idea in an English I
could never speak… for me, that moment was magic!
We had planted the seed! I believe PIAF would not have grown
as fast and as well without Dr. Jimmie Rodgers personal
commitment. The establishment of PIAF had been further assisted
thanks to a most appreciated donation from Canadian MAC
Cosmetics, input from lawyer Brett Gibson and of course,
the energetic partnership of the Cook Islands Red Cross
Director, Niki Rattle, who is the second trustee. And from
now on the strong support of the Cook Islands government
and the sustained assistance of the SPC and its qualified
staff are now playing a key role to make the vision a reality
and ensure a viable development of the Foundation.
Little
did I know when first disclosing my HIV just how far I would
go in the AIDS movement. Thanks to love, support and advice
from my dearest family, friends and supporters, I make this
new step forward remembering that I am only the channel
for the vision and hopes of literally thousands of people.
PIAF belongs to the people living with HIV/AIDS in the Pacific
Islands. It will work for and with them to provide a positive
change; the goal is reachable if Governments, Non Government
Organizations, businesses, donors and others work in partnership
to answer this call, to help reduce ignorance with knowledge,
unfair discrimination with solidarity, and isolation with
care, to together provide better prevention activities.
Better medical care for all the Pacific Islanders is achievable,
for example, if solidarity is tightened between French and
US Pacific territories, where there is good access for PLWHA
to good medical care, with the other island states.
For
many years, our ocean has preserved the Pacific islanders
from the epidemic, but it also represents a major obstacle
to linking our islands and to disseminate education and
medical support. Distance will remain the main barrier if
we can' t mange our resources; maintain stability and ensure
a peaceful environment. These are the keys to achievement
in nations like PNG where the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS
requires massive assistance.
There
are officially over 8,000 HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the
Pacific islands up to the present date. It is believed that
this number underestimates the reality because testing and
screening in our region is low and non-existent in some
islands. We've got to help slow down the further spread
of the virus. Otherwise in 10 to 15 years down the road,
with the limited prospect of cure and our small resources,
our families will be swept away, leaving behind hundreds
of orphans. Only now are we beginning to understand, through
what is happening in Africa, how this virus is not just
a ' health crisis' but also seriously undermines economic
development. At the same time, on a human scale, we have
to look after the growing number of adults, teenagers and
babies affected with HIV/AIDS. They, we, all deserve care
and love!
I
believe that ' keeping it secret' is unhealthy at the individual,
community, and national level, although I am convinced that
' going public' should be the result of a thinking process.
PLWHA must be given the support that will empower them to
tell their story, standing up for their right to free HIV
drugs, to a cure, to a vaccine, for equal opportunities
and social understanding, for their dignity. Of course,
there are things that we might never be able to change.
We can' t help losing our loved one if she/he thinks that
HIV is a risk to his/her life, but we can preserve our family
and friends' love. We can' t undo being HIV, but we can
work to provide drugs to all until there' s a cure for all.
We can' t force private companies to give us equal opportunities,
but we can get our governments to implement positive laws.
As
the living legend, Madiba Rohlilala Nelson Mandela said
at the close of the International AIDS 2002 Conference:
'HIV/AIDS is a war against humanity! Don' t be ashamed!
Speak out! Because if you keep quite you are signing your
own death warrant.'
We
are lucky: HIV has opened our eyes to life! If there is
a curse on those infected with HIV then it is, I am sure,
to teach people about tolerance and love.
Maire
Bopp |
