Access of Evil
by Jeff Berry
This past July I attended the 5th International AIDS Society Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. On Sunday, the opening day of the conference, I took part in a march which had been organized by the Treatment Action Campaign to raise awareness around the lack of access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) in South Africa.
Upon my arrival at the opening ceremony, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands of individuals who had already gathered at a local park, many of them who had been brought in from the surrounding townships, wearing red T-shirts emblazoned with the words “HIV Positive.â€
There were a number of local community activists who spoke, calling for access to the lifesaving drugs that we here in the U.S. take for granted. Their goal, they said, is to obtain access to ARVs for 80% of South Africans who need them by the year 2011.
As the march got underway, there was spirited singing and chanting among the demonstrators, while those in passing cars cheered them on. A police escort led them through the city streets towards the convention center, where another rally was held which coincided with the opening session of the conference.
At one point, as I looked out over this sea of red and all these people publicly showing support for those living with HIV, many of them HIV-positive themselves, it really hit home the extent to which HIV affects the people in South Africa, and even the entire African continent. And while I realize there were large groups who marched in the U.S. during the early days of ACT UP, I wondered if we’d ever see this kind of support, on this scale, ever again in our own country.
The problems surrounding access in South Africa however are taking place in our country today, albeit on a much smaller scale, but they are just as urgent, with the consequences just as deadly.
The problem is the various issues of access for those behind bars, as well as the poor, the disabled and those without insurance. Access to prevention messages, access to proper medical care, access to antiretrovirals, access to condoms, access to help in dealing with substance abuse issues, and the list goes on and on. We need to raise awareness around this situation in our own backyard.
Here in the U.S., we have created and built upon a model of self-empowerment and self-advocacy for people living with HIV and, thus far, it has served us well. But the very notion of self-empowerment seems to be the antithesis of incarceration. Yes, to be fair, I suppose the goal of incarceration is to hold people accountable for their actions, to punish those who have broken the law and have them pay their debt to society, and hopefully, in the process, rehabilitate them. But in the process we’ve stripped them of their ability to choose for themselves. We tell them what, when, and where to eat, sleep, exercise, and go to the bathroom. And then when they get out we expect them to make wise and healthy choices for themselves?
In this issue of Positively Aware, you’ll read about some amazing people who are doing the work right here, right now, and in our own backyard. Folks like Dr. Chad Zawitz, who works with incarcerated individuals in Chicago, many of them with HIV, and helps them learn about the options and the choices that they do have. And the Rev. Doris Green, who is a tireless advocate for those who are or have been in the correctional system, and helps them and their families to work to build a better future. And Arick Buckles, someone who’s been there, and learned how to start over again, and has created a future for himself.
But where are the marches? Where are the outcries? Where are the demonstrations? The infection rates in many prisons and jails far exceed the rates in some developing countries, and they are disproportionately affecting people of color. We need to raise awareness, and be willing to make some tough choices, and have some candid conversations about sex, drugs, and HIV in the correctional setting. If we continue to bury our heads in the sand, it will only be a matter of time before those infections will come back to haunt us in our own communities.
Take care of yourself, and each other.
Jeff Berry, Editor
