reflecting the blogger's biases and prejudices..
So, the last day. The session was co-chaired by Dr Anita Radix (with links to Grenada) and Dr Jean Pape (with links to Haiti), two distinguished scientists. The first discussion by Dr Donald Simeon of CHRC said that HIV and chronic disease prevention are making good progress in the region, while there is no progress on mental health.. you could tell judging by some of the goings on in the regions, ah mean, mad people never say dey mad right?
So apparently tings not too bad by international standards, some countries better than others. Cuba doing good.
Suzette Moses Burton spoke of civil society involvement in HIV work, and gave the lesson of CRN+ (the website last update in 2007 before their global fund grant get pull). She spoke of the celebration of when they first got the grant, and how things started to go haywire for some reason. This resulted in devastation for the caribbean people living with HIV AIDS who were trying to organise themselves to better access services. Or in short, eye pass from the Global Fund.
The eye pass continues when it seemed that some donors say that they will not fund CRN plus unless CRN change its governance structure and the people there.
Marcus Day from CVC continued the discussion about civil society, moving from his normally brash tone to one which was a lil weird and sounded almost apologist for the donors who very picky and choosey and he talked about the two boarding passes which got to be handed in. He say CVC is not a gatekeeper,and that they have been able to establish a sex workers association and a trans association. Marcus say dat dere must be some harmony between the passion of civil society and the donors er procedures.. and den he talk about grinding, and CVC and Pancap grinding.i Now.. I get dizzy, what he and mr brown does grind? And something about how they like two stone dat grind until they get smooth.. now.. surely dat is not wat civil society supposed to do wid de donors.. safer sex includes frottage.. but this?
Marcus said that a recent sexual health workshop which involved health care providers and men of all sexual orientations was a good example of the kind of interactions which the donors need to support and fund and follow through. (Not sure if anybody grinding wid anybody dere)
The final panel was from Kerrel McKay from the Jamaican youth programme and the work being done to deal with young persons living with HIV AIDS. As with all Government programmes, it sound nice and so on. What I like , is how like Donnellis , she start up with the Bob Marley, Usain Bolt and White Beaches promoting Jamaica. Cynics like me want to say what about Beenie Man, Dudus Coke and Tivoli Gardens.. but Jamaicans like dat.. dey dont hold back on de positive. After her presentation, a paediatrician added to the discussion about the work being done with the children who are now grown and the provision of services for those children, including psycho social support.
A lady from somewhere tell Suzette that the passion for the work got to be the same as the passion for project management and that civil society implements better than Governments. Somebody ask about the situation in Haiti, and Dr Pape say dat with regards to HIV , the situation is the same as before the earthquake. (Language is a funny ting, dat could mean it just as good or just as bad). Dr Pape say dat dey are concerned with TB, since TB infections are rising.
Den a white man stand up and say that he flabbergasted since there is increased sexual violence, no services for MSM and other vulnerable populations. The Burnham in me rise up and say what the ... who is dis man fuh cuss up de haitian doctor.. and den de odder part in me, is like wheh de rass de haitian msm to ask this question in this Caribbean forum? And the white man mek a point about the absence of people living with HIV from any Haitian discourse. And the rest of we shut up because we dont really know nuttin about haiti and we cant talk French.
Mr Charles from Grenada asked why Dr Simeon did not include the OECS in his presentation - Dr Simeon said that it was not intentional but he was sampling to compare. People were not too convinced at this response.
The time was near finishing, in fact the time always near to done. Donnellis also made a point that people who are positive should be free to decide when they want to disclose.
Sharon Mottley from CCNAPC spoke of the importance of sharing information so that people could see how the regional policies were being implemented in some countries. A lady with a nice musical accent voice ask a question about media and source of information . I stupidy, I only remember the voice, but not what she really say. Was trying to see if the lady was nice looking as the voice but the room was dark.
At some point Dr Radix said, time to go. As with all the sessions, there was not enough time to ask questions or interact.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Caribbean Posters...
Jamian from Jamaica did a poster exhibition on her project in Denham Town which sought to get women to bring men to be tested. The project was successful in that the number of men who came increased dramatically. A prize was given to the woman who 'grabbed the most men' . The poster had good responses. Jamian has enjoyed the conference, though she found the youth pre-conference disappointing.
The lone poster exhibit about Guyana was an evaluation of the Home Based Care project. There were no Guyanese persons at the exhibit. The Ciciatelli researcher, Melanie Steilen, who worked on the project was surprised that the persons did not come since it was their work. The Guyanese researchers are Dr Karen Boyle and Dr Shanti Singh.
She said that she enjoyed living and working in Guyana - because the Guyanese people were wonderful. She had fond memories of doing training, and one memory which she keeps quiet about is the reducing number of condoms in a bowl at the back of the room of a faith based leader training session she was conducting. She accepted that the conclusion about the need for substance use counselling silenced the fact that in their study, 22.5% of persons reported a drinking problem, and that hiding alcohol under 'substances' would not deliver the necessary interventions.
Pancap presented its achievements in developing regional policy and Ayana Hypolite believes that with the progress being made at this level, that local advocates have to work with their Governments so that the Governments could honour their commitments to PANCAP.
The lone poster exhibit about Guyana was an evaluation of the Home Based Care project. There were no Guyanese persons at the exhibit. The Ciciatelli researcher, Melanie Steilen, who worked on the project was surprised that the persons did not come since it was their work. The Guyanese researchers are Dr Karen Boyle and Dr Shanti Singh.
She said that she enjoyed living and working in Guyana - because the Guyanese people were wonderful. She had fond memories of doing training, and one memory which she keeps quiet about is the reducing number of condoms in a bowl at the back of the room of a faith based leader training session she was conducting. She accepted that the conclusion about the need for substance use counselling silenced the fact that in their study, 22.5% of persons reported a drinking problem, and that hiding alcohol under 'substances' would not deliver the necessary interventions.
Pancap presented its achievements in developing regional policy and Ayana Hypolite believes that with the progress being made at this level, that local advocates have to work with their Governments so that the Governments could honour their commitments to PANCAP.
We aint talk about these..
Yeah, we know we lef out some countries. We should ah gaff wid the people from Productive Organisation for Women in Action - Belize who won a Red Ribbon Award.
I met up with some people from Aruba, Bonaire and Saba on the last day and they was interested in the SASOD Film Festival. There was a girl from Grenada but by she come with YWCA, she badge say Switzerland. I seem a man from US Virgin Islands but I feel friken fuh go and ask he personal business. Hi taller than me and got a serious face. I did not see anyone from Antigua to ask, but I am sure they are here. Somebody say Kenneth from Suriname was here, but I did not see any Suriname. Not sure if the British overseas territories were here. A man from Bahamas dropped in at the networking zone one day. He had plenty tee shirt to wear because he wear a different one later the same day. But he run when I start talk to he.
I met up with some people from Aruba, Bonaire and Saba on the last day and they was interested in the SASOD Film Festival. There was a girl from Grenada but by she come with YWCA, she badge say Switzerland. I seem a man from US Virgin Islands but I feel friken fuh go and ask he personal business. Hi taller than me and got a serious face. I did not see anyone from Antigua to ask, but I am sure they are here. Somebody say Kenneth from Suriname was here, but I did not see any Suriname. Not sure if the British overseas territories were here. A man from Bahamas dropped in at the networking zone one day. He had plenty tee shirt to wear because he wear a different one later the same day. But he run when I start talk to he.
Plenty Caribbean gaff...
This is the first conference for Dudley from FOKO in Curaçao. He said that the conference is interesting but he will need time when he goes back home to digest all the information. He is also assisting with rapporteuring for the Global Village. He has attended sessions related to health care, and he has found the sessions where persons living with HIV gave their testimonies to be the most powerful. The session on prevention and pleasure which Donnellis participated in was one which was vivid to him. The testimony from the HIV positive young man from Romania who keeps wondering if he will infect his girlfriend, and the testimony from the young woman from Lebanon are two that stay in his mind.
Dudley said that standing on the other side as a service provider, he is aware that he has to stand back now and help to create a safe space so that people who are living with HIV who he is working with can speak out for themselves. This he believes will help to fight stigma and discrimination. He also liked the sessions which showed how to use theatre to educate.
Ivan from Jamaica said that the conference covers a wide range of issues and that the competing choices meant that it was impossible to have deeper learning of the issues. The timing of the panels do not allow time for enough questions. He was happy to hear of the progress with microbicides and this will energise the microbicide working group of which CVC is part in Jamaica. He liked the energy in the Global Village and the exhibition hall. The emphasis on the condomise campaign was good. He was appalled at the wastage of paper and thought that more use would have been made of CDROMs and other soft distribution mechanisms. He liked the use of tee shirts for the sustainable messages. The Liming Zone has also been great, in that a wide cross-section of Caribbean people have visited the zone and have found it a place to reconnect.
One of the presentations which stuck out in his mind is a stigma and discrimination presentation in which the presenter showed a graphical model for stigma and discrimination. The model concludes that stigma is related to other perceptions of social identity - such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc and that those prejudices have to be dealt with so as to remove the stigma related to HIV
Kenita from St Lucia said the conference was interesting but there were too many sessions, and she felt that she could not benefit from all of them. She said some of the workshops she went to did not meet her expectations and she found she had to be rushing from one thing to another. She was really impressed with the youths from the Dominican Republic who organised the Caribbean Youth Forum. She also enjoyed the panel about stigma and discrimination from the faith based organisations, and she wondered whether they talked one way in some places and then in other places, they changed their mouth. She enjoyed the session in the Women's Networking Zone and the LGBTI networking zone, and she hoped that next time the Caribbean Zone would also organise sessions the same way.
The Human Rights Rally was great, she and Dandrina from Barbados managed to get almost front row positions for the Annie Lennox concert.
Beverley from Trinidad said she enjoyed the workshops - mostly run by African NGOs and that she found them useful to her work as a trainer. She say she not having no food problem because she bring she food from Trinidad, she have Crix biscuit and she had drinks and water. She also have a flask wid ice because she realise dey dont serve ice. Beverley say she aint able wid no talk talk in the big presentations. Shelly from Trinidad say dat de conference arite too. Sherwood from Guyana is here with the ILO and he has been active in all of the presentations related to workplace discrimination and he participated in the Human Rights rally. He said that he thinks that there should have been a bit more visibility at the conference for the right to work/employment issue as it relates to people who live with HIV.
Bernard from St Lucia has been doing his work with the housing people. He has learnt a lot and feels much more knowledgeable about how to advocate on housing. One interesting strategy is how they build bridges with other movements - his supervisor told him to go to the Trucking Clinic booth from South Africa. It was fascinating to listen to the exchange, when Bernard started to explain where he came from and it caught the clinic guy off guard. It was kind of like if one person advocates for environment and the other advocates for sexuality rights.. how to link the two.
The journalists dem cagey... Iana from Guyana said her workshop with the NPF was excellent, but she found that it was hectic running between sessions. She found many Jamaicans though, and one woman who had a Guyana badge but was actually from Trinidad. The woman left the badge as it was.
People had all kind ah nice experience too. Marcus say a lady from Kenya ask him to be she baby father - apparently one of the conference activities which they do not schedule is baby making. She HIV positive, but Marcus say dat was not de issue, is just dat he don't want to make a child who would be in Kenya. He did not meet the woman face to face just in case he change he mind.
Dudley said that standing on the other side as a service provider, he is aware that he has to stand back now and help to create a safe space so that people who are living with HIV who he is working with can speak out for themselves. This he believes will help to fight stigma and discrimination. He also liked the sessions which showed how to use theatre to educate.
Ivan from Jamaica said that the conference covers a wide range of issues and that the competing choices meant that it was impossible to have deeper learning of the issues. The timing of the panels do not allow time for enough questions. He was happy to hear of the progress with microbicides and this will energise the microbicide working group of which CVC is part in Jamaica. He liked the energy in the Global Village and the exhibition hall. The emphasis on the condomise campaign was good. He was appalled at the wastage of paper and thought that more use would have been made of CDROMs and other soft distribution mechanisms. He liked the use of tee shirts for the sustainable messages. The Liming Zone has also been great, in that a wide cross-section of Caribbean people have visited the zone and have found it a place to reconnect.
One of the presentations which stuck out in his mind is a stigma and discrimination presentation in which the presenter showed a graphical model for stigma and discrimination. The model concludes that stigma is related to other perceptions of social identity - such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc and that those prejudices have to be dealt with so as to remove the stigma related to HIV
Kenita from St Lucia said the conference was interesting but there were too many sessions, and she felt that she could not benefit from all of them. She said some of the workshops she went to did not meet her expectations and she found she had to be rushing from one thing to another. She was really impressed with the youths from the Dominican Republic who organised the Caribbean Youth Forum. She also enjoyed the panel about stigma and discrimination from the faith based organisations, and she wondered whether they talked one way in some places and then in other places, they changed their mouth. She enjoyed the session in the Women's Networking Zone and the LGBTI networking zone, and she hoped that next time the Caribbean Zone would also organise sessions the same way.
The Human Rights Rally was great, she and Dandrina from Barbados managed to get almost front row positions for the Annie Lennox concert.
Beverley from Trinidad said she enjoyed the workshops - mostly run by African NGOs and that she found them useful to her work as a trainer. She say she not having no food problem because she bring she food from Trinidad, she have Crix biscuit and she had drinks and water. She also have a flask wid ice because she realise dey dont serve ice. Beverley say she aint able wid no talk talk in the big presentations. Shelly from Trinidad say dat de conference arite too. Sherwood from Guyana is here with the ILO and he has been active in all of the presentations related to workplace discrimination and he participated in the Human Rights rally. He said that he thinks that there should have been a bit more visibility at the conference for the right to work/employment issue as it relates to people who live with HIV.
Bernard from St Lucia has been doing his work with the housing people. He has learnt a lot and feels much more knowledgeable about how to advocate on housing. One interesting strategy is how they build bridges with other movements - his supervisor told him to go to the Trucking Clinic booth from South Africa. It was fascinating to listen to the exchange, when Bernard started to explain where he came from and it caught the clinic guy off guard. It was kind of like if one person advocates for environment and the other advocates for sexuality rights.. how to link the two.
The journalists dem cagey... Iana from Guyana said her workshop with the NPF was excellent, but she found that it was hectic running between sessions. She found many Jamaicans though, and one woman who had a Guyana badge but was actually from Trinidad. The woman left the badge as it was.
People had all kind ah nice experience too. Marcus say a lady from Kenya ask him to be she baby father - apparently one of the conference activities which they do not schedule is baby making. She HIV positive, but Marcus say dat was not de issue, is just dat he don't want to make a child who would be in Kenya. He did not meet the woman face to face just in case he change he mind.
Talk and Party..
PANCAP hosted a Caribbean evening on Wed 21 July, 2010. The thing had food so they was careful about who and who dey inviting and one person was asked if they know how much of the youth dem was coming since.. well Caribbean youth belly lang. The PANCAP social evening overlapped with the Caribbean Youth Forum and it seems dat plenty of de youth dem just aint bother to go because dey was tired or dey didn know. Some people went in a bit late so dey missed de opening remarks.
Ian from Jamaica say dat dere was too much talk talk, and too little partying - party estimates are about 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on who you ask (some people come late, some lef early). Tony from Jamaica say he went an eat an den went to de ting, and dat de ting was nice and dat it was nice to see de ladies from de Jamaica AIDS programme dancing an ting.. he could not say if dey was playing any chi chi man music or so.
Mario from Curacao said he spoke out about the need for decriminalisation of same sex consensual relationships or all the programmes will be bullshit. He also say dat people have to let the youth's voices be heard. Apparently, a lady from Grenada spoke about the advances being made in the region. After he talk dat, he say nobody from the officials dere come up and say nothing to him except one of the people who say dat is true, the lobbying and advocacy has to be "shrill" sometimes. Dandrina from Barbados say dat de ting was nice, people gaff and so. Steve from Haiti say he did not go because he feels alienated from Pancap and that tokenism is not what is needed. Dudley from Curacao say it was nice to mix wid other Caribbean people and dat de music was good. Kenita from St Lucia say dat by de time she reach, she aint see too many NGO people, it seem dat was mostly government and inter-governmental organisation people. She was happy that Senator Ann Peters spoke at the Caribbean gathering.
A lady from Pancap say dat de evening was nice and she was glad Mario say what he had to say, but she lef early because she was tired. Some of de odder Caribbean people say dat dey did not know about de event. One or two foreigners who pope the event say that they enjoyed.
Marcus say that it was fantastic, that at the beginning it was just official administrators there and then when all the trans and the vulnerable groups come, the mood change and party tek ovah... and plenty straight people lef and a pancap man open some 15 year old el dorado and apparently.. well there are no pictures as to whether he borrow any of the dresses or hair pieces of the trans to celebrate Caribbean diversity
Ivan from Jamaica say dat de ting was what Caribbean like do, talk and party.
Ian from Jamaica say dat dere was too much talk talk, and too little partying - party estimates are about 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on who you ask (some people come late, some lef early). Tony from Jamaica say he went an eat an den went to de ting, and dat de ting was nice and dat it was nice to see de ladies from de Jamaica AIDS programme dancing an ting.. he could not say if dey was playing any chi chi man music or so.
Mario from Curacao said he spoke out about the need for decriminalisation of same sex consensual relationships or all the programmes will be bullshit. He also say dat people have to let the youth's voices be heard. Apparently, a lady from Grenada spoke about the advances being made in the region. After he talk dat, he say nobody from the officials dere come up and say nothing to him except one of the people who say dat is true, the lobbying and advocacy has to be "shrill" sometimes. Dandrina from Barbados say dat de ting was nice, people gaff and so. Steve from Haiti say he did not go because he feels alienated from Pancap and that tokenism is not what is needed. Dudley from Curacao say it was nice to mix wid other Caribbean people and dat de music was good. Kenita from St Lucia say dat by de time she reach, she aint see too many NGO people, it seem dat was mostly government and inter-governmental organisation people. She was happy that Senator Ann Peters spoke at the Caribbean gathering.
A lady from Pancap say dat de evening was nice and she was glad Mario say what he had to say, but she lef early because she was tired. Some of de odder Caribbean people say dat dey did not know about de event. One or two foreigners who pope the event say that they enjoyed.
Marcus say that it was fantastic, that at the beginning it was just official administrators there and then when all the trans and the vulnerable groups come, the mood change and party tek ovah... and plenty straight people lef and a pancap man open some 15 year old el dorado and apparently.. well there are no pictures as to whether he borrow any of the dresses or hair pieces of the trans to celebrate Caribbean diversity
Ivan from Jamaica say dat de ting was what Caribbean like do, talk and party.
Passer à l'action..
Reginald and Steve are from SEROvie in Haiti. They have found the conference a useful place to inform the International participants about what is happening to vulnerable groups in Haiti. They said that since the earthquake the situation for people living with HIV/AIDS has become more desperate, with groups like MSM who are facing verbal and physical violence in the temporary shelters or the tents
SEROvie feels alienated from the Anglophone Caribbean and while they acknowledge the efforts of CVC, they feel that more needs to be done to offer tangible assistance like to help to find projects and funding. They have found that is better to go to France and Canada.
They did not bother to go the Pancap Caribbean evening
They found that the conference languages - in English, marginalised the persons from Haiti and other parts of La Francophonie who cannot speak English . In Mexico, French translation was available.
They have been trying to meet with the Clinton Foundation which represents the UN on the Haiti Reconstruction Plan to ask the question 'Where are the people with HIV/AIDS in Haiti's reconstruction?' They have not been able to get this meeting, even as part of the coalition. (In the Regional Session, Dr Jean Pape noted that the CCM head was part of the Reconstruction team)
Steve said that he has participated in too many meetings and he and Reginald said that it is time to passer à l'action
SEROvie feels alienated from the Anglophone Caribbean and while they acknowledge the efforts of CVC, they feel that more needs to be done to offer tangible assistance like to help to find projects and funding. They have found that is better to go to France and Canada.
They did not bother to go the Pancap Caribbean evening
They found that the conference languages - in English, marginalised the persons from Haiti and other parts of La Francophonie who cannot speak English . In Mexico, French translation was available.
They have been trying to meet with the Clinton Foundation which represents the UN on the Haiti Reconstruction Plan to ask the question 'Where are the people with HIV/AIDS in Haiti's reconstruction?' They have not been able to get this meeting, even as part of the coalition. (In the Regional Session, Dr Jean Pape noted that the CCM head was part of the Reconstruction team)
Steve said that he has participated in too many meetings and he and Reginald said that it is time to passer à l'action
Miriam mekin waves...
Miriam from Guyana is in Vienna as part of the Global Network of Sex Workers Projects. She has been active, starting on Sunday with the protest action for sex workers to demand their rights
Miriam said that the conference has been good, though many sex workers from the Caribbean did not come to the conference as in Mexico. She said the workshops have been good. The only thing is the food, she miss the rice (this blogger miss the rice and the dhal and the curry). The sex workers also went looking for the Director of PepFar as part of their protest, and stopped his press conference to demand that Pepfar recognise sex workers rights.
She said that the meetings with other donors have been productive and she looks forward to Washington 2011
Miriam said that the conference has been good, though many sex workers from the Caribbean did not come to the conference as in Mexico. She said the workshops have been good. The only thing is the food, she miss the rice (this blogger miss the rice and the dhal and the curry). The sex workers also went looking for the Director of PepFar as part of their protest, and stopped his press conference to demand that Pepfar recognise sex workers rights.
She said that the meetings with other donors have been productive and she looks forward to Washington 2011
Lyming at the Caribbean Liming Zone
{Uploaded by Kwasi Tinglin
The Caribbean lime booth, Aids 2010 Conference here in Vienna has been a good hang out spot for bigwigs and not so bigwig, past and current bigwigs with some potential bigwigs thrown in for good measure. All in all it proved to be a little melting pot for us Caribbean people to exchange ideas as well as gather from the bigwigs from around the world.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Caribbean gaff - drugs, backwardness, hope
- from the blog manager (if anybody from CVC vex, dey could fyah meh)
So people from the Caribbean there and we walk around and see people and gaff. I walk past the IPPF booth and hear 'Vidyaratha' and a man who introduced himself as Jomo Osborne and me start to gaff. I ask hard questions.. like how he does get de people in Guyana fuh listen to he about IPPF positions on Criminalising Hate, not HIV. He was good in he answer.. he say dat he have someting name accreditation and he have to talk de talk and walk de walk.. an it seems he not friken dat we favourite Bishop praying fuh he... he pass me ovah quck quick to a man name Ken Morrison from Futures
Group who say he know Guyana good, he went there to do lil wuk wid Pancap AND dat he teach both Minister Anthony and Dr Singh .. so I tell he wow, he grazing in high high grass.. (of course I apparently grazing in high grass because Mr Morrison has done a lot of work in HIV AIDS policy in Latin America, but since I now come wid CVC me aint know dese tings .. well I should shut my mouth)
Me mout get me in trouble at the PANCAP booth too when the nice girl try to explain to me that CVC was involved in the development of the Regional Model Code of Practice and she looking at me funny because how I representing CVC and I dont know that. I was asking questions about why sexual orientation lef out from some parts of de Code of Practice.
Dr Cummings from Guyana, he dont mek sport, he talk plain, me and he gaff about the conference. He is tracking the science presentations and he lamented as a Guyanese about the backwardness in that it don't seem that Guyanese could dialogue and discuss things any more. I say no man, Guyana arite , and is not only Guyana an me sayin about dont give up hope.. ah mean we got low carbon an ting.
I asked him in his work in the Region, what does he see as de hope fuh de future an he said dat we are still fortunate in the Caribbean, dat young people are doing great work an' dat adults need to mentor dem properly instead of de nonsense which de adults do.
Dr Sandra Reid from Trinidad seh dat de focus on needle drugs at de conference was not as relevant to Caribbean an' Latin America since we gat problem wid cocaine, crack, ganja an' alcohol. We ask we self if is because dat de conference not in Latin America mek dat we cant gaff about dese odder drugs dat we know in the region. Ah mean, can we get any ah dat pepfar money fuh do de lil drug rehab wuk we need fuh do? But is suh it go, when u is a lil fish in de big sea..
De ting wid Cuba come up wid wan an two people.. Cuba does do good wuk wid AIDS an' yet like dem aint come. A man say dat Castro friken dat dey come an' dey dont go back.
Quincy from Guyana say dat de Global Village is good and dat he get plenty information to tek back home. Me an' he admire de clothes aroun' an he say he pack a sari too, just in case.
In terms of other things, he glad to hear Bill Clinton speech, dat wid big ones like Clinton taking an interest, it means that other Caribbean leaders should pay attention. Another Guyanese man say that hearing the speech made by Clinton was enough to cover for the effort for he to get to Vienna.
Gaffing about getting to Vienna, Dandrina say dat she get scan in Venezuela fuh drugs and weapon.. but den she when she show she passport, de man ask she to scan again to see what she got down deh.. i say gyurl you should ah just open and show dem and save lil carbon , but she also say she wondering if one ah dem officers had a lil more interest dan national security.
So people from the Caribbean there and we walk around and see people and gaff. I walk past the IPPF booth and hear 'Vidyaratha' and a man who introduced himself as Jomo Osborne and me start to gaff. I ask hard questions.. like how he does get de people in Guyana fuh listen to he about IPPF positions on Criminalising Hate, not HIV. He was good in he answer.. he say dat he have someting name accreditation and he have to talk de talk and walk de walk.. an it seems he not friken dat we favourite Bishop praying fuh he... he pass me ovah quck quick to a man name Ken Morrison from Futures
Group who say he know Guyana good, he went there to do lil wuk wid Pancap AND dat he teach both Minister Anthony and Dr Singh .. so I tell he wow, he grazing in high high grass.. (of course I apparently grazing in high grass because Mr Morrison has done a lot of work in HIV AIDS policy in Latin America, but since I now come wid CVC me aint know dese tings .. well I should shut my mouth)
Me mout get me in trouble at the PANCAP booth too when the nice girl try to explain to me that CVC was involved in the development of the Regional Model Code of Practice and she looking at me funny because how I representing CVC and I dont know that. I was asking questions about why sexual orientation lef out from some parts of de Code of Practice.
Dr Cummings from Guyana, he dont mek sport, he talk plain, me and he gaff about the conference. He is tracking the science presentations and he lamented as a Guyanese about the backwardness in that it don't seem that Guyanese could dialogue and discuss things any more. I say no man, Guyana arite , and is not only Guyana an me sayin about dont give up hope.. ah mean we got low carbon an ting.
I asked him in his work in the Region, what does he see as de hope fuh de future an he said dat we are still fortunate in the Caribbean, dat young people are doing great work an' dat adults need to mentor dem properly instead of de nonsense which de adults do.
Dr Sandra Reid from Trinidad seh dat de focus on needle drugs at de conference was not as relevant to Caribbean an' Latin America since we gat problem wid cocaine, crack, ganja an' alcohol. We ask we self if is because dat de conference not in Latin America mek dat we cant gaff about dese odder drugs dat we know in the region. Ah mean, can we get any ah dat pepfar money fuh do de lil drug rehab wuk we need fuh do? But is suh it go, when u is a lil fish in de big sea..
De ting wid Cuba come up wid wan an two people.. Cuba does do good wuk wid AIDS an' yet like dem aint come. A man say dat Castro friken dat dey come an' dey dont go back.
Quincy from Guyana say dat de Global Village is good and dat he get plenty information to tek back home. Me an' he admire de clothes aroun' an he say he pack a sari too, just in case.
In terms of other things, he glad to hear Bill Clinton speech, dat wid big ones like Clinton taking an interest, it means that other Caribbean leaders should pay attention. Another Guyanese man say that hearing the speech made by Clinton was enough to cover for the effort for he to get to Vienna.
Gaffing about getting to Vienna, Dandrina say dat she get scan in Venezuela fuh drugs and weapon.. but den she when she show she passport, de man ask she to scan again to see what she got down deh.. i say gyurl you should ah just open and show dem and save lil carbon , but she also say she wondering if one ah dem officers had a lil more interest dan national security.
Breaking the silence
Children who have been sexually abused in Trinidad & Tobago are very likely to be neglected by service providers.
Dr Sandra Reid spoke about her team's research "Child Sexual Abuse,, Incest and HIV : the perspective of service providers in Trinidad & Tobago" at the poster exhibition at AIDS 2010. This research is one of very few presented on the provision of services to children who have been sexually abused.
Dr Reid said that the findings revealed that service providers, including social workers were reluctant to intervene in cases of child sexual abuse because they felt powerless due to lack of knowledge, and mechanisms to provide protection for the children.
The study found that there were no policies for HIV testing and that 50% of the service providers did in fact recommend HIV testing at their own discretion.
She said she was excited to see that there was a similar research project being done in another country. This research will continue into developing a community based model for child protection.
This research was conducted by UWI, IGDS with the Trinidad & Tobago Coalition against Domestic Violence. The funding was provided by UNIFEM and UNICEF.
Dr Sandra Reid spoke about her team's research "Child Sexual Abuse,, Incest and HIV : the perspective of service providers in Trinidad & Tobago" at the poster exhibition at AIDS 2010. This research is one of very few presented on the provision of services to children who have been sexually abused.
Dr Reid said that the findings revealed that service providers, including social workers were reluctant to intervene in cases of child sexual abuse because they felt powerless due to lack of knowledge, and mechanisms to provide protection for the children.
The study found that there were no policies for HIV testing and that 50% of the service providers did in fact recommend HIV testing at their own discretion.
She said she was excited to see that there was a similar research project being done in another country. This research will continue into developing a community based model for child protection.
This research was conducted by UWI, IGDS with the Trinidad & Tobago Coalition against Domestic Violence. The funding was provided by UNIFEM and UNICEF.
Quarraisha, Quarraisha, Quarraisha
by Dr Nesha Haniff
Well those of you who know me and have taken my classes on putting women's bodies at the center of science will know what today has meant to me. I went to the session entitled "Safety and Effectiveness of 1% Tenofivir Vaginal Microbicide Gel in South African Women:Results of the Caprisa 004 Trial".
I knew that the results which were to be under embargo were leaked by the Financial Times and I saw the report this morning on the BBC. I was happy but cautious, could this be real?
I thought the news would be positive when I knew both Quarraisha and her husband Salim Abdool Karim were going to be here. They usually alternate at conferences. So I was at session room 6 half an hour before the start of the presentation. I wanted to be up front in the middle where I could see their faces. Is this the moment. Will microbicides be finally proven scientifically as a concept to put women's protection of their bodies in their own hands not having to negotiate with men about condom use?
I felt at once excited and worried. I have been here before with pro 2000, with carraguard, with buffer gel, savvy, nonoxyl nine-each time there was a failure it was if I had been dumped by a man in whom I had invested my hopes and dreams. When I sat there I thought, is this really true or am I going to be dumped again?
I knew that the results which were to be under embargo were leaked by the Financial Times and I saw the report this morning on the BBC. I was happy but cautious, could this be real?
I thought the news would be positive when I knew both Quarraisha and her husband Salim Abdool Karim were going to be here. They usually alternate at conferences. So I was at session room 6 half an hour before the start of the presentation. I wanted to be up front in the middle where I could see their faces. Is this the moment. Will microbicides be finally proven scientifically as a concept to put women's protection of their bodies in their own hands not having to negotiate with men about condom use?
I felt at once excited and worried. I have been here before with pro 2000, with carraguard, with buffer gel, savvy, nonoxyl nine-each time there was a failure it was if I had been dumped by a man in whom I had invested my hopes and dreams. When I sat there I thought, is this really true or am I going to be dumped again?
It was true, tenofivir gel had proven to be effective in 54% of those who used the gel.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AIDS/vaginal-gel-cuts-hiv-spread-aids-researchers/story?id=11199076&page=1
Having worked in HIV prevention for 20 years with women on the front lines of the epidemic and having had to tell women to use a condom which I knew many times was not at all possible, I felt at this moment that I would be redeemed from this false prevention message for women.
Having worked in HIV prevention for 20 years with women on the front lines of the epidemic and having had to tell women to use a condom which I knew many times was not at all possible, I felt at this moment that I would be redeemed from this false prevention message for women.
I loved that Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim who has been a supporter of POA( Pedagogy of Action) for many years was the lead scientist. The second PI was her husband. As they sat on the panel together something I don't see very often - South Africans at the center of this scientific breakthrough, there assembled, all the movers and shakers in the UN system, in the NIH, CDC. The Minister of Health of South Africa was on the panel so was the premier of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The room was packed, I sat with Dr. Dawn Smith who works in the HIV program at the CDC and a former student of mine. We both were excited because we understood this seminal moment.
South Africans can solve their problems. Quarraisha Abdool Karim a woman, a scientist, a South African, married to her co PI and the team of CAPRISA dedicated to this struggle, prevailed this time. It was the women of South Africa who were in the trials who were heroic. I know that this does not mean that I have to stop saying condom and that the rest of the story of empowering women must continue. But this is the beginning of hope and I feel that this time I will not be dumped. I take pride that I know Quarraisha and that the students at POA have had the great privilege of her taking the time to speak with them for many years.
In her last talk with my students I remember that she said. HIV is killing our women,.our people. We must continue to try to solve this. We just can't give up. For her and CAPRISA this was an act of love for their country for their people. Khealeboga, enkhos, thank you.
Reflections from a Caribbean woman on Day 2
by
Dr Nesha Haniff
On the second day of the World Aids Conference held in Vienna this year, I am struck by many things.. The first is the large South African contingent at every level, both community, ngo and government. What I have enjoyed is seeing South Africans speaking about their problems themselves, not being spoken about, an important ideological change. The Caribbean also has a strong presence both at the level of recognition of the issues affecting msm and sex workers and their voice on panels and presentations. The presence of Africa and Asia’s vulnerable populations are also voicing their struggles. They are here not as objects of oppression but empowered actors in their world making great inroads on the injustice of homophobia and sexism. Their presence at the conference is not to observe and be present as proof that the conference is inclusive but that they have appropriated their place in the conference shaping their struggle as they see it.
I loved the presentations on Hiati by Dr. Patrice Joseph who spoke about Haiti’s work on HIV for over thirty years and did not say Paul Farmer’s name once. Everything we have ever heard about Haiti and HIV is that Paul Farmer went in and saved the day. Now I am not at all trying to belittle his work but there was a Haitian doctor Dr. Jean William Pape and a consortium of Haitian doctors and health professionals who have been in this struggle for years starting GHESKIO the world’s first institution dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS. How they continue their work under the present circumstances of Haiti was extremely moving. India continues to impress me. The work on Avahan the India Aids Initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation was impressive. You walked into the room and you were given a voting device and as the presenters spoke you were then asked to answer questions and the results like an instant poll came up immediately. You were then asked to discuss why you voted a particular way. Avahan works in 6 states in India with more than 220,000 female sex workers, 80,000 men who have sex with men and transgenders, 18,000 injecting drug users and about 5 million men at risk. How they used technology to advance their cause and got their governments to respond was truly an exercise in the meaning of democracy.
President Clinton was the plenary speaker. He was as usual full of ideas and accomplishments in his long HIV work. For the first time at this level of the conference which has spent all of its focus on Africa and rightly so, the problem of HIV in the United States was discussed. The US now has the highest HIV infection it has ever had , it is now the third highest cause of death for African American women and African American MSM have the highest incidence of HIV. P:resident Clinton who has been an unflagging supporter of Africa and the HIV cause now speaks about HIV in the US. This was significant. His talk was very moving. He spoke about a “bucket list” a list you make of what you want to do before you die. It made me sad that he thought of such a list for himself. I hope that his health is not tenuous. He also spoke of the latest scientific discovery about neurons and the idea in physics that neurons must be both negative and positive. They found that there seems to be more positive ones than negative. It was how he closed, that in the end the positives will outweigh the negatives and it is how I feel this day.
Donellis want porn wid condom..
Donellis from St Maarten did the Caribbean proud today when at the last minute he was able to prepare an interesting discussion which opened the panel "Sex and Sexuality : Youth Perspectives on Pleasure and Prevention : What do we need in 2010?" . This discussion he framed as a Caribbean gay man's perspective on a gay man's needs on pleasure and prevention in 2010.
Donellis started his discussion by using this picture (from http://www.dvorak.org) in which he cleverly promoted St Maarten to the very large audience - as the place where you could get closest to an airplane when it is landing and taking off; and one which is a beautiful tourist destination .
He also said for him the fence represented the boundaries of the sub-consciousness of young people, especially LGBT young people, and that the plane represents the messages about safer sex which are way above some of the youth. His concerns were that there is no portrayal of LGBT persons and situations in messages for safer sex. He posited that the policy makers relied too much on the views of some religious groups and that sex education was underdeveloped, and that Caribbean people were made to feel ashamed about their sexuality and that sex was dirty.
"Do you like porn" he asked the audience, and he went on to talk about how porn producers seemed to be producing porn without condoms giving the impression that safe sex cannot be enjoyed as much as bareback sex.
The panel featured an emotional presentation from a young HIV positive man who said he kept questioning what would happen if his girlfriend who he loves got infected. The other presentations looked at sexual and reproductive rights in Paraguay, the experience of a transwoman from Namibia and the revelations from a young woman from Lebanon who said she did not tell her mother what she was coming to talk about.
The people from the Caribbean who attended the session thought it was an intensive one, with one Trinidadian woman saying she thought it was the best she had attended for the conference.
Donellis started his discussion by using this picture (from http://www.dvorak.org) in which he cleverly promoted St Maarten to the very large audience - as the place where you could get closest to an airplane when it is landing and taking off; and one which is a beautiful tourist destination .
"Do you like porn" he asked the audience, and he went on to talk about how porn producers seemed to be producing porn without condoms giving the impression that safe sex cannot be enjoyed as much as bareback sex.
The panel featured an emotional presentation from a young HIV positive man who said he kept questioning what would happen if his girlfriend who he loves got infected. The other presentations looked at sexual and reproductive rights in Paraguay, the experience of a transwoman from Namibia and the revelations from a young woman from Lebanon who said she did not tell her mother what she was coming to talk about.
The people from the Caribbean who attended the session thought it was an intensive one, with one Trinidadian woman saying she thought it was the best she had attended for the conference.
Youth Pre-Conference was basic...
Yajira, Elias and Daniel from the Dominican Republic, Korey from Guyana,attended the Jaevion from Jamaica attended the Youth Pre-conference
This is the first conference for Yajira and she said she was excited at meeting other young persons from across the world who are also working in HIV/AIDS. Elias, Daniel, Korey and Jaevion said that they thought the pre-conference was basic in that it did not offer much in the way of depth. Korey said he picked up some points on monitoring and evaluation for information programmes. These youth have been working in HIV/AIDS and thus they were a bit disappointed that the conference did not offer more in depth discussion and presentations. In terms of what they had given to the conference, they all said that they were happy to share ideas with other people.
Jaevion felt that his presentation on Conversations for Change was enjoyed by they participants, which included other Caribbean youth who do not identify as LGBT. Daniel, Elias and Yajira also said it was good to share information about Dominican Republic and to let others know about their country.
The youth are participating in other activities. The Jamaica Youth Advocacy network had a poster presentation in the main conference, while Korey has chaired a major panel discussion.
The Caribbean Youth Forum will be held on 21st and 22nd July, 2010 and the youth hope to raise other specific issues for the Caribbean governments.
This is the first conference for Yajira and she said she was excited at meeting other young persons from across the world who are also working in HIV/AIDS. Elias, Daniel, Korey and Jaevion said that they thought the pre-conference was basic in that it did not offer much in the way of depth. Korey said he picked up some points on monitoring and evaluation for information programmes. These youth have been working in HIV/AIDS and thus they were a bit disappointed that the conference did not offer more in depth discussion and presentations. In terms of what they had given to the conference, they all said that they were happy to share ideas with other people.
Jaevion felt that his presentation on Conversations for Change was enjoyed by they participants, which included other Caribbean youth who do not identify as LGBT. Daniel, Elias and Yajira also said it was good to share information about Dominican Republic and to let others know about their country.
The youth are participating in other activities. The Jamaica Youth Advocacy network had a poster presentation in the main conference, while Korey has chaired a major panel discussion.
The Caribbean Youth Forum will be held on 21st and 22nd July, 2010 and the youth hope to raise other specific issues for the Caribbean governments.
Monday, July 19, 2010
There are more black people here at this conference
Dr Nesha Haniff is Senior Programme Advisor to Jamaica AIDS Support for Life and a lecturer at the University of Michigan. She dropped in at the Caribbean Lyming Zone to put her feet up and indulged in a gaff about the conference so far.
She said that she felt that this year, there were more black people visible and present. She was particularly happy at the visibility of South Africans - in the plenary sessions and on many panels. This is new and a massive shift from the time when as Bill Clinton noted, South Africa was a pariah in terms of its response to HIV and the advocacy and representation for South Africa was done by white researchers.
She feels this is happening with Haiti and that people who are not Haitians are speaking for Haiti. She cited an example as to how Bill Clinton referred to Paul Farmer from Partners in Health as the Haitian saviour. This point she tried to address at the PANCAP plenary, noting that the names of the Haitian doctors and others on the ground should be visible and their voices heard in fora such as the AIDS Conference.
She felt that the Caribbean work is becoming visible - with one study cited in the opening plenary , Robert Carr's active participation in the conference and the panel about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
Dr Haniff was born in Guyana and worked there before moving to Jamaica. Her speciality is in the area of Gender and HIV/AIDS
She said that she felt that this year, there were more black people visible and present. She was particularly happy at the visibility of South Africans - in the plenary sessions and on many panels. This is new and a massive shift from the time when as Bill Clinton noted, South Africa was a pariah in terms of its response to HIV and the advocacy and representation for South Africa was done by white researchers.
She feels this is happening with Haiti and that people who are not Haitians are speaking for Haiti. She cited an example as to how Bill Clinton referred to Paul Farmer from Partners in Health as the Haitian saviour. This point she tried to address at the PANCAP plenary, noting that the names of the Haitian doctors and others on the ground should be visible and their voices heard in fora such as the AIDS Conference.
She felt that the Caribbean work is becoming visible - with one study cited in the opening plenary , Robert Carr's active participation in the conference and the panel about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
Dr Haniff was born in Guyana and worked there before moving to Jamaica. Her speciality is in the area of Gender and HIV/AIDS
Clinton says less per diems and more work.. well almost
President Clinton gave the plenary address on Monday 19 July, 2010
He spoke of the problems in the USA and said that he appreciated the frustration of those who shouted about Broken Promises, but things bad in the USA and basically, more got to be done with less money - he did not say if that also go to fighting war in Iraq and Afghanistan and fighting drugs.
He note that means less technical assistance and report writing, and less travel to meetings and per diems and so on, and more direct assistance to local organisations who could provide services (so those endless GHARP workshops in Guyana would probably end now and people will have to carry their own lunch as well - shucks.
He said is good the Director of Pepfar come , without security. Pepfar will now fund needle exchange and substitution therapy.
He say that since he is no longer President he can say what he like, and nobody dont listen anyways.. so of course we wonder is why he here and not Obama, even via skype like Oprah . He talk about his bucket list (things he want to do before he dead ) and say that he hope that he see his grandchildren and that all grandchildren in the world will get a chance to achieve their potential.
He is glad South AFrica is no longer a pariah in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He did not say anything about the Caribbean.
In his conclusion, he talked about some super collider with sub atomic particles and how the scientist find that they have more positive than negative neurons.. and that the best thing for us is that we have more positive than negative in us.
In an HIV context, we have to reduce the positive and ensure that the negative remains so maybe the speech writer did not write this part for him.
Some people stand up and clap for him.
No, y'all bad mind Caribbean people.. we did not ask President Clinton what flavour condom Monica use or anything about the best condom to put on a cigar.
He spoke of the problems in the USA and said that he appreciated the frustration of those who shouted about Broken Promises, but things bad in the USA and basically, more got to be done with less money - he did not say if that also go to fighting war in Iraq and Afghanistan and fighting drugs.
He note that means less technical assistance and report writing, and less travel to meetings and per diems and so on, and more direct assistance to local organisations who could provide services (so those endless GHARP workshops in Guyana would probably end now and people will have to carry their own lunch as well - shucks.
He said is good the Director of Pepfar come , without security. Pepfar will now fund needle exchange and substitution therapy.
He say that since he is no longer President he can say what he like, and nobody dont listen anyways.. so of course we wonder is why he here and not Obama, even via skype like Oprah . He talk about his bucket list (things he want to do before he dead ) and say that he hope that he see his grandchildren and that all grandchildren in the world will get a chance to achieve their potential.
He is glad South AFrica is no longer a pariah in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He did not say anything about the Caribbean.
In his conclusion, he talked about some super collider with sub atomic particles and how the scientist find that they have more positive than negative neurons.. and that the best thing for us is that we have more positive than negative in us.
In an HIV context, we have to reduce the positive and ensure that the negative remains so maybe the speech writer did not write this part for him.
Some people stand up and clap for him.
No, y'all bad mind Caribbean people.. we did not ask President Clinton what flavour condom Monica use or anything about the best condom to put on a cigar.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Caribbean people join protest to say that "Broken Promises Kill"
Hundreds of persons present at AIDS 2010 joined the protest "Broken Promises Kill" to make a point at the opening of the conference about the need to fund treatment for HIV/AIDS
Some photos are here (Thanks to Jasmin Blessing for lending her Camera and the friendly journalist who loaned her USB Cable)
Ivan from Jamaica
Bernard from St Lucia, holding the IAHR banner
More pictures to come...
Some photos are here (Thanks to Jasmin Blessing for lending her Camera and the friendly journalist who loaned her USB Cable)
Sebastian, from St Lucia
Ivan from Jamaica
More pictures to come...
Getting intimate...
"We have to provide condoms because with nothing to do, many people will get intimate" - said Mr Terry Charles in his presentation on the HIV/AIDS response post Ivan and Emily.
Mr Charles is from the Grenada National AIDS Council.
["Getting intimate" we think is the official Grenadian translation of 'have sex' .
In other Caribbean places, Getting Intimate means sharing your landline telephone number, home address, last name, or kissing. Many people have sex without getting too intimate while others crave intimacy without having sex.]
The panel discussion organised by PANCAP was titled "Universal Access in Post Disaster Situations : the Caribbean Experience" and featured a panel comprising Dr Ernest Massiah from UNAIDS; Mr Terry Charles from Grenada; Dr Rosaida Ochoa Soto from the Ministry of Health in Cuba and Dr Patrice Joseph from GHESKIO in Haiti. The moderator was Mr Carl Brown.
Dr Massiah reflected on the lessons learned from UNAIDS and noted that the humanitarian effort which follows disasters has to be managed to ensure that aid meets the needs of those who are affected by HIV. He noted that it would appear that HIV is not always a "conscious part" of the relief effort since many persons are focussed on dealing with needs such as shelter and food. He also stressed that civil society groups which worked with persons living with HIV/AIDS should be able to articulate the needs of those persons after a disaster situation.
The complexity of language continued. Dr Ernest Massiah in his conclusions remarked that the word 'vulnerable' had to redefined in the context of post-disaster situations since there will be people who are vulnerable who need food and other things which have to be provided to people living with HIV/AIDs.
Mr Charles reflected on the Grenada experience after Ivan and Emily, and noted that Grenada's National Disaster Plan now includes a component on support for HIV. He also cautioned that in post-disaster situations, there will be some people who while offering humanitarian aid, might also prey on the vulnerable. He noted the importance of teaching people to maintaining their
self respect and dignity.
Language now proved to be problematic. Mr Carl Brown announced that the costs of an interpreter were too high for PANCAP so that professional services could not be provided for Dr Soto. This he did after saying that PANCAP welcomed the contribution from Cuba.
Surely, after all that Cuba has done for the Caribbean, the PANCAP people could have adjusted the Vienna budget (perdiems, hotel costs, reduce the stay by one day) and paid for an interpreter. Dr Soto's power point was in English. Her presentation was the only one which directly talked about the vulnerable groups including MSM (men who have sex with men, or HSH in Spanish). The presentation reflected on Cuba's preoccupation with disaster planning and the involvement of people with AIDS in making those plans. She noted that Cuba also provided health services to other countries post disaster and that it was important to prepare those workers to deal with HIV in those other countries. The final recommendation from this presentation was that it was important to promote the values of solidarity and unity.
Dr Joseph spoke of the experience after Haiti and GHESKIO's involvement in post earthquake Haiti. He posited that even with the best disaster plan, the scale of the earthquake could not compensate for the destruction. Many of those who provided care were also affected, and Dr Joseph dedicated the presentation to those who worked despite losing their loved ones and having to sleep outside their destroyed homes .
GHESKIO was able however to reach out to their patients, and to offer health services . Their office was destroyed, so clinics had to be held in the courtyard.
The questions from the audience followed. One question referred to the UN guidelines for emergency response for HIV/AIDS.. Dr Massiah suggested that the guidelines existed but that nobody had time to read them and that the UN system in Haiti had also been caught off guard. A woman congratulated Dr Joseph on his presentation since she realised that Haitian people were actively involved in the HIV response in Haiti and she questioned why Dr Farmer was the only name which came up. Dr Joseph said that GHESKIO had excellet relationships with different agencies including Dr Farmer's PIH. A question was raised as to whether the military could play a role in improving responses, and it was noted that the military were usually involved in maintaining order after a disaster.
The question was asked about vulnerability for clarification and what lessons could be learned to protect the vulnerable. Sharon Mottley from Trinidad asked about the vulnerable groups as well. The response from Mr Charles was that it was important to protect single mothers, young girls and young boys who might be looking for money and who might want to be involved in economic activities. Dr Massiah restated that it would be necessary to redefine vulnerable to include all of those would demand services post-disaster and not just the "traditional groups"
Some Caribbean people started to leave to go to another protest activity.
A question was asked whether GHESKIO had a relationship with SeroVIE (Haitian NGO working with MSM and sex workers). Dr Joseph responded that GHESKIO had relationships with many NGOs.
Mr Brown restated that Pancap had relationships with CVC and other representatives from vulnerable communities and invited the participants to the Caribbean meet and greet on Wednesday 21 July at 7:30.
Mr Charles is from the Grenada National AIDS Council.
["Getting intimate" we think is the official Grenadian translation of 'have sex' .
In other Caribbean places, Getting Intimate means sharing your landline telephone number, home address, last name, or kissing. Many people have sex without getting too intimate while others crave intimacy without having sex.]
The panel discussion organised by PANCAP was titled "Universal Access in Post Disaster Situations : the Caribbean Experience" and featured a panel comprising Dr Ernest Massiah from UNAIDS; Mr Terry Charles from Grenada; Dr Rosaida Ochoa Soto from the Ministry of Health in Cuba and Dr Patrice Joseph from GHESKIO in Haiti. The moderator was Mr Carl Brown.
Dr Massiah reflected on the lessons learned from UNAIDS and noted that the humanitarian effort which follows disasters has to be managed to ensure that aid meets the needs of those who are affected by HIV. He noted that it would appear that HIV is not always a "conscious part" of the relief effort since many persons are focussed on dealing with needs such as shelter and food. He also stressed that civil society groups which worked with persons living with HIV/AIDS should be able to articulate the needs of those persons after a disaster situation.
The complexity of language continued. Dr Ernest Massiah in his conclusions remarked that the word 'vulnerable' had to redefined in the context of post-disaster situations since there will be people who are vulnerable who need food and other things which have to be provided to people living with HIV/AIDs.
Mr Charles reflected on the Grenada experience after Ivan and Emily, and noted that Grenada's National Disaster Plan now includes a component on support for HIV. He also cautioned that in post-disaster situations, there will be some people who while offering humanitarian aid, might also prey on the vulnerable. He noted the importance of teaching people to maintaining their
self respect and dignity.
Language now proved to be problematic. Mr Carl Brown announced that the costs of an interpreter were too high for PANCAP so that professional services could not be provided for Dr Soto. This he did after saying that PANCAP welcomed the contribution from Cuba.
Surely, after all that Cuba has done for the Caribbean, the PANCAP people could have adjusted the Vienna budget (perdiems, hotel costs, reduce the stay by one day) and paid for an interpreter. Dr Soto's power point was in English. Her presentation was the only one which directly talked about the vulnerable groups including MSM (men who have sex with men, or HSH in Spanish). The presentation reflected on Cuba's preoccupation with disaster planning and the involvement of people with AIDS in making those plans. She noted that Cuba also provided health services to other countries post disaster and that it was important to prepare those workers to deal with HIV in those other countries. The final recommendation from this presentation was that it was important to promote the values of solidarity and unity.
Dr Joseph spoke of the experience after Haiti and GHESKIO's involvement in post earthquake Haiti. He posited that even with the best disaster plan, the scale of the earthquake could not compensate for the destruction. Many of those who provided care were also affected, and Dr Joseph dedicated the presentation to those who worked despite losing their loved ones and having to sleep outside their destroyed homes .
GHESKIO was able however to reach out to their patients, and to offer health services . Their office was destroyed, so clinics had to be held in the courtyard.
The questions from the audience followed. One question referred to the UN guidelines for emergency response for HIV/AIDS.. Dr Massiah suggested that the guidelines existed but that nobody had time to read them and that the UN system in Haiti had also been caught off guard. A woman congratulated Dr Joseph on his presentation since she realised that Haitian people were actively involved in the HIV response in Haiti and she questioned why Dr Farmer was the only name which came up. Dr Joseph said that GHESKIO had excellet relationships with different agencies including Dr Farmer's PIH. A question was raised as to whether the military could play a role in improving responses, and it was noted that the military were usually involved in maintaining order after a disaster.
The question was asked about vulnerability for clarification and what lessons could be learned to protect the vulnerable. Sharon Mottley from Trinidad asked about the vulnerable groups as well. The response from Mr Charles was that it was important to protect single mothers, young girls and young boys who might be looking for money and who might want to be involved in economic activities. Dr Massiah restated that it would be necessary to redefine vulnerable to include all of those would demand services post-disaster and not just the "traditional groups"
Some Caribbean people started to leave to go to another protest activity.
A question was asked whether GHESKIO had a relationship with SeroVIE (Haitian NGO working with MSM and sex workers). Dr Joseph responded that GHESKIO had relationships with many NGOs.
Mr Brown restated that Pancap had relationships with CVC and other representatives from vulnerable communities and invited the participants to the Caribbean meet and greet on Wednesday 21 July at 7:30.
No more bullshit
Bullshit, bullshit was the cry from the audience which cheered after Robert Carr's closing presentation in the panel "MSM, HIV and Activism : Key Questions and Strategies for Moving Forward" in the closing plenary of the MSM Pre-conference.
We in the Caribbean have had many internationally renowned orators.. Burnham, Eric Williams, Rodney .. Robert's passion and "righteous anger as panel moderator Stephen Lewis put it , came over succinctly in the history of those great Caribbean orators, in Robert's call for no more bullshit.
The remarks focussed on :-
We in the Caribbean have had many internationally renowned orators.. Burnham, Eric Williams, Rodney .. Robert's passion and "righteous anger as panel moderator Stephen Lewis put it , came over succinctly in the history of those great Caribbean orators, in Robert's call for no more bullshit.
The remarks focussed on :-
- Bullshit was the word used to describe the provision of peer education workshops and workshops "using dildos to show how to put on condoms" while other sections of the Government - police, social services, education services discriminated against MSM are not the signs of any Government's activities to addressing the needs of MSM.
- Bullshit was the word used to describe the politicians' acceptance that homophobia was equivalent to nation building, and that homosexuality was a western imposition, and that homosexuals were not citizens
- Bullshit was the word used to describe the UN's slow movement to invest in programmes that directly targetted MSM,and their complicit avoidance of the homophobia in the Government partners - even though the UN is committed to good governance, democracy and human rights.
- Bullshit was the word used to describe the expectation that civil society activists who are providing services and advocating for MSM must work as volunteers. The call was made for independent funds for Civil Society organisations.
it was arite
The Caribbean participants at the MSM GF conference attended different sessions in the very broad programme. There were a few persons affiliated to CVC who did presentations, and one poster presentation was submitted by Pride in Youth about their project in Jamaica with LGBT youth.
Robert Carr in his presentation in the panel "Always Left Out: Queer African and Caribbea Black Diaspora Populations Navigating Sexuality and HIV/ADIS through Migration" celebrated the progress being made in Jamaica and the Caribbean - given the complex challenges of dealing with homsexuality in the region. Robert noted the most recent Stand for Silence as a symbol of that progress. Reginald Dupont's presentation of SeroVIE's work in Haiti was also well received.
Mark noted that people were interested in the work being done by PRIDE In Action ( mail indefenceofequality (at) gmail.com ) with LGBT youth. This poster presentation was about the project in which LGBT youth from Jamaica worked in camp retreats in the Jamaican countryside to learn leadership and team skills. A component of the project is the building of relationships with the camp owners and other staff.
[This blogger missed the afternoon session since he had to negotiate the Vienna metro to find a mall which sold adaptors]
The Caribbean people attended different presentations and workshops. Some had mixed views saying that the quality was not what they expected while others found the content interesting and relevant to their work. A few people admitted to dozing off during some of the sessions, the heat and jet lag of the long travel from the Caribbean.
Most people felt the same as the trans person from Guyana said, that the day was arite.
Robert Carr in his presentation in the panel "Always Left Out: Queer African and Caribbea Black Diaspora Populations Navigating Sexuality and HIV/ADIS through Migration" celebrated the progress being made in Jamaica and the Caribbean - given the complex challenges of dealing with homsexuality in the region. Robert noted the most recent Stand for Silence as a symbol of that progress. Reginald Dupont's presentation of SeroVIE's work in Haiti was also well received.
Mark noted that people were interested in the work being done by PRIDE In Action ( mail indefenceofequality (at) gmail.com ) with LGBT youth. This poster presentation was about the project in which LGBT youth from Jamaica worked in camp retreats in the Jamaican countryside to learn leadership and team skills. A component of the project is the building of relationships with the camp owners and other staff.
[This blogger missed the afternoon session since he had to negotiate the Vienna metro to find a mall which sold adaptors]
The Caribbean people attended different presentations and workshops. Some had mixed views saying that the quality was not what they expected while others found the content interesting and relevant to their work. A few people admitted to dozing off during some of the sessions, the heat and jet lag of the long travel from the Caribbean.
Most people felt the same as the trans person from Guyana said, that the day was arite.
the Crown Princess is not here but the queen is..
The MC said that the Crown Princess of Norway could not come to address the opening plenary of Be Heard! The MSM Pre-Conference, but not to worry, since the queen was there - there were many references to queens during the day.
The Opening plenary of the MSM (men who have sex with men) pre conference featured remarks and presentations which were endured in a very hot conference room. A lot of people were fanning, some were dozing. Chris Beyrer's presentation The Global Epidemics of HIV Among MSM in 2010: Epidemiology, Responses, and Human Rights discussed the results of a study which was complex to understand in the hot room, but the gist of which was that they could prove that improving services to MSM in a human rights framework would reduce HIV infection rates generally in the population. The four pillars which were tested are :-
No doubt, many of our Caribbean not-homophobic holders of the Caribbean morals and consciousness would say that the science was flawed.. Dr Breyer did dedicate this presentation to his partner who died in a time when there were no ARVs ... so we could imagine the reminders about the gay militant conspiracy..
Michel Sidibé from, UNAIDS celebrated the recent news from Iceland and Argentina about the legislation of same sex marriage. He repeated his support for the efforts to change laws which criminalise same-sex relationships and to remove homophobia from the health sector. He congratulated all the persons there for the work being done.
Joel Nana reminded the plenary about the importance of donors understanding indigenous LGBT movements. He spoke passionately about the advocates in Africa who face great personal risk and who are expected to work voluntarily. He also called on donors to listen as well to those activists and not only preach.
Three young persons from the Caribbean said that they found the plenary long and boring. They said that they needed to have a youth rep on the steering committee. They liked Joel Nana's remarks. (Joel Nana is not 30 as yet). Other Caribbean people felt that these remarks were relevant to the Caribbean since there are Caribbean movements which are being forced to be organised and become professionalised.
One person said that Chris Breyer's presentation was enlightening, while others felt that could have been in one of the sessions since it was very technical.
People were glad that Michael Sidibe spoke but some said he sounded a bit confusing, while a Cameroonian said he thought he might have been nervous speaking in a forum of MSM.
In the discussion during the networking coffee break about whether Michael Sidbie deh suh.. one Caribbean man said no, not with that shirt he was wearing, no gay man would wear a shirt like that.
The Opening plenary of the MSM (men who have sex with men) pre conference featured remarks and presentations which were endured in a very hot conference room. A lot of people were fanning, some were dozing. Chris Beyrer's presentation The Global Epidemics of HIV Among MSM in 2010: Epidemiology, Responses, and Human Rights discussed the results of a study which was complex to understand in the hot room, but the gist of which was that they could prove that improving services to MSM in a human rights framework would reduce HIV infection rates generally in the population. The four pillars which were tested are :-
- outreach with condom and lubricant promotion
- community level behavioural interventions
- ARV provision
- harm reduction/substitution therapy for durg users
No doubt, many of our Caribbean not-homophobic holders of the Caribbean morals and consciousness would say that the science was flawed.. Dr Breyer did dedicate this presentation to his partner who died in a time when there were no ARVs ... so we could imagine the reminders about the gay militant conspiracy..
Michel Sidibé from, UNAIDS celebrated the recent news from Iceland and Argentina about the legislation of same sex marriage. He repeated his support for the efforts to change laws which criminalise same-sex relationships and to remove homophobia from the health sector. He congratulated all the persons there for the work being done.
Joel Nana reminded the plenary about the importance of donors understanding indigenous LGBT movements. He spoke passionately about the advocates in Africa who face great personal risk and who are expected to work voluntarily. He also called on donors to listen as well to those activists and not only preach.
Three young persons from the Caribbean said that they found the plenary long and boring. They said that they needed to have a youth rep on the steering committee. They liked Joel Nana's remarks. (Joel Nana is not 30 as yet). Other Caribbean people felt that these remarks were relevant to the Caribbean since there are Caribbean movements which are being forced to be organised and become professionalised.
One person said that Chris Breyer's presentation was enlightening, while others felt that could have been in one of the sessions since it was very technical.
People were glad that Michael Sidibe spoke but some said he sounded a bit confusing, while a Cameroonian said he thought he might have been nervous speaking in a forum of MSM.
In the discussion during the networking coffee break about whether Michael Sidbie deh suh.. one Caribbean man said no, not with that shirt he was wearing, no gay man would wear a shirt like that.
The hotel is a scam...
The last leg of the journey, and Bernard from St Lucia gets a text that says that the hotel is a scam , let us wait on a new address. This is in Heathrow. It has been a long journey to get a lot of people here to Vienna. Visa applications had to be done, flights had to be booked and accomodation had to be arranged.
Bernard wore his red ribbon and many people asked him if he was going to the conference. I saw a woman in the line at Heathrow with her AIDS 2008 conference and she said that she was heading to Vienna. She from Trinidad. But she have two suitcase of stuff fuh people in London, you know how it is. The lady said that plenty people not coming from Trinidad who normally come since the Government change. So we have to explore whether Kamla Government holding back on the ATM card for AIDS conferences.
The plane from Trinidad also had 84 people from Trinidad related to the Bishops Anstey Girls School choir..heading to Vienna to sing. Good for Trinidad!
So Bernard phone not getting signal in Vienna and we have to go find out where we supposed to be staying. We contact Marcus over the internet at a kiosk.. good thing he answer back.
It turns that the booking made by Marcus via Hostel Bookers did not go through. The hotel manager said he has never heard of them! Anyways it was sorted out. There was no free breakfast the first day though.
Some persons are annoyed at their accomodation arrangements while others have adjusted. It is not easy since small hotels in Vienna apparently do not need to be customer friendly for tourism, unlike us in the Caribbean
Bernard wore his red ribbon and many people asked him if he was going to the conference. I saw a woman in the line at Heathrow with her AIDS 2008 conference and she said that she was heading to Vienna. She from Trinidad. But she have two suitcase of stuff fuh people in London, you know how it is. The lady said that plenty people not coming from Trinidad who normally come since the Government change. So we have to explore whether Kamla Government holding back on the ATM card for AIDS conferences.
The plane from Trinidad also had 84 people from Trinidad related to the Bishops Anstey Girls School choir..heading to Vienna to sing. Good for Trinidad!
So Bernard phone not getting signal in Vienna and we have to go find out where we supposed to be staying. We contact Marcus over the internet at a kiosk.. good thing he answer back.
It turns that the booking made by Marcus via Hostel Bookers did not go through. The hotel manager said he has never heard of them! Anyways it was sorted out. There was no free breakfast the first day though.
Some persons are annoyed at their accomodation arrangements while others have adjusted. It is not easy since small hotels in Vienna apparently do not need to be customer friendly for tourism, unlike us in the Caribbean
Rights Here, Right Now: CVC Coalition and AIDS 2010
Originally posted here
The membership is drawn from the Caribbean and includes people and organizations who work in Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Curaçao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, the French Caribbean, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
CVC members expect that at AIDS 2010 there will be greater Caribbean participation than at previous International AIDS Conferences, especially by those from vulnerable populations. The experience of networking through the Global Village is expected to be quite positive and CVC members also believe that encounters with donors and multilateral agencies will highlight the need for rights-based programming in the region. In addition, CVC me
Rights Here, Right Now: CVC Coalition and AIDS 2010
By Vidyaratha Kissoon, CVC Media Volunteer, AIDS 2010. CVC is an AIDS 2010 Organizing Partner.The Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) endorses the theme Rights Here, Right Now for AIDS 2010.
CVC is a coalition of community leaders and non-governmental agencies providing services directly to and on behalf of Caribbean populations who are especially vulnerable to HIV infection or often forgotten in access to treatment and healthcare programmes. These groups include:
- men who have sex with men
- sex workers
- people who use drugs
- orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV
- migrant populations
- ex-prisoners
- youth in especially difficult circumstances.
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| Youth in Toco, Trinidad. Credit: UNAIDS/B. Press. |
CVC's participation in AIDS 2010 is critical to the objective of generating an enabling environment to support human rights and improve the quality of life of vulnerable populations.
At the launch of CVC's Campaign to Vienna in October 2009, CVC Co-Chairperson Marcus Day encouraged members to participate in AIDS 2010, saying “The AIDS conference presents a brilliant opportunity for us to showcase the work that the Caribbean does in addressing the issues of vulnerable populations in a less than ideal political and social environment”.
The work being done in this “less than ideal political and social environment” is what CVC members would like to share with the world at AIDS 2010 through the main conference and participation in Caribbean Regional activities that will run concurrent with the conference.
CVC participated in developing the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS – 2008 to 2012 (pdf), which recognises six priority areas for action. These are:
- An enabling environment that fosters universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services
- An expanded and coordinated multisectoral response to the HIV epidemic
- Prevention of HIV transmission
- Treatment, care, and support
- Capacity development for HIV/AIDS services
- Monitoring, evaluation, and research
The AIDS 2010 theme Rights Here, Right Now brings the focus of the AIDS gathering to the human rights environment, which is necessary for the first priority action for the Caribbean and one in which there are still strides to be made.
CVC members are further concerned that there has been a shift away from rights-based programming for HIV/AIDS in the region.
CVC partner organisations have been conducting important advocacy work to emphasise human rights. In Guyana, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has launched a constitutional challenge against the Cross Dressing laws. SASOD, in collaboration with the Sexuality Rights Initiative, also made a submission to the 8th UPR (pdf), and the Government of Guyana is expected to respond on the measures it will take to ensure the rights of its LGBT citizens. In Jamaica, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays coordinated a Stand against Silence and a March for Tolerance, both events held with civil society organisations. The United Belize Advocacy Movement continues to highlight human rights violations and to press for redress when necessary.
CVC's priorities at AIDS 2010 are to highlight and advocate that:
- adequate attention is paid to the needs of vulnerable communities in Haiti, which was devastated by an earthquake in January 2010
- states of the English-speaking Caribbean repeal all legislation criminalizing relationships between same-sex consenting adults, which limit the free development of their personalities
- Caribbean states introduce legislation to protect, guarantee and promote equality of individuals regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression
- violence against sex workers, including migrant sex workers, is recognised as a form of gender-based violence because most of the sex workers who experience violence from the state and private individuals are women or male-to-female transgenders.
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| CVC Montego Bay Workshop, November 2009. |
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