My Turn by José F. Colón

Elections are over and many lives are still at stake. We have to decide how we will face the decisions made by those who are now in power. These will undoubtedly influence our lives, as well as the means for our survival.

Twenty-five years have passed since the beginning of the epidemic and we are still depending on the good will and good faith of those who have power so they can deliver the resources according to our rising needs. The battle against the virus is beyond our T cells; it has moved silently to the halls and offices on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

The elected officials of each state and territory of the U.S. will undoubtedly have to face decisions that will either benefit us or lead us to doom. We have to make them understand that the crisis pertains to all of us, not just those who at the beginning were the so-called “high-risk groups.”

There is evidence that fundamentalist religious groups have lobbied for their own agendas. Sadly, HIV/AIDS patients are not included as a priority because we represent the destruction of the conservative model of the righteous family—a dangerous fact which distorts the reality that HIV/AIDS can affect anyone. Even though many of these family members turn out to become HIV-positive, the misleading concept is still immersed in the mindsets of many who—because of denial and ignorance—do not understand the reality of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is a very dangerous misconception.

Painfully, the old concept of sin being the reason for the appearance of the virus still lingers, and surprisingly there are those who fervently believe this. Mercy has become an idealistic afterthought when faced with political power.

We need to constantly remind others that there is a separation between the church and the state, dogma and science. Now, with the appearance of such issues as same-sex marriages, this will be a message twice as difficult to deliver. We have to remind people that gay marriage has absolutely nothing to do with the spread of HIV. On the contrary, it could serve as a palliative measure to prevent the spread of the illness.

Bigotry, stigma, and discrimination are alive and kicking like a creature in the womb of a monster. Even though they are exercised today in different and more subtle, silent ways, their negative impact is still being felt. It gets worse if, besides being HIV-positive or having AIDS, you are either part of a minority or have no means to survive.

People living with HIV/AIDS are not as united as we should be, in a broad coalition for our rights. The material conditions in which we struggle to survive divide our intentions and the public expressions of our rights, such as has happened in this last Presidential vote.

Money, businesses, health insurance opportunities, drug prices and their availability dictate our moves. We’re puppets in a deadly scenario, controlled by giant corporations that survive feasting off our sorrow and pain. This has to stop. Unity is the key to change. This unity has to be in a global, not just hemispheric, context because, as long as there is one individual suffering from HIV/AIDS, it still continues as a menace to humankind as a whole.

Recently the conservative sector of the nation has made decisions that will affect us for at least the next four years. We have to urgently point out the factors that will provide the means for our survival. We need to acknowledge those who are concerned with our well-being: people who do not discriminate because of race, religion, civil status or sexual orientation, whichever term fits best. We cannot have the luxury of giving one more second to those who do not recognize the health crisis in which we are immersed.

We must halt old, rusty, and stagnant ways of thinking and the beliefs that try to retain control of the agenda that supposedly rules our lives. The time has come for a powerful social revolution that will impact, not only our daily routines and our emotional

relations, but also the concept of family, our financial moves, and, most of all, our health.

Truthfully, we cannot do this alone. We need the support of all those involved directly or indirectly in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We need all our peers working hand in hand in the construction of an inclusive, solid, just and equal society. We also need our families and extended families working together with us to be able to reach our goal and victoriously live in a pluralistic, healthy society. We need the support of all those who have suffered the pains of stigma and discrimination in their lives, but have decidedly chosen life over death and the struggle for survival.

If we do this now, we will live these next four years in a better, safer, and definitely healthier world.

José F. Colón serves as a facilitator and educator of an organization called Pacientes de SIDA pro Política Sana (AIDS Patients for Sane Policies), based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For comments you may e-mail him at: jfcolon062@aol.com.

March 2005