It’s 1st December 2008 when I wrote this entry. This entry was originally meant for another one of my regular venting until I saw a young child, who is probably still in her primary school walked passed me at my regular breakfast spot. I almost missed the red ribbon that she’s wearing, pinned on her black coloured t-shirt. All but a child reminded me that today, 1st December 2008 hold more significant than other day. Today is supposed to be the World Red Ribbon Day, or in other words, the World AIDS Day.
The realization hit me very hard on my head. I felt as if I’ve been knocked on the head by an imaginary teacher, and it hurts. I have realized two things over my cuppa tea after seeing the little girl wearing a pinned ribbon on her t-shirt, which is first, I did not do my part as a human being to make a difference to stop the stigma on the number one pandemic that still shows no sign of stopping. And two, I realized that Malaysians are not doing much to stop the innocent being victimized by AIDS. If Malaysian government have been doing their part to reduce the spread of this pandemic, I would have realized earlier that today is World AIDS Day. If Malaysian bloggers bothered enough to talk about AIDS the way they camwhore on their blogs, write about their food gluttony, bitch about politics or even gossips, I would have realized earlier that today is world’s AIDS Day. And if only Malaysian newspaper stop bootlicking the politicians for a while to reflect on Word AIDS Day, I would have worn the red ribbon myself today.
And so, today, as a blogger, I’m really ashamed of myself, for even planning to write about something that do not really matter, something that could not make a difference to the the world. So today, I would like to speak up about AIDS and the innocents. You may read this entry or even skip this altogether, I don’t mind. I just would like to spare my conscience from a guilt trip from being an ignorant and selfish human being. I may not so much difference with this entry, but at least, once you, precious readers saw the red ribbon, you’ll know what day is it today.
The innocents that I’m talking about is women and children who contracted AIDS simply because they had sex with their husband, and simply because a baby is born to a woman who is HIV positive. AIDS are often a result of infidelities and casual sex. It’s sad to see women and children all around the world had AIDS because of their husband/father’s lusts.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.
Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.
Currently only a minority of pregnant women living with HIV in the developing world are provided with drugs to prevent the virus being transmitted to their babies. As a result, nearly half a million children become infected with HIV every year.
I will not talk about how AIDS is spread and what we can and cannot do when we interact with a person who have AIDS, you probably know that. Let’s talk about stopping HIV from being transmitted from mothers to babies.The vast majority children’s prevented by stopping the transmission of HIV from mothers to their babies. If babies don’t become infected with HIV then they won’t develop AIDS and die.
Any baby born to a mother with HIV risks becoming infected during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. The chance of this happening can be massively reduced by giving HIV infected mothers and their babies anti-HIV drugs and, where appropriate, by feeding the baby using formula rather than breast milk.
These interventions are known as the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission or “PMTCTâ€. No mother wants to pass HIV to her child, but without PMTCT interventions, around one in three babies born to women with HIV will become infected with HIV themselves.
In developed countries, almost all HIV infected women will receive good PMTCT care. With the best treatment and formula feeding, the chance of HIV being transmitted to the baby is less than two percent. But I doubt Malaysian women are getting such care, as the stigma is still huge in Malaysia, not to mention that women cannot access PMTCT service because it’s not available or inefficient in hospital or clinics. Stigma does not help the situation too. Once a woman is infected by HIV, she’s doomed to be called names and shunned by the society, even though she’s innocent and gets HIV as a result of her husband’s wild sex life.
My writing today may not do much difference to the escalating number of women and children getting AIDS, but I do hope to make known of this campaign that is aimed to stop the transmission of AIDS from mother to their babies. I’m pretty sure that not many is aware that such this is actually possible.
Please, I beg of all of you, spare some time to VISIT THIS SITE to find out more about PMTCT and spread about it.
Join the campaign. Your effort may be not much, but it could possibly save a life or two. You, precious readers, can make a difference. If you can camwhore for your blog, write about your food adventure or anticipation for upcoming parties or events, you definitely can do this, something that could possibly save children’s life.
Cleffairy: The children do not have to suffer for the sin of their father and mother. Stop the innocent from suffering and dying.
The goverment must allocate more money to combat AIDS menace in the country. Poor innocent children!
My compassion is always for those AIDS patients who got it not from their own doing, seriosuly my sympathy…..
Actually, you can join. Just be real in your workplace when talking about AIDS/ HIV.
Clef,
Seemed like we are in sync on the same topic that is close to us and thanks in sharing your perspective and experience. We set up a club in our university to share the knowledge of AIDs/ HIV. Even that, we are looked upon as liberal, prob sexually ‘easy’ people. haha. My Malay colleague got it worst in one outing to Marang to educate. Anyway, met MM few times and went to her blog yesterday to support. her posting on WAD did not get a lot of comment then.
Anyway, i also confronted my issues of gays, crossdressers, condoms and what my religion is. kekek. Though there are things that contradicts, the love of Christ is real regardless of their health, ‘past sins’, etc. and we see that translated to action. Am not involve in HIV works anymore yet like to encourage people to be real & not pretend that it is a non-issue. Do support your agenda and let us encourage each other. Your writtings will inspire us.
Pete, unfortunately, the government is too busy tending to menial things such as banning yoga, party election and tomboyism!
Eugene, I always felt the same way too, that is why I write an entry to make known of PMTCT- not many people know that HIV transition from mother to babies could be minimal with medical attention.
Amoker, I can only talk and inspire people. I couldn’t bear joining in person. I know someone who died of AIDS, and the grief is still imprinted in my mind. I do not have the courage to be involve personally again, not yet. I actually forgot about 1st Dec being AIDS day til I saw a lil girl wearing a red ribbon on her shirt yesterday. I felt so bad.
Anyway, you’re right about people looking at us as liberals when we support AIDS patience and whatnot. When you talk about condoms, safe sex and fidelities, people would start tongue lashing. Sometimes, very sick and fed up with people’s attitude. But then again, I still have a heart, I do not wish the innocents to pay for other’s sin. So I think you can understand why I shoutout PMTCT. I haven’t pay a visit to MM’s blog… I was unavoidably detained yesterday… bloody work is keeping me away from a lot of things. 🙁 maybe I’ll do it later to hand in some support and encouragement.
I do wish people will be more aware on this things.
Some people just bother to concern about this~
Pity those fellas who get this from the other people…
I do wish people will be more aware on this things.
Some people just bother to concern about this~
Pity those fellas who get this from the other people…
i just find out it is world aids day when i listen to the radio.
🙂
honestly, majority of the HIV carrier in Malaysia are infected trough sharing of the injector they use for drugs.
then sex is the 2nd in the statistic.
the statistic shown that 80% are *****. (i dun wan to write it here.)
and i am thinking, why all these ppl so stupid ar? they take drugs, and share the damn injector. they rather die for taking drugs….. stupid 1 lar.
there is some HIV carrier is very pity, they are infected via sexual intercourse with their love 1. and fuck their spouse for fucking prostitute!
but not only females are unlucky in this kind of case.
some sohai guys also get infected coz their gf’s cibai is actually a public toilet and they still think their gf is an angel, so after they fuck, then both of them are fucked by aids.
while for those woman that are unlucky and get infected from their spouse, they do need support from ppl around them. so dun treat them like they are alien! give them the support they need so that they have the strength to fight the desease!
and do not show that u r pity them all the time too, this will make them feel insulted and make them feel like themself are useless.
just be who you are —> a friend, listen to them when they need someone to talk, then that will help them to fight for surviving a lot.
ppl always said that prostitution is due to poverty.
yes, thats only applies to kenya, india, africa etc, not in malaysia.
so money donation is not a solution for this category of HIV carrier.
in fact the gov should do something about this, educate the young ppl properly, not just squeeze them with religion only. educate the young ppl to have a better future, tell them that working by “open both legs” is not a way to earn easy money as it will cause their live!
a lot of prostitute and ah kuah at chow kit working in sex industry is not bcoz they can’t find proper job, half of them is actually wanted to earn money by doing nothing, so they just want to work by just lay down on the bed and just open the leg without doing anything.
for this issue, whose fault it is? it is the government.
and for those who infecting HIV to their spouse, this is my msg to u:
cibai kia! u know those prostitute is the government’s fault, u still go and pay them and let them think open leg business is easy ar? u r the kind of pukimak that causing more ppl become prostitute!
and even if u wan to fuck them also, u dunno wat is condom ar? chow kit got 7-11 rite? buy there b4 u fuck lar! no brain 1 ar?
and to those who infected via blood transfusion in hospital, u should murder the doctor and the nurse who give u that pack of blood.
and don’t hate god, maybe god want you to go back to him for some purpose…
woah!!! garfield is really pissed off. you go at it bro. you have my full support.
i do believe that the govt should be partially blamed for this. rather than to point the finger to only one person, we should reflect on ourselves 1st. HIV and AIDS is controllable by prevention. I think some of the prostitutes and ah kuas who are already infected do not care for themselves, do you think they care for their patrons. and usually they are protected by someone or some gang related people. police are bribed to close eye, govt officials compensated for opening additional karaoke and pubs. haih!!!! i always believe prevention is better than cure.
it is always good to support something for the good mankind. though i am unable to donate large sums of money, i show support by spreading the word around my colleagues and even tried to have them pin the red ribbons that i got from my church. cherio clef…. 🙂
but if not 270000 children die of AIDS, do we have enough money for them to survive, go to school, etc??? anyway wish those AIDS victims dont bring new life to this world any more
yea ppl..don’t go find pok pok kai =X … Jie u wrong ler..whr got pain xD
However, I think there is very few people realize how AIDS/HIV can be transmitted. Some of them just ignore the education. Lets just hope they will take this thing more seriously.
A great post, Sis Cleff!!
but u hv a typo error in 2nd paragraph.XD
Zara, people can be aware of all these things, about AIDS, I mean, but people choose to ignore the importance of education on AIDS, safe sex and etc.
Garfield, dun bother censoring your writing here. What does Over A Cuppa Tea looks like to you? Censorship board ah? You mean to say wud? Bitches? Fuckers? If that’s the case, I really agree with you. Most of HIV positive people are actually those people- drug addicts, prostitutes, bisexual, etc. But then again, there are the innocents… the wife, the babies, in some cases, like you say, some bf and husbands. Things like that do happen when a person is not faithful and does not practice safe sex.
Yes, government is at fault too… allowing so many immigrants to come in- most of them end up as sex workers and stuff. Bring in so many known and unknown desease-no proper medical check up was done on these foreigners before they come in too.
Anyway, Garfield, stigma is always there. Even though a woman is innocent in her part, but when she seek medical attention for herself and her baby, then start the talks and the looks, even from doctors and nurses. That’s what stop women, or innocent people from getting medical care-stigma. Once you have HIV, people will condemn you without second thoughts on how you get it in the first place.
And about the fucking thing… LOL… aiyo… 7-11 only sell those cheap condoms la. Dun have safe kind. You know 7-11 sell playsafe onli. Playsafe always pecah wan la… u dunno meh? LMAO. Side note… these days girls loves to find easy money wan. A lot also became sugar baby wud, not only to one men, but a few men at the same time. Siao wan. One man also enough headache liao, they still wan a few. GILA. (I wonder how loose they are… hmmm)
Calvin… lol, Garfield sure is pissed. LOL…hot blooded when it comes to this topic. Ahahaha….Prevention cannot be done when people refused to prevent these kind of things from happening. This is what happen when people do not love their family and themselves enough to practice safe sex and infidelities.
AhFu, Actually MAC, Malaysia AIDS Council are not only trying to save the children, but also keep them educated. They’re working with UNICEF regarding the matter too. We can’t really stop them from being born, because some of them are not even aware that they have AIDS. Especially when the victims are devoted wives, etc.
Seng, my lil didi WHAT? YOU WENT TO CUT your kuku bird liao ah? Oihhh, your bday coming soon leh… hohoho, how are you celebrating?
Arc…yeah, some people choose to ignore such thing, because they thought it can never happen to them. But in truth, we do not know that if it’ll happen to us one day. If not because of sexual intercourse, but by accident, like blood transfusion and stuff. (you know how gov hospital do work wan la). Aiyaks, sorry bout the typo. This article was written at 4am. LMAO.
yeap..big boy d lmao ^_^ treat my frens them eat kolok mee + wantan can d..bo lui ar =X
Hehehe… 5 more days nia leh. Aiyoh, dun treat ur friends, ask them treat u. LMAO….(if ppl ask, dun say jie teach wan ah! LOL)
Hello, sista Cleff, already published the Japanese Tofu Recipe you requested at my blog. No pictures because have not cook it for a very long time. So this time u need to cook and publish in your blog for us to comment. Deal? LOL
=.= adeihh….my writing skill on food is horrible… ahahaha… i can be a lot of thing but not a food blogger, but I’ll try the recipe and see… ahemm… if the food come out edible, den I’ll publish the pic here. LOL. Oihh, like food tag lah!
It’s horrible enough to have AIDS, more so to pass it to the wife and kids…. Sigh… I really hope a cure is around soon!
by the way, just wanted to add some more information.
Those ppl who have HIV, it doesn’t mean that they have AIDS yet.
Is just ppl who have HIV have high possibility will developed to AIDS.
HIV means = Not dying yet, still can live very long. as long as got take EZT to control the virus, still can survive quite long.
AIDS means = Dying soon, it has become worse. Usually ppl who never take the medication and continue with their stupid activities like wat i said above will cause their HIV to develope to become AIDS sooner, since he/she already have the virus in the body, still go and get more, sure the viruses become stronger more fast lar.