Editorial Precarite- Extinction of humanity

HEAD: Precarite-Extinction
of Humanity

YOUTH
In this edition we have featured a number of Youth oriented HIV/AIDS initiatives, punctuated by very graphic images of a car wreck. These pictures were taken in Trinidad at the scene of a fatal accident in which a 19 year old lost his life behind the wheel. They were chosen for this edition to remind us all that our future is determined by our current actions. In Trinidad , 73% of infections occur between ages 15 to 49 years. 48% of new infections occur in females. In the 15-24 age group, 74% of the new infections occur in females.

TSUNAMIS
In a matter of seconds, at a level of over 150,000 deaths and climbing, the Indian Ocean region has demonstrated both the Chaos theory and the fragility of live in the 21 st century. Thousands more are missing and injured … in the largest earthquake to strike the globe since 1964, causing devastating tsunami waves. We in the Caribbean can play a role to assist relief agencies by not only pledging but sending financial support. We urge each of you to consider sending as little as USD $10.00 to any of the following agencies listed on our Website under the heading Tsunami Relief Fund.

TSUNAMIS AND THE CARIBBEAN
In the past 500 years there have been at least ten earthquake-generated tsunamis in the entire Caribbean which have been reported and verified. Four of these have led to deaths. In total about 350 people in the Caribbean have been killed by these events.
These tsunamis occurred as a result of earthquakes in:

•      May 1842, Haiti – An intense local tsunami was believed to have killed up to 200 people in the town of Port-de-Paix . This figure is highly uncertain since total casualties caused by the earthquake were more than 7,000.
•      November 1867, Virgin Islands – Death toll about 20, all in the Virgin Islands
•      October 1918, Puerto Rico – Death toll about 29 in Puerto Rico
•      August 1946, Dominican Republic – An intense local tsunami which mainly affected the town of Matanzas where up to 100 people were killed

For updates on these and other geologic events occurring in the region please visit the Seismic Research Unit's website at www.uwiseismic.com Based at the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine Trinidad, the Seismic Research Unit is the agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes and volcanoes throughout the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.

HYPOCRITES
How many hypocrites exist in the field of HIV and AIDS? Even more so how many of them are in high level positions and serve as leaders of many agencies throughout our region? I have received a number of reports abut closeted individuals who have discriminated against certain individuals who are known gay and lesbians, resulting in their resignations from specific HIV/AIDS agencies. The concerns here are that we are loosing good players in the field. These individuals provide excellent related services and have a real interest in the reduction of HIV/AIDS in our communities. And they have been targeted simply because their bosses are threatened of exposure, though there is not real threat. None of these individuals are interested in ‘OUTING' anyone and the fact is that one's personal choice of sexual orientation in their business.

Yet these individuals are so concerned about what may be said about them, that they act in a manner which I personally deem as unprofessional and inhumane. The same issues have been raised by reports of closeted government officials who for similar reasons resist the threat of MSM health and social programmes and the consideration of the repeal of the Buggery or Sodomy Laws. Internal homophobia is a threat in the development of effective national HIV/AIDS programming. It's bad enough that we live in an environment where our representing government officials are bigots with linear intellectual capacities and narrow minded concepts. That is until elections are due.

Perhaps what is needed is to OUT some of them. Expose them before they do more harm to innocent civilians who have chosen difficult enough careers for the sake of helping others. It is ironic how time and again we chose to accept this discrimination and say absolutely nothing, but hold our heads down in shame, for someone else fear of shame. Perhaps that time has come indeed.

Voice of MSM Communities in the Caribbean

Dennis James – DENI
Project director
MSM: No Political Agenda
Lot 3A Gittensdale, La Horquette Valley Road , Glencoe
Tel: 1 (868) 694 1530 / 685 0555
Email: office@msmnpa.org officea@msmnpa.org

Website: www.msmnpa.org

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