10 August, 2009 - International Congress on AIDS in Asia and The

Monday, August 10, 2009
Eight Pages
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF 9TH ICAAP IN COOPERATION WITH The Jakarta Post
Volume 1. Issue 2
Support makes
a world of
difference
Garuda
Wisnu
Kencana
p3
p5
Indonesia sees progress: President
P
resident Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono (SBY) was
upbeat about the growing trend among Indonesians
to be more open about AIDS
and HIV issues while underscoring the importance of
constant efforts to respond to
AIDS.
“While psychological barriers remain, we are seeing
progress. Many people are
now not afraid to speak up and
share their stories. They are
involved in finding solutions to
the difficulties AIDS brings to
their lives,” said SBY in his keynote address at the opening of
the 9th International Congress
on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific
(ICAAP) at the Garuda Wisnu
Kencana Cultural Park, South
Bali, on Sunday.
SBY said that in other parts
of Indonesia, more and more
people were seeking counseling and being tested for HIV.
“This is a good sign that saw a
decrease in the stigma attached
to HIV in Indonesia. We also
saw the provision of antiretroviral therapy to some 18,000
people all over Indonesia, free
of charge,” the President pointed out.
Some 4,000 delegates and
media representatives from 65
countries are taking part in the
five-day biennial international
congress on AIDS, starting on
Sunday. They include health
care professionals, public policy leaders, community advocates, activists, researchers and
journalists.
The event offers four main
issues: understanding the epidemic and strengthening prevention efforts; strengthening
R. Berto Wedhatama
Let’s begin: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono strikes a gong to mark the opening of the 9th ICAAP during a ceremony attended
by thousands of delegates at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park.
partnership for treatment, care
and support; understanding
and addressing socio-cultural,
economic and political determinants; as well as leadership
and broadening the response.
According to SBY, there are
currently some 270,000 people
living with HIV in Indonesia,
which counts as a low-level epidemic. “However, we cannot
overlook this number because,
like in other countries, the actual number could be higher –
significantly higher.”
The President warned that
the number of Indonesians
living with HIV might reach
two million unless preventive
measures were taken.
The struggle against AIDS
required a constant process of
trial and error and a constant
search for new innovations.
“At this juncture, we can already point to a few lessons
that are critical to a successful
response,” SBY stressed.
Quoting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said
that AIDS is one of the most
devastating epidemics in history, the President emphasized
the importance of adopting effective and inter-sectoral policies that aimed at preventing,
containing and reversing the
spread of AIDS.
“These policies do not come
by themselves, they only come
by way of leaderships. Without
leaderships, the fight against
AIDS becomes sporadic, reactive, without focus, lacking
resources and will eventually
lose [their] sting.”
During the opening ceremony, Prof Dr Zubairi Djoerban,
chairman of the 9th ICAAP local organizing committee, on
behalf of the Indonesian AIDS
Society awarded SBY the highest prize for his commitment
and leadership in responding
to the epidemic in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, AIDS Ambassador and Champion for Asia-Pacific, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, said that despite substantial
progress made by several countries in Asia and the Pacific in
reaching some Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs),
many countries in the region
still lagged behind, especially in responding to HIV and
AIDS, malaria and other diseases and also “in recognizing
the link between HIV and all
the MDGs”.
UNAIDS Regional Director
for Asia-Pacific JVR Prasada
Rao disclosed that the AsiaPacific region has a cumulative
estimated five million infected
people, with around one million
of them needing antiretroviral
treatment. However, he said,
it showed progress in terms of
treatment in the past two years.
According to Rao, in at least
10 countries, HIV cases are still
below the educative coverage
and therefore hamper the international movement to offer
better prevention, treatment
and care, which is known as
Universal Access targets.
2
PAGE
Monday, August 10, 2009
HEADLINES
THE 9th ICAAP POST
Issue 2
August 10, 2009
The 9th ICAAP Post is the official
Congress Daily Newspaper
of the 9th International Congress on
AIDS in Asia and the Pacific,
August 9-13, 2009,
Bali, Indonesia.
The 9th ICAAP Post is managed by
The Jakarta Post
EDITORS
Johannes Simbolon
Sudibyo M. Wiradji
Linda Hollands
REPORTER
Andrea Tejokusumo
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Ismail Malik
PHOTOGRAPHER
R. Berto Wedhatama
EDITORIAL ADDRESS
Bali Desa, Villa 608
Nusa Dua, Bali
icaap@thejakartapost.com
THE 9TH ICAAP MEDIA
SUB-COMMITTEE
Danny I. Yatim (Chair)
Ann Lee
Dewi Wulandari
Ikha Widari
Ilmi Suminar
Irwandy Widjaja
Rachmat Irwansjah
Ristya Paramita
Slamet Riyadi
Surya Anaya
Syaiful Harahap
Tantri Yuliandini
Teddy A. Setiadi
Tri Irwanda
The views expressed in the
articles, features and listings
are not necessarily those
of the 9th ICAAP Local
Organizing Committe.
Leader accountability called for
Godsway Shumba
NUSA DUA, BALI
T
he community forum
that was held in preparation of 9th ICAAP
being held on Aug. 9 to 13, 2009
in Nusa Dua, Bali, is an important way of bringing affected
populations together, but some
of the delegates still feel that
communities don’t have the
sufficient urge to hold leaders
accountable.
According to Greg Gray,
Key Populations Manager
Campaign Coordinator for the
World AIDS Campaign (WAC),
representatives of affected
populations are still bogged
down with details, not actionoriented and are always looking for recommendations.
Gray said the community
forum has not been very effective because representatives of
affected populations have been
repeating the same message at
every ICAAP and are finding it
difficult to find solutions to is-
sues affecting them.
“We need to move away
from this approach that has
mostly centered on preaching
to the converted to a focus on
the real issues,” Gray said.
Gray urged delegates of
the community forum to hold
themselves accountable before
preaching the same message of
accountability to leaders in the
region.
He said in terms of organization, the 9th ICAAP community forum has done very
well but there hasn’t been any
action on previous ICAAP joint
statements.
“We have always started on a
blank page and we haven’t been
able to reflect back on previous
statements to hold the leaders
accountable,” Gray said.
Even though there are issues
that need to be addressed in
order to improve the effectiveness of the community forum,
other delegates representing
affected populations felt that
this year’s forum was much
better organized and created a
safe space to talk about issues
affecting marginalized groups.
According to Frika Chia,
the coordinator of Women of
APN+, this year’s community
forum was broad based and
gave affected populations an
opportunity to talk about issues affecting them.
Frika said there were more
days for the various groups to
talk about their issues and she
is hoping that leaders in Asia
and the Pacific will listen and
take action on the joint statement released at the opening
ceremony.
Gray said while there is
need to talk about the issues in
separate meetings, it is also essential for the groups to come
together and find a common
ground.
He said there is need for
better coordination among the
different groups because some
members identify with issues
affecting several groups, for
example, a sex worker may be a
drug user or a man who has sex
with men (MSM).
An unexpected development at this year’s community
forum was men turning up at
the women living with HIV
community forum - a platform
that is only meant for women.
Marina Mahathir, a member
of the Asia Pacific Leadership
Forum Steering Committee,
said this was because these
people had nowhere to go and
that there was a need for future
ICAAPs to look into this and
create a space for them.
She said the Community
Forum is the only way that
ICAAP can ensure the full participation of affected communities and “we are hoping that
through this kind of approach,
change will come.”
The writer is a key correspondent sponsored by the
International HIV/AIDS
Alliance. He can be contacted at
godsway@hdnet.org
COMMUNITY FORUM STATEMENT
The following are excerpts of “Community Response: The change we
want to see” read by Caroline Thomas of Indonesia and Gurmit Singh
of Singapore during the opening ceremony of the 9th ICAAP.
We, the communities of people
living with and affected by HIV, representing women and lesbians, drug users, youth, sex workers, men who have
sex with men, all faiths and migrants
organized and conducted 8 separate
community forums over the last 2
days, to consolidate our learning and
take stock of progress as we prepared
for the 9th ICAAP.
More than 1,200 of us actively participated in discussions to deepen our
understanding and share our knowledge, drawing upon our skills experiences, and expertise as community
leaders. Such a high turnout is unprecedented, and illustrates how all of us
remain committed to the ambitious
task we have set ourselves - to reclaim
our lives and confront the challenges
facing us.
We came together to reflect upon
and raise our awareness of what has
changed since 2007. While we were
pleased to note that progress has been
made since the UNGASS, realizing Universal Access and the Millennium Development Goals remain elusive.
Ladies and gentlemen, what is the
change we want to see?
Here is the change we decided we
want to see and to bring about.
We want our communities to have
support from the governments we
elect.We want our communities to
have the rights to health that others have. We want everyone to earn
enough so that everyone can make the
right choice for their health and that
of their families.
And after that, it’s none of your
business who we sleep with, or what
work we choose to do, or how we live
our lives and realize our dreams.
You don’t know more about how to
take care of our communities’ health
than we do.
We want strong, vibrant, healthy
communities responding to HIV. We
want strong community health systems built on the undeniable scientific
evidence that exists, and based on the
principles of universal human rights
for all.
We are not doing enough if we want
this change, not nearly enough, and
we need to start this change today.
What can we do to make this
change happen?
If we want migrant workers to access health care, let’s implement what
the International Task Team on HIV related Travel Restrictions has affirmed
– that migration is not a risk factor of
HIV transmission, and abolish mandatory testing at our borders
If we want to ensure vulnerable
populations can access services they
have a right to, let’s review and reform harmful obsolete legislation that
criminalizes the behaviors of drug users and men who have sex with men
and sex workers.
If we want to ensure our communities stay strong for the future, let’s
provide access for women and youth
to access, to design, and to program
comprehensive sexual and reproductive heath services.
If drug users are to access harm
reduction services equitably, let’s stop
with one-off projects, and integrate
harm reduction as an essential core
component of governments’ sustained
health programs.
If we are serious about addressing
the needs of sex workers, then let’s
acknowledge that sex work is work
- for males, females, transgenders,
people living with HIV, and people who
use drugs; repeal the USAID restriction called The Pledge, and remove all
laws, policies, and practices that block
effective responses to AIDS.
If we want strong community participation, let’s provide sustainable
core funding for organizations led by
all key affected populations, including
youth.
If we want religion to be an asset
and not an obstacle, let’s strengthen
the role and prominence of faithbased initiatives as our allies in fighting stigma.
If we truly wish GIPA to be a reality, then let GIPA also include greater
involvement of youth living with AIDS,
and also mean greater investment in
the people affected by AIDS
Let us lead and support us so we
can reach our potential to effect
change. After all, there is no manual
for learning by doing and leading by
example. All of us expect leaders to
face up to the challenge in their own
way, in their own time. Fortunately
for all of us who are community leaders, we have all of you - strategists,
analysts, scientists, policymakers and
managers - as our guides and our advisers. Let us lead, and support us, so we
can reach our potential.
We belong to the communities we
create. And life would not be worth
living if we did not belong. We are
the communities we speak for and we
can do better and we will do better,
by learning together, through effective
partnerships, because we are not doing
nearly enough, and we must do better.
We want to see these changes by
the next time we meet. We have the
levers of change at our disposal. We
are optimistic that the old paradigm of
building capacities will transform into
a new one of empowerment, driven
and directed by strong networks of
people living with, at risk of, and affected by HIV. And if these changes are
not implemented, we want answers
the next time we meet.
And there’s more we can do to realize change from within. Firstly, we are
communities committed to renewal.
Secondly, we are communities who
transform buzzwords like transparency
and accountability into action, by committing to starting with being transparent and accountable ourselves.
Thirdly, yes, it is time to challenge
unjust laws, and change systems.
To this end, we commit to becoming reflexive about our work, to appraising what works and what doesn’t,
to implementing checks and balances,
and to maximizing our skills and expertise so that we can achieve the greatest impact while delivering value for
money in our cities, our towns, our
provinces, and our villages.
The 9th ICAAP Post
Monday, August 10, 2009
3
PAGE
HEADLINES
Support makes a world of difference
Craig Knowles
NUSA DUA, BALI
H
arry Prabowo vividly
remembers the day
he told his mother
he was gay. It was 14 years ago,
shortly before moving to Singapore where he had accepted a
job in advertising.
“I said ‘Mom, I need to tell
you something. My room-mate
is not just my room-mate, he’s
my partner’.
“She said; ‘I know. I’m your
mother. That’s why I keep pestering you to invite him over
for dinner.’”
Harry considers himself
among the lucky ones. His
family was supportive. Being
Indonesian, he also lives in a
society that is relatively tolerant. There are no laws in his
country that criminalize adult
same-sex activity. Others are
not so fortunate. India was the
latest country in the region to
decriminalize consensual sex
between men, in effect throwing out its anti-sodomy laws.
In early July, the New Delhi
High Court repealed Section 377 of the country’s Penal
Code. The law, a throwback to
colonial times, punished “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of
nature with any man, woman
or animal.” Sex between same
gender individuals was considered an act against nature and
violations were punishable by
prison terms of up to 10 years.
UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia-Pacific JVR Prasada Rao welcomed the Indian
Court’s repealing of Section
377, saying it reaffirmed “the
right to privacy, dignity, health,
equality and non-discrimination against sexual minorities.”
But he said that criminalization, still prevalent in more
than 20 Asia-Pacific countries,
posed enormous challenges in
addressing HIV needs among
the disproportionately affected
men who have sex with men
(MSM) communities.
Even in countries that do not
criminalize behavior, or have
decriminalized it, stigma and
discrimination remain serious issues for many MSM and
transgender people.
“In the bigger Indonesian
cities, discrimination against
gay men is much less than it
HIGHLIGHT
When you enter the Bali International Convention Center (BICC) for
the 9th International Congress on
AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP),
head over to the left and you will find
a whole different atmosphere from
the high-brow sessions in the main
congress agenda.
Exit marble tiles, congress rooms
and PowerPoint screens; enter bamboo thatched huts, oil lamps and
ornate carvings. Welcome to the
Asia Pacific Village (APV) where the
atmosphere is fun and the smiles are
warm.
The APV is an important feature
of the 9th ICAAP. Keeping in tune
with the congress theme the APV
brings together civil society from
15 countries for discussions, media
campaign, bazaar, art and cultural
performances.
”Through the Asia Pacific Village,
we would like to show that cultural
diversity can create unity,” explained
Prof. Dr. D. N. Wirawan, MPH, the 9th
ICAAP Co-Chair. As in a typical Balinese village,
the wantilan is the life and soul of
the community, and so is the Community Wantylan [sic] Dialogue Space
at the APV. Visitors to the Wantylan
will be ushered between the ornate
Harry Prabowo
Donang wahyu
was, say, five years ago,” said
Harry, who gave up advertising and now works for national
MSM and transgender support network The Gay, Waria,
Lelaki yang berhubungan seks
dengan lelaki lain (GWL-INA),
represented at ICAAP.
“But it’s still an issue in many
rural areas and, transgender
people in particular, still face
stigma and discrimination on
so many levels, even in terms
of receiving medical attention.”
He said fear of such discrimination and stigma often prevented MSM and transgender people from seeking help for HIV,
or from coming out to their
families.
“They think they will be rejected by society,” Harry said,
adding that in those situations
he shares his own experience
of how surprisingly accepting
his family turned out to be.
“I still remember my mother’s words. She said ‘I’m not
the first mother ever to have
a gay son. You are not the first
gay son ever to come out’. I
think it was the first time I ever
told her that I loved her.”
JVR Prasada Rao,
Regional Director
Asia-Pacific, UNAIDS,
will meet with the
Lawyers Collective
(India) today (Monday)
at 5:45 p.m. to 7:15
p.m. in the Orchid
Room to discuss: Repealing Anti-Sodomy
Law: Lessons from
and Challenges in Asia
and Pacific. Media are
welcome to attend.
The author wrote this article
on behalf of UNAIDS.
MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2009
carvings of a traditional Balinese
temple gapura (gateway) and can sit
on wooden benches facing a stage
resplendent of traditional Balinese
temple ornaments.
Here at the Wantylan, will be held
cultural performances from various
country representatives of the 9th
ICAAP delegates, and is the location
of the “Access to Life” photo exhibition organized by the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The exhibition was brought here
from Washington D.C. where it was
launched on June 11, 2008.
Access to Life featured the difference that antiretrovirals have
brought to the lives of people living
with HIV through the lenses of eight
Magnum photographers who visited
people in nine countries before and
after four months of their beginning
antiretroviral therapy.
Also at the APV, a Community
Voice Box will also be provided for
visitors to shout out their thoughts
and voice their aspirations, hopes
and dreams for 30 seconds. To listen
to these community voices, head
over to the 9th ICAAP website’s Virtual Media Center at http://www.
icaap9.org.
See you there at the APV!
10:15-11:30 AM
Official Opening the
Asia Pacific Village
Following a procession from the
plenary hall to the Asia Pacific Village, the official opening of the
Asia Pacific Village will begin with
introductory remarks from Professor
Michel Kazatchkine (Executive Director, The Global Fund), Mr. Aburizal
Bakrie (Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare), and Jeffrey O’Malley (UNDP Director of HIV/
AIDS). They will be joined by Mrs.
Nafsiah Mboi (Secretary of the National AIDS Commission), James Chau
(National UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for China) and Salman Ahmad (International UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador) who will also give a musical
performance. Open to all members
of the Asia Pacific Village, there will
also be Balinese performances by the
Regent of Badung District, Bali Province, & Balinese Dancing Children.
We hope that everyone will join us
for this inaugural event.
11:30 AM-12:30
PM Youth Open Dialogue with
Salman Ahmad and James Chau
Pakistani rock star, medical doctor, and International UNAIDS Good-
will Ambassador, Salman Ahmad
(“the Bono of Asia”) joins celebrated
Chinese news anchor and National
UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for
China, James Chau, for an open dialogue with the conference’s youth.
This panel discussion, moderated by
Purnima Mane (Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA), is an opportunity for
youth leaders to share their views on
the role of young people in the response to HIV, particularly related to
education and prevention.
12:30-1:45 PM
Meet the Leaders Session: The UN
Family, Human Rights and HIV
Human rights principles and
frameworks are the foundation upon
which effective AIDS responses are
built and must be translated into
protections for people living with
HIV, men who have sex with men,
transgender people, sex workers,
people who use drugs, women and
groups vulnerable to HIV-infection.
Kyung-wha Kang (UN Deputy High
Commissioner for Human Rights),
Prasada Rao (Director, Regional Support Team Asia & Pacific, UNAIDS),
and Jeffrey O’Malley (Director, HIV/
AIDS Group, UNDP) will discuss the
role of the United Nations system in
promoting Human Rights based re-
sponses to HIV in Asia and the Pacific.
They will be joined by Human Rights
leader Anand Grover (The Lawyers
Collective, India) and the session will
be moderated by Mandeep Dhaliwal
(Group Cluster Leader for Gender,
Human Rights and Sexual Diversity,
UNDP New York).
3:30-4:30 PM
Stories from the pre-conference
Court of Women, Trafficking and HIV
The first South East Asia Court of
Women on HIV and Human Trafficking
was held on August 6. The jury of six
eminent legal and human rights experts heard real life testimonies on
trafficking, violence, sexual exploitation and HIV in the region. Court
participants and organizers will host
a dialogue session in the Community
Wantylan where three testifiers from
the Court will share their stories and
discuss the outcome of the Court.
Nafis Sadik (UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in
Asia and the Pacific region) will put
the issue of trafficking in a regional
context and speak about what the
United Nations system will do to respond to the findings of the Court.
Caitlin Wiesen (Regional HIV Practice
Leader, Asia Pacific, UNDP) will open
the session.
4
PAGE
Monday, August 10, 2009
HEADLINES
Migration: Vulnerable
factor for HIV infection
Suksma Ratri
NUSA DUA, BALI
T
he Migrants Pre-Congress Community Forum, which took place
on Aug. 8, 2009 at Inna Grand
Bali Beach Hotel, was opened
by Prof. Dr. Zubairi Djoerban,
the Congress Chair and one of
the most senior doctors in Indonesia working on HIV and
AIDS issues.
In his opening remark, Zubairy acknowledged that migrants had long been left out
of the HIV prevention agenda
and stressed that it was important to hold this forum to raise
awareness of the linkages between HIV and AIDS and migration issues.
His opening remark was followed by a presentation of the
report on the State of Health
of Migrants and Mandatory
Testing produced by the Coordination of Action Research
on AIDS & Mobility in Asia
(CARAM), by two migrant representatives from Indonesia
and Bangladesh, who shared
their thoughts and expectations from the Forum. Both representatives expect
governments to pay more attention to migrant communities and include them in the
national HIV and AIDS prevention agenda. Risma Umar,
the leader of Solidaritas Perempuan, mentioned that there are
six million Indonesians work
abroad, with women accounting for 80 percent of the figure.
Although there is no precise
data, approximately 0.09 percent of the migrants have contracted HIV.
The Migrants Community
Forum sessions were introduced by Brahm Press, from
RAKS Thai Foundation, and
by Malu Marin, the Executive
Director of Action for Health
Initiatives Inc, the Philippines, a member of CARAM
Asia, who gave an overview on
migration and HIV. Malu emphasized that migration itself
Courtesy of The Jakarta Post
Migrant workers: Indonesian migrant workers return home.
is not a vulnerable factor for
HIV infection, but that vulnerability comes from a variety of factors that decrease the
ability of migrants to protect
themselves.
Lee Sangnim, from the Services for the Health in Asian and
African Regions (SHARE), and
Brahm Press both shared examples of the best practices implemented in Thailand and Japan as countries of destination.
SHARE offers various HIV and
AIDS services to non-Japanese
people living in Japan. In collaboration with TAWAN, a
volunteer Thai support group,
they established the network
for supporting HIV-positive
migrants living in Japan.
Thailand had already included migrants into its national HIV and AIDS agenda,
and as a result Thailand has
access to treatment, care and
support for migrants living
with HIV, whether they are
documented or not.
Recommendations
from
the focus group discussions
included the risks and vulnerabilities of migrants and pro-
gram responses, testing and
deportation, as well as issues
and concerns of migrants living with HIV.
Policies of mandatory HIV
testing and related deportation
need to be removed. Migrantfriendly, human rights-based
testing must be provided in
all phases of migration. HIV
programs for migrant workers
must adhere to culturally sensitive, gender-responsive and
rights-based HIV approaches
for migrants at the origin and
destination countries, ensuring
meaningful involvement of migrants and relevant stakeholders through capacity building
and increased partnership.
Finally, memorandums of
understanding (MOUs) and
multi-lateral agreements need
to be advocated to protect human rights and health rights of
migrant workers.
The writer is a key correspondent sponsored by the
International HIV/AIDS Alliance. She can be contacted at
ratri75@gmail.com
Youth need to take up
children’s issues
Ishwarchandra Haobam
NUSA DUA, BALI
The International Congress
on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific
(ICAAP) is the single largest
gathering in the region that focuses on HIV and AIDS. People from different countries
and from different stakeholders share knowledge and learn
from each other, network,
build partnerships and promote best practices for dealing
with different HIV and AIDS
issues.
I was part of the pre-Congress Youth Forum organized
by the Bali Youth Force to discuss a range of issues related
with youths. The Bali Youth
Force is a coalition of organizations and individuals that
collaborate with young participants before, during and
after the 9th ICAAP. The Youth
Force has provided an opportunity to empower young people to advocate for the critical
issues that affect them.
The pre-Congress Youth Forum is also providing essential
information and skills-based
training related to HIV prevention, advocacy, media and
meaningful youth participation
for young representatives from
across the Asia-Pacific region,
and it also provides a platform
for young participants to share
experiences, network as well
as develop advocacy key messages for the main congress
together.
We recognize that young
people often face barriers to
participating in the programs,
policies and research that directly influence their vulnerability to HIV. This issue of the
rights of young people is long
overdue. While demanding
their rights to participate in all
aspects of HIV and AIDS activities they should always keep in
mind that addressing the needs
of children affected by AIDS
through their active involvement is equally as important as
their rights to participation because they are the right people
who can really push forward
this issue.
It is absolutely true that
not allowing them to exercise
their rights to active participation and meaningful involvement in designing programs,
policies and research activities may lead to an increase in
their vulnerability to HIV. It is
also further estimated that globally in the coming years, the
number of young people living
with HIV is likely to increase
more than the current figure
if immediate interventions are
not implemented in. This will
have a serious negative impact
on the global economy and
reduce the workforces of the
regions.
Elizabeth Yambem, a young
delegate from India, drew
the attention of the Youth Forum participants through her
speech that “children’s issues
need to be discussed among
the international youth delegates and take the leading role
in shaping the future of those
children affected by HIV and
AIDS”. She further stressed
the need for the inclusion of
children’s issues on advocacy
agendas.
She pointed out this issue at
an appropriate time because
young people always discuss
the issues that affect their lives
at various international levels,
where it is often forgotten that
children’s issues are equally as
important.
Because sooner or later, affected children will become
the same young people who
come out demanding their fundamental rights.
The writer is a key
correspondent sponsored by
the International HIV/AIDS
Alliance.
The Youth Force
has provided an
opportunity to
empower young
people to advocate
for the critical
issues that affect
them.
Monday, August 10, 2009
5
PAGE
PHOTO GALLERY
The Garuda Wisnu
Kencana cultural park at
night. The photo was taken
a day before the opening
ceremony of the 9th ICAAP
on Sunday evening.
Garuda Wisnu Kencana:
A symbol of the mission to bring salvation
to the environment and the world
T
he 9th ICAAP opened in a solemn ceremony on Sunday evening at the Garuda
Wisnu Kencana cultural park.
The statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana is the
masterpiece of a noted Balinese sculptor, Nyoman Nuarta, which was intended to become
the tallest sculpture in the world at 145 meters.
Nuarta began creating the sculpture in 1997
on the hillside of Ungasan Village, overlooking
the white sands of Jimbaran beach, and can be
seen from the air by passengers about to land at
Ngurah Rai International Airport. It has never
been finished.
The concept of the statue, the Great God
Wisnu riding on a Garuda bird, was inspired by
a story in classical Javanese literature, Adiparwa, about the loyalty and sacrifice of the
bird, which saves its mother from slavery by becoming the Great God’s vehicle. The Hindu God
Wisnu is described as the all-pervading essence
of all beings, the master of — and beyond — the
past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates
and develops all elements within it. The word
kencana means gold or golden.
With this belief, Garuda Wisnu Kencana
symbolizes the mission to bring salvation to the
environment and the world. The construction is
expected to stimulate physical and spiritual values and encourage balance between the unreal
and the real worlds.
The Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex includes an amphitheater used for many international events. Locals usually call this cultural
park by its abbreviation GWK, pronounced in
Indonesian as gay-way-kah. (IS)
Here are some photos of the opening
ceremony, the park and events preceding the
ceremony. All photos were taken by R. Berto
Wedhatama.
Attendees have fun (above).
Delegates pack the Garuda Wisnu
Kencana cultural park (right).
Balinese
women
perform the
Lambang
Sari Kusuma Bangsa
traditional
dance
during the
opening
ceremony
of the 9th
ICAAP.
6
PAGE
Monday, August 10, 2009
The 9th ICAAP Post
AROUND THE REGION
Pradeep the positive
body builder
Yumnam Rupachandra
F
rom a sick bed ravaged
by the side effects of TB
drugs and an impossibly
low CD4 count of just 16 to the
bright lights of a stage competing for the Mr. Manipur title,
life has been an intense journey
for 38-year-old Khundrakpam
Pradeep.
He took a wrong turn at the
age of 13 under peer pressure to
smoke marijuana and pop various pills in the quest for the excitement that a teenager craves.
It was the mid-1980s when Manipur, a remote border state in
North East India, was hit by the
heroin wave. A porous border
and proximity to the Golden
Triangle meant a steady flow of
high-grade heroin.
Pradeep was among the
thousands of youths who became hopelessly caught up
in the wave. “By 1992-1993, I
was continuously shooting up
heroin,” said Pradeep. It was
the time when HIV was first
detected in blood samples of
injecting drug users. With his
friends dropping like flies, fear
gripped Pradeep and he made
a frantic effort to get away. He
started jogging and visiting
gyms in the hope of breaking
away from his past, but the virus already had him in its grip.
It started taking its toll and
by 2000 he started developing a sore throat and bouts of
fever. If he thought his most
difficult challenge was kicking
his habit, he was in for disappointment. A series of visits
to doctors who misdiagnosed
him with glandular TB and the
resulting treatment created
havoc with his body and he slid
further into the abyss.
He finally collapsed and had
to be taken to the Regional
Institute for Medical Science
(RIMS) where he tested HIV
positive. This news was an unpleasant surprise and he felt
singled out. In RIMS, young
medical interns would gather
around him while the professor maintained a healthy dis-
tance, lecturing the aspiring
doctors using a pointer.
“I heard the term seropositive for the first time and had
no clue what it meant,” Pradeep recalled. The meaning became clear the next day when
an intern told him he was HIV
positive.
Subsequently another test at
Guwahati confirmed his status.
Soon after he returned home he
met Dr. Narendra, who at the
time was treating people with
AIDS. His CD4 count at that
time was 16 and Dr. Narendra
put him on antiretroviral drugs.
Although his body started
responding to therapy it was a
time of depression, hopelessness and loneliness as friends
deserted him. People who came
to see him kept their distance.
This made him take a crucial
step that would forever change
his life. He took the first step
in 2003 when he walked into
a gym across the street where
he lived in and lifted just the
bar sans the weight, which was
an effort. His body responded
to the exercise and against
his doctor’s strong advice he
started building up his body bit
by bit. By 2005, he had a body
that he could proudly show off
and it took a little goading from
a local lad — Dinesh, a martial
artist — to make him seriously
think about participating in a
competition. Pradeep recalls
the tears that flowed when
Dinesh suggested that he participate in the Mr. Manipur
contest. He took to the stage
in 2006 and walked away with
a silver medal in the 60kg category of the competition.
“I had not disclosed my
status and to most people a
silver medal doesn’t mean
much, but to me it was like being Mr. Universe. Here I was,
infected by HIV that nearly
killed me, standing in front of
thousands to be counted as one
among equals,” he recalls of the
moment.
The year 2007 was yet another milestone in his journey,
as Pradeep was awarded the
Mr. Manipur title.
Today, remembering the
stigma and discrimination he
experienced, he has pledged to
fight on behalf of people living
with HIV. However, in order to
do this he needs a bigger platform. He was the second runner up in 55 kg category at the
IX Senior Mr. India Challenge
cup held in the Indian state of
Kerala in January 2009. His
aim now is to become the first
HIV positive Mr. India to take
the struggle further. But this
is another challenge he must
face. Body building is not a
cheap sport and entering the
national scene requires much
more than at the local level.
“I know I can do it, but I
need help,” he said.
The writer is a news editor of
Manipur, India-based
Information Service Television
Network (ISTV Network).
He can be contacted at
yumnamrupa@rediffmail.com.
He is a media scholar.
Pakistan and
the HIV taboo
Syed Muhammad Raza
When Shukria Gul discovered in 1995 that she
was HIV positive, there was
nobody in her hometown
in Pakistan to support her.
“The doctors treated me as if
I had an illness you get from
just touching people. In my
neighborhood people started pointing at me, saying
‘she’s the one with AIDS’,”
the 39-year old said.
Traditional
Pakistanis
believe that HIV is caused
by adultery, making them to
look on people with AIDS
with contempt, as someone
punished by God for their illicit activities.
Even now, social taboo
hampers HIV and AIDS response efforts in Pakistan,
causing people living with
HIV to stay mum about
their condition and avoid
visiting medical centers for
treatment.
Shukria became the first
woman in Pakistan to openly declare her HIV positive
status, and campaign on behalf of fellow HIV-positives.
Shukria set up one of Pakistan’s few direct support
groups and her experience
has made her highly critical
of government departments
dealing with HIV.
“They give money to
agencies that do nice work
on paper. Maybe they do
work but I haven’t seen any
of it in the field.”
The first case of AIDS in
a Pakistani citizen was reported in 1987 in Lahore.
During the late 1980s and
1990s, it became evident
that an increasing number
of Pakistanis, mostly men,
were becoming infected
with HIV while living or
traveling abroad.
Upon their return to Pakistan, some of these men
subsequently infected their
wives who, in some cases,
passed along the infection
to their children.
The World Health Or-
ganization (WHO) has estimated that some 80,000 to
140,000 people in Pakistan
may be infected with HIV.
Of this number, however,
only 4,000 cases have been
officially reported, with
only 618 people registered at
treatment centers.
“They give
money to
agencies that
do nice work
on paper.
The mode of transmission remains unknown in
20 percent of the reported
cases, most probably due to
stigma and lack of awareness. But given the combination of high levels of risky
behavior and limited knowledge about AIDS among
people who use drugs and
sex workers in Pakistan, experts warn that the country
could be on the verge of a
serious epidemic.
Serious efforts are needed
on the part of the government as well as the NGOs at
the grassroots level to create
awareness and minimize the
stigma attached to HIV and
AIDS, so that people living
with HIV may live normal
lives in society.
“AIDS will never be contained unless small grassroots groups like mine are
supported (by the government), so we can spread
the message of prevention,”
Shukria said.
The writer is an editor of
Quetta, Pakistan-based
Daily Public Quetta.
He can be contacted
at aghasmraza@gmail.com
He is a media scholar.
The 9th ICAAP Post
Monday, August 10, 2009
7
PAGE
POTPOURRI
Berapa? how much?
The Indonesian unit of currency is the Rupiah (Rp). Bank
notes come in denominations
of Rp 100.000, Rp 50.000, Rp
20.000, Rp 10.000, Rp 5.000
and Rp 1.000. There are coins
worth Rp 500, Rp 100, Rp 50,
and Rp 25).
Please note that the usual
practice of writing the currency is similar to the European
custom by using dots for thousands and commas as decimal
Indonesian
Rupiah
1 Afghanistan Afghani 204
1 Australian Dollar 8,288
1 Bangladesh Taka 143
1 Bhutan Ngultrum
207
1 Brunei Dollar 6,872
100 Cambodian Riel 236
1 China Renminbi 1,449
1 Fiji Dollar 4,950
1 Hong Kong Dollar 1,277
100 Iranian Rial 99.7
1 Iraqi Dinar 8.4
1 Japanese Yen 101
1 Kazakhstan Tenge 65
1 Kuwaiti Dinar 34,492
100 Laos New Kip 116
1 Macau Pataka 1,240
1 Malaysian Ringgit 2,828
1 Maldives Rufiyaa 773
100 Mongolia Togrok 683
1 Myanmar Kyat 1,542
1 Nepal Rupee 129
points. However, since the sen
(cent) is no longer of value, a
dash follows the decimal point.
For example, an item priced
ten thousand rupiah is written
Rp 10.000,Please also note that in colloquial language most Indonesians omit the “thousand”
when mentioning prices. Thus
an item of Rp 45.000,- will
often just be mentioned as
‘forty-five’.
Indonesian
Rupiah
1 New Zealand Dollar 6,653
1 Omani Rial
25,714
1 Pakistani Rupee
120
1 PNG Kina
3,754
1 Philippines Peso
207
1 Qatari Riyal
2,718
1 Russian Rubel
313
1 Samoa (West) Tala
3,779
1 Saudi Riyal
2,639
1 Singapore Dollar
6,871
1 Solomon Is Dollar
1,254
100 South Korean Won
808
1 Sri Lanka Rupee
86
1 Taiwan Dollar
302
1 Thai Baht
291
1 Tonga Pa’anga
5,010
100 Turkish Lira
0.67
1 US Dollar (E Timor) 9,900
1 Vanuatu Vatu
94
100 Vietnam Dong
55
Aug.10 exchange rates
Say it in Indonesian
• Good morning ...........Selamat pagi
• Good day .................Selamat siang
• Good afternoon .........Selamat sore
• Good evening ...........Selamat malam
• Welcome ................Selamat datang
• Thank you ...............Terima kasih
• You’re welcome ........Kembali; sama-sama
• How are you? ...........Apa kabar?
• I’m fine ..................Baik
• Where are you going to? ............ Mau ke mana?
• This .......................Ini
• That ......................Itu
• What is this? ............Ini apa?
• What .....................Apa
• Where ....................Di mana?
• Where is the ............Di mana Auditorium? auditorium?
• How much? ..............Berapa?
• How many? ..............Berapa?
• 1 ..........................Satu
• 2 .......................... Dua
• 3 .......................... Tiga
• 4 .......................... Empat
• 5 ............................... Lima
• 6 ............................... Enam
• 7 ............................... Tujuh
• 8 ............................... Delapan
• 9 ............................... Sembilan
• 10 ............................. Sepuluh
• 20 ............................. Dua puluh
• 50 ............................. Lima puluh
• 100 ............................ Seratus
• 500 ............................ Lima ratus
• 1000 ...........................Seribu
• 5000 ...........................Lima ribu
• 10000 ......................... Sepuluh ribu
• What time is it? ............. Jam berapa?
• Three o’clock ................Jam tiga
• Minute ........................ Menit
• To Eat ......................... Makan
• To Drink ....................... Minum
• Food ...........................Makanan
• Drink .......................... Minuman
• Water ......................... Air
• Tea .............................Teh
• Coffee .........................Kopi
• Sugar ..........................Gula
8
PAGE
Monday, August 10, 2009
The 9th ICAAP Post
Courtesy of The Jakarta Post
Kuta Beach
ENCHANTING BALI
Explore Kuta as historical destination
Bali offers a variety of delightful spots to visit that will help
you recharge and enjoy some light moments. Parts of Bali are
full of surprise and excitement, and during the 9th ICAAP,
several spots will be briefly featured to give you an idea of
what attractions are on offer. So take some time to wind
down and enjoy all that the Island of the Gods has to offer.
The 9th ICAAP Post Team
NUSA DUA, BALI
S
ince the 1960s, Kuta has
been noted as the busiest
tourist area in Bali. Tourists come to have a good time
in this small village in Badung
regency. As a result, Kuta has
of late increasingly taken on a
trendy image, with people surfing, shopping, sun-bathing, or
simply enjoying the nightlife.
Kuta is different from, say,
Denpasar, which has a number
of historical sites such as Bajra
Sandhi Museum in Margarana
Renon Square and the Bali Museum next to Puputan Badung,
and Ubud with its art museums.
Kuta has the potential to be
destination for history-related
tourism, especially since Kuta
has a pluralistic society, according to Made Supatra Karang, a
community leader in Kuta.
To get people acquainted
with Kuta as a historical place,
Supatra suggests visiting five
particular places in Kuta: Pasih
Perahu Beach, Dharmayana
Temple, the grave of Mads
Lange, Poppies Restaurant and
the Bali Bombing Monument.
The last two places are relatively better known than the
first three.
According to a book published by the Kuta subdistrict
administration, Kuta was established in 1336 AD when
Gajahmada and his troops
from Majapahit landed on the
southern part of the beach.
This area later became known
as Tuban, just like the name
of a small town on the coast of
East Java.
As the location was good for
ships to moor, it eventually became a small port. The locals
then referred to the area in
Banjar Segara Kuta as Pasih Perahu, which means the beach
of boats.
The history of Kuta is in-
separable from Pasih Perahu.
“Anyone wanting to know the
history of Kuta must begin
from here,” Nyoman Rika, the
neighborhood chief of Banjar
Segara Kuta, was quoted by
The Jakarta Post as saying.
Physical evidence that the
location used to be a port can
be seen from a building in Pesanggrahan Temple. In the
front part of the temple is a
miniature ship built in 2002.
The concrete ship is a token of
respect on the part of the locals
for ancestors who landed here.
Other things to do and see
Aside from exploring Kuta,
Legian and Seminyak, northern extensions of Kuta along
Jl. Legian and Jl. Basangkasa,
also have much to offer. They
are somewhat quieter areas
with cottage-style accommodations, where many expatriates live. Also to the north are
Petitenget, Berawa, Canggu,
and Seseh - new and quieter
continuations of Kuta beach.
They are easy to reach through
Abian Timbul or Denpasar and
Kerobokan.
Stretching north from Kuta,
Legian offers the same easy ac-
cess to shops and bars but has
a slightly more relaxed and less
chaotic feel to it. The northern
area of Legian going toward
Seminyak offers a bit of an escape from the crowds and is
also a popular surf beach.
This area basically stretches
from Legian Beach Hotel up to
Hotel Kumala Pantai or Double
Six Road. The pathway in the
area acts like a boulevard and
gives guests in this area the advantage of being able to stroll
along this stretch to a number of
restaurants, bars and nightclubs
at the end of Double Six Road.
Q! Film Festival
Meanwhile, Seminyak is
a beach on the west coast of
southern Bali, just north of Legian. In recent years, the tourist development here has also
absorbed the nearby villages
of Umalas and Kerobokan to
the north. In Seminyak you
can have several things do. For
example, you can enjoy Petitenget Beach, a gorgeous expanse of black sand stretching
in both directions as far as the
eye can see. The beach is also
known for its sunsets. Or, if
you have a passion for alterna-
tive films and you are eager to
extend your stay in Bali, don’t
miss out seeing Q! Film Festival
Bali.
Q! Film Festival is back in
Bali. The festival that will run
from Aug. 21 through 24 will be
held in Kudos Bar, Seminyak,
and Q Bar, Taman 65, Denpasar.
Apart from the usual fanfare of gay films, the festival
also screens at least 80 films
feature-length films, documentaries and shorts on homosexual, transgender, AIDS and
HIV and human rights issues.
The films come from over 20
countries.
Highlights of Q! Film Festival include The Amazing Truth
About Queen Raquela (Dir:
Olaf De Fleur Johannsson Iceland/Philippines), I Don’t
Want to Sleep Alone (Dir: Tsai
Ming Liang - Taiwan/France),
My Super 8 Season (Dir: Alessandro Avellis – France, - With
Gilbert and George (Dir: Julian
Cole - UK) and Spinnin’ (Dir:
Eusebio Pastrana - Spain).
Note: There will be a tour to
a community health center
in Kuta as part of the congress
side visits.