–as Guyana joins in observing World AIDS Day

By Shauna Jemmott
AS Guyana joins the world in commemorating World AIDS Day, Director of Artistes in Direct Support (AIDS), Desiree Edghill, is calling on parents to talk about sex with their children, and begin “minding children’s business” by joining the popular forums where they spend much time communicating.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday, Edghill said that while parents were, in the past, reserved about having sex talks with their children, many present-day parents have become too busy and are difficult to reach.

“More parents need to talk sex with youths. Parents are so busy that not even the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) can get to them,” she declared.

She explained that parents themselves should become knowledgeable about sexual and reproductive health, so that they can help their children get the correct knowledge about sex, and understand the implications of early sexual activity, sexual immorality, and unprotected sex.

She also said that parents should become acquainted with social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and those which youngsters choose as popular hang-out zones now, instead of taking a walk to a physical location, as was more common in the past.

“Parents need to go there because that is where our youths are. Pay a little more attention to the children’s business,” she admonished.

“Moms and dads need to take time to talk with their children, since some of them are having their own troubles and need their help before it gets to that place.” The ‘That place’ she talked about is suicide, which has become one of the social ills to be addressed by the group, since HIV/AIDS has, over the years, been one of the issues that influence the high rate of suicide.

She said it is unwise for parents to have a child living with them and asking them for “some space”. No child’s life should be too private for his or her mom and dad, and therefore parents must get in the attitude of “minding their children’s business,” Edghill advised.

Edghill said she is concerned that there are various programmes being sponsored by donor agencies, but none seems to target youth. There is a health and family life education programme within the school’s curriculum, but it mostly targets abuse, domestic affairs, and such topics.

“We need a vibrant sexual and reproductive health programme for our youths,” she pointed out, and added that young people are still indulging in early sexual activity, and there is still a popular culture of young girls having affairs with older men.

Anal sex has also become a regular practice, but it puts those involved at a higher risk of contracting the virus, since much bruising takes place during the depraved and criminal act.

She said, too, that HIV/AIDS research has revealed that many of those who contract the disease are in the transgender community, thus most of the group’s work is centred around that group, along with those working in the hinterland, especially loggers and miners.

There is, she said, need for HIV/AIDS education and sensitization among men generally.

It is men who have sex with these homosexual men, and therefore some of these men would also be a woman’s partner, she explained.
“Some of these men are our men, so it’s likely that it will come over to us,” she stated, and has warned women: “Do not let your guard down!”

Statistics have revealed that some 1.3 % of Guyana’s population is HIV infected, but this is only reflective of cases that are reported with the National Aids Program Secretariat. There are still individuals who are still unaware that they are carriers of the deadly virus, for which medical experts and scientists have not yet discovered a cure.

Today, Artistes In Direct Support will host its 23rd annual World Aids Day programme at the National Cultural Centre (NCC), with the programme being a tribute to those who have died as a result of the dreaded disease, and in particular one of its founders — Keith Andre Subryan — who succumbed to the killer virus 15 years ago.

Minister of Health, Dr. Godfrey Norton, will deliver a feature address during the programme, which will also see tributes in dance, spoken word, drama, and oral reflections on the life of Subryan, after a one-hour candlelight vigil within the NCC compound. Proceedings start at 7pm.

“One of our Sons is missing”, a play written by Jamaican writer M Helquist, will be aired in honour of Subryan, who was also one of Guyana’s much loved actors. Edghill said the play was the first the late actor had dramatized, and its story is fitting for his life story, since he not only is “a son that is missing”, but he also battled from a young age with homosexuality, and has himself been affected by HIV/AIDS.

It is the first Caribbean theatrical production centred around AIDS. It tells the story of a young bisexual man who contracts HIV, develops AIDS, dies, and leaves behind distraught parents, a frightened girlfriend, and AIDS-weary friends.
Tickets are available for free at the National Cultural Centre.