This is my second and sadly the final edition of what has been an excellent series of posts and debates on HIV/AIDS. Ron Hudson who started the ICP has decided to end the Carnivals….

It is with relief and sadness that I have decided to allow the International Carnival of Pozitivities to come to an end with our next and final edition in June of 2008. I have made many wonderful friends in the past two years and have been fortunate to learn the life-stories of some amazing people and their efforts to end the stigma of HIV/AIDS around the world. I am truly grateful to the contributors and hosts who have blessed my life with their kindness and encouragement. I hope that you will continue to blog about HIV/AIDS and keep alive the spirit of the ICP. I am very proud of our efforts and the outcome that you see on this site today. I will leave the ICP homepage available for people to access in the future, but there will be no further editions after June, 2008.

As always, I wish you the peace that I wish for myself.

Ron Hudson

Thanks to Ron for bringing us the Carnival over the past two years and I wish him peace and safe journey through his life.

I will begin with Ron’s post on the passing of his mother.

I owe my visitors an explanation. I lost a huge part of my life this month. I have not been writing anything of my own for some time now and am just reaching a point where I can tell you why.

My mom had a stroke between Thanksgiving Day and the first week of December of last year.

And a poem by Dee-Elle called “Mama Dos Dos” [Dee-Elle also writes at “Red Whyld N Blu”

you spread your arms to shade
the damage done by the sitter’s sons
i could not understand those boys
beating stick against the defenseless palms
but i could forget with my feet
small enough on your back
kicking off the day long worry over

Slimconomy asks why rapid HIV testing is failing in Canada

It’s been several years now since rapid HIV tests entered the market with FDA approval; first OraSure, then MedMira, then Trinity and BioRad and now Inverness. Yet we still haven’t seen the growth in use (and subsequent sales for the manufacturers) as we should by now.

Nata Village goes from strength to strength and here the village elders are honoured.

At the handing over ceremony in Maposa, all the village elders were asked to stand and everyone recognized them. This gentleman pictured above was one of the eldest members of the village so he was asked to share the history of Maposa.

The Aids Pandemic travels to Mwandi, Zambia and reports on HIV transmission

The incidence of HIV in the village is around 30-40% and the percentage of HIV positive people is larger within the Mission Hospital patient population according to interviews with medical officers on the hospital staff.

blabbeando reports on the passing of HIV/AIDS immigration activist Richard Sandman

A sweet low-key kinda guy who truly helped hundreds of HIV positive and LGBT immigrants gain political asylum in the United States, Richard was truly an unsung hero. He was somewhat comfortable with the Spanish language which surprised me a bit until I found out his family was from Mexico. Still, as always, he would underplay just how much Spanish he knew and was self-depreciating about his language abilities.

A mutual friend tells me he was so dedicated to his work that few people truly got to know him. By all accounts, though, many seemed to love the guy and recognize his unselfishness in dedicating his life’s work to the issue of immigration.

Black Aids comments on the lack of government funding for HIV/AIDs and the conditions imposed by the US

The United States has promised money for the AIDS pandemic that the United Nations has called the world’s worst health crisis. But the United States won’t deliver any money unless the country, the program, the people or the recipients of the U.S. aid subscribe to the insane policy of “abstinence only!”

Evolution of Jeremiah shares a letter he received from a gay positive man who lives in Miami.

The person you are has no meaning to them unless you have something “they” want. I am no pretty boy nor a gym bunny, I am just an average Joe who happens to be gay. I learned and personally experienced the ” self -discrimination” and “self-destruction” the gay “community” is self inflicting. There is no community, there are only “clubs or cliques………The gay community needs to grow up first and leave high school behind.”

Aids-Write comments on the lack of information around Hepatitis - May 19th was “World Hepatitis Awareness Day”

In the United States, the statistics are staggering. There are an estimated 6 million people with the hepatitis B or C virus. Most Americans living with hepatitis C are unaware of their infection. Chronic viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer, now among the top 10 killers of Americans over the age of 25. In addition, around 30 percent of people living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C, and end-stage liver disease is now a leading cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS.

Aurora-Rayne who is part of a drug study, gives an update on her drug treatment and the happenings and the love in her life.

i love so much that we laugh together. she is the world in my eyes and i see the love reflect in hers. sighhhh. oh and did i mention my baby took third in the national arm wrestling competition? oh yeah! she says it was years ago but hell ill take that. im going to try and get a picture or two up of her so that you can all see the magical wonderful person i have described here so you can see she is after all truly human and not some imaginary goddess i have conjured…lol. i am happy, i am blissful, i am soo completly content.

stephenlewisfdtn video post on AIDS orphans in Africa

Drop Dead Happy comments on blaming others for our actions

In my Pozitive Speaking presentation which I have shared with hundreds, or more, I admit I was infected even before we had the name of H.I.V. and when asked who Infected me I reply “I did, because even in those days when we didn’t know much about this dis-ease I was the one playing with my life my injecting drugs. I knew of other risks but no matter the knowledge at that time - I did this to myself”.

NotPerfectAtAll comments on her experience and the impact of religion on her life

I was busy with living, with learning to socialize, with spending time with men platonically, more often than not, with learning an art of flirting that didn’t lead to being taken there and there, with seeing humans - often with shadows, often threatening, but human nonetheless.

Carlton Entertainment Ministry reports on the “spoken word performance” by Emanuel Andre Stanley called MONSTER

NOTE: June is the month that we’re launching our campaign to promote HIV/ AIDS awareness and the National Christian Film Tour. After our film tour releases the first four videos on the front page of the Omega Vision Studios website, we will start accepting submissions for consideration from film makers (who have produced inspirational, faith-based, true story and socially-conscious films and documentaries like Bill Duke’s Faces of HIV”) to add to our distribution network/chain.

Degree Com on a distance learning programme for chronically ill students

A distance education degree offers excellent opportunities for these students. They do not have to leave the comfort of their own homes to walk into a hostile classroom and take an exam. If they are hospitalized or not feeling well, the flexibility provided by on line degree programs allows them to catch up on coursework when they feel better. Furthermore, students aren’t visibly reminded of their “differences.” They are more able to interact with peers and professors naturally and without inhibitions, fears of cruel comments, or uncivil behavior.

The AIDS Pandemic comments on HIV/AIDS policy in China

The government’s AIDS policy is superficial. It cannot really be implemented. There is a saying in the countryside. The village tells lies to the township government; the township tells lies to the county government; the county tells lies to the state council; the state council issues a document; the document is read by all levels of the government. After they finish reading it, they go into a restaurant, and the document is never put into practice.

kickin tina posts a piece from the newsletter “Strength in numbers”

today i am sharing the newsletter i have been working on with the SIN tribe. it’s our second edition, and i think the guys have done quite an admirable job. there are so many people who work on this and it is really a feeling of accomplishment to have it done. now, i can’t wait for the next one.

Another Video post, this one from “funscenes” on condoms

Finally from Black Looks, the arrest of Ugandan LGBT activists in Kampala who were protesting against comments made by the head of the Ugandan AIDS Commission

On 2 May 2008, Kihumuro Apuuli, Director General of the Uganda AIDS Commission, stated that “gays are one of the drivers of HIV in Uganda, but because of meagre resources we cannot direct our programmes at them at this time.” The SMUG activists staged a peaceful protest at the HIV Implementers meeting to protest the Minister’s statements and gross neglect on the part of the Ugandan government in responding to a growing HIV epidemic among the country’s LGBT community.

Tags:
HIV/AIDS
INTERNATIONAL CARNIVAL OF POSITIVES

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Carnival by submitting posts as well as those who linked and promoted the carnival on their blogs. Thinking about how to group the Carnival posts I finally decided on two groupings, those that speak specifically to the Global South and those which speak to a more universal GBV.

One of the first bloggers I linked to over three years ago is Bengladeshi blogger, Rezwan. Rezwan has written a report on how Bangladeshi bloggers are responding to the issue of domestic violence and influencing the local mainstream media to take gender based violence on board.

And it worked like a wonder, as articles have started to appear in the local media. This has prompted local journalists like Foisal Noi [bn] to go to Rahela’s village and dig up more information on the case. A significant TV broadcast about Rahela’s case is planned for October 29. Whether Rahela will get justice, only time will tell. But that single post by Manobi led to a level of activity in the society that was certainly unprecedented.

Alex Engwete’s post on Sexual Terrorism is located in the DRC. In the midst of continued “psychological and physical destruction and extinction of Congolese women” he asks why is it that African and Congolese social scientists have failed to “develop a theoretical tool able to map out, trace, and explain the horrific phenomenon”. As a result there are inadequate statistics which would determine the true extent of the violence against Congolese women.

Perceived as a particularly effective weapon of war and used to subdue, punish, or take revenge upon entire communities, acts of sexual and gender-based violence increased concomitantly. Attacks have comprised individual rapes, sexual abuse, gang rapes, mutilation of genitalia, and rape-shooting or rape-stabbing combinations, at times undertaken after family members have been tied up and forced to watch. The perpetrators have come from among virtually all of the armies, militias and gangs implicated in the conflicts, including local bands that attacked their own communities and local police forces.

Staying with the DRC, Jewels in the Jungle searches for a “good news” story and finds a documentary about Lumo Sinai, a 22-year old Congolese woman who has not only survived the sexual terrorism described above but is rebuilding her life with the support of local healers and medical doctors.

“Lumo” is an intimate look into a woman’s tragedy and healing process, and, by extension, into the scourge of rape that marks the war-torn politics of central Africa. “Lumo” is also the story of a remarkable African hospital that works tirelessly to restore the physical and mental health of women suffering in an epidemic of fistula caused by rape. The hospital’s self-called “Mamas,” African women who work tirelessly as healers, even flouted traditional prejudice and government policy by leading a march in defense of women’s human rights. But “Lumo” remains most of all Lumo Sinai’s story as she struggles through four failed surgeries and searches for strength to face the future — whatever the outcome of one more surgery by the hospital’s dedicated doctors. ..

Chinwe Azubuike poem “Our Dilemma” exposes the awfulness of “the cut” that destroys “our scared weapons of desire”

Our sacred weapons of pleasure
are being destroyed by the day
rendered useless by our overseeing Lords and Ladies
of ancestral descent.

They perform a barbaric operation on our ‘flesh of honour’
and call it ‘Female Circumcision’
in the white man’s language.
They mutilate our pride and say it is ‘tradition’
“The initiation to womanhood.”

They cut us!
Oh yes, they cut us with the blade.

Ultra Violet links to a report which considers why there is a 300% rise in violence against women in Kerala, India, a state which also has the highest literacy levels in the country.

So here, factors like education and international exposure are debilitating rather than liberating in any way. This is something that’s been bothering me for a while, ever since Gita Aravamudan, author of Disappearing Daughters, pointed out that female foeticide is also more prevalent in richer, better-educated homes. I grew up on a staple diet of cliches regarding the world and social change and one of them had to do with education being the panacea for all ills. When will men stop beating up women? When will people not fight on religious grounds? When will caste be abolished? When everybody is educated. Were others also similarly reassured or was I the only one conned in this manner?

Zuky discusses domestic violence in Asian American communities. Why is it that Asian women are prepared to tackle racism but when it comes to sexism they loose interest?

Donna D frequently rails against the lack of intersectional activism in the struggles against sexism and racism, and when you look at data this devastating, I can see why. Many of the most celebrated activists in the Asian American community are women, and when they tackle racism the community easily gets behind their work; but when it comes to sexism, both men and women — but especially men — all too often lose interest. As a result we have this invisible epidemic of domestic abuse doing tremendous damage to the community.

Oluniyi David Ajao comments on the shame of the persistent violence against women in Africa which he believes is influenced by poverty and “bad cultural practices”

In my opinion, women are not necessarily subservient to men and as such should be treated as partners that they really are, and not as some domestic property who is only good for running the household. Women around the world deserve equal chances and opportunities.

White African reports on a Nigerian E-Learning programme that aims to raise awareness amongst school children of “sexual health, HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality and gender violence.”

Barbara Tchatzkahs links to the story of a Saudi woman who was gang raped and then sentenced to 90 lashes for being with an “unauthorised” male companion at the time. She questions whether the case will lead to reform as the article’s author suggests.

Anyone taking bets that this will happen? Or are we going to have another spate of fatwahs declared again those taking a stand?

E-cyclopedia posts a review of “Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life” by Evan Stark

Elevating coercive control from a second-class misdemeanor to a human rights violation, Stark explains why law, policy, and advocacy must shift its focus to emphasize how coercive control jeopardizes womens freedom in everyday life.

Production Blog also comments on a recently published book, this one by OJ Simpson titled “If I did it”. The book was legally acquired by the Goldman family who added some chapters before publication.

In the book OJ Simpson revealed hypothetically how he might have brutally murdered Ronald Goldman and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

Feministing asks “what makes an effective ad against domestic violence?”

This Canadian PSA never made it on the air (I’m assuming because of the content), but I tend to think that an ad against intimate partner violence should be shocking. Thoughts?

Surfacing reflects on the campaign process over the past 15 years to directly link women’s rights to human rights and also the recognition that sexual violence is a violation of women’s rights and therefore their human rights.

International activist coalitions on behalf of the so-called “comfort women” enslaved by the Japanese Army in WWII were initiated at this time. International and local NGOs in Bosnia and Rwanda helped to document and substantiate women’s claims of rape and sexual assault in those conflicts, demonstrating that rape was a systematic tool of conflict in these cases. Rape in conflict, when it had even been addressed before the 1990s, tended to be treated as a breakdown of military discipline, a side-effect of war rather than a weapon in it. The confluence of these cases of systematic sexual assault and the long-running campaigns to recognize sexual violence as a violation of women’s rights were all instrumental in overcoming resistence to recognizing women’s rights as human rights in international human rights documents and language.

A Tinge of Blue writes on rape “the ultimate violation”

Rape is the ultimate violation. Regardless of the degree of rape, it is the weapon used to penetrate not only a woman’s body, but her soul and sprit. And break it. That is probably why it is a very effective weapon at wartime.

The Curvarture comments on “joke toys that promote rape”

This “toy” is a plastic object that looks like a woman with a gaping hole in her crotch that symbolizes her vagina, and you’re supposed to shove pens into said hole while she screams for help or moans in pain. But hey, that’s only when she’s in a “bad mood.” When she’s not being a massive bitch, she totally loves it. Like all women, of course……………If you buy one of these things, you are promoting rape. If you laugh at one of these things, you are promoting rape. If you don’t laugh but still think that it’s a harmless joke, you are promoting rape. If one of your friends has one, or thinks it’s funny, and you don’t say anything about it, you are promoting rape.

In Falling off My Pedestal, Book Girl speaks about the continuing impact of child abuse and domestic violence on her life

I escaped. I got out. But I still struggle with the loneliness, isolation, and betrayal as a result of a family and a community that saw me as less valuable and less worthy of love and support because of who and what I was. The effects of child abuse and domestic violence are long lasting, and affect who we become and what we contribute to the world. Some of us lose the fight to survive, and many of us live on the edge every day, fearing that one day it will become too much and we will also no longer be able to hold on. I struggle daily to keep going in a world that reinforces and perpetuates the violence and neglect that I suffered at the hands of my family.

Sanctuary for the Abused posts about a case in Oregon where a woman who suffered years of marital abuse and is then physically assaulted, raped and becomes pregnant. After giving birth to her child, her abuser manipulates the system and manages to gain custody of the child and worse she is made to pay him child support.

The ‘father of the child’ has committed crimes against the mother according to Oregon statutes and laws (Chapter 743, Oregon Laws 1971, 163.375), but is embraced and rewarded in our judicial and religious system. The victim becomes the criminal. I am this woman; this baby is my child; and the father of this child is my ex-husband.

Abyss 2 Hope comments on the case of a police officer charged with rape who is claiming they were “sex friends” as part of his defense.

some people might view his defense as automatic reasonable doubt, but they would be making a serious mistake…………If the officer seems to believe what he is saying that could be a sign that he is revealing his rationalization. We need to remember that internal spin is not the same thing as true legal consent from another person. There is a legal difference between a man giving himself permission and a woman freely giving a man her permission.

Black Amazon reflects on being “grabbed , smacked , followed stalked” by the age of 10 and by the age of 20 being

a black genius….. and getting DONE IN for daring to create a space [blogs] where we could speak and be as black girls.

Open Democracy asks how can women reclaim a sense of power after being abused?

Being a survivor or a resister of violence is about reclaiming a sense of power. Feeling empowered is an important part of healing after being a victim of violence. It is also a key ingredient for resisting violence, whether or not one has already been a victim. The link between empowerment and agency is a strong one

I end with Women of Color Blog’s essay “Domestic Violence in the Movies”. The essay looks at “how abuse is understood in the U.S” and how real life biopics of abuse survivors have impacted on her own understanding of gender based violence in the context of a “cultural story telling”. Why should we look at the new Tina Turner as more valuable than the old Tina Turner - the young abused Tina Turner versus the confident 66 year old Tina Turner?

Now, I’m, in general, conflicted about whether or not to show violence against women on film. But assuming that there is a valid reason to show full on violence directed at a woman–especially within the context of the three ‘based on true story’ films, I have a real problem with the way the violence is framed by “story telling”. That is, the story line is so intricately dependent upon the abuse, there would literally be no story if the abuse is not given enough time within the story. The abuse actually becomes a third character almost, molded and crafted by producers and directors and actors just as surely as a real character is. And the tricky thing is, this character is so overwhelming, eventually, the abused character becomes defined by it, even over the person doing the abusing.

Once again thank you all for contributing to this Carnival with these amazing posts

Tags:
16 Days of Activism
Gender Based Violence

The 10th Carnival of Positives is over on Slimconomy - the name refers to a wasting the wasting disease common with AIDS.

The categories are: Film, Health and Fitness, International, Personal Accounts, Politics, Spirituality, Support and 3 video shorts:

and Miss Empowe(RED) presents a documentary SistahGirl: Black Women and HIV/AIDS

project featuring the lives of HIV positive Black women from the US, with some traveling on an unprecedented journey to meet HIV positive African women activists to exchange ideas about prevention, treatment, physical, and spiritual healing.

Plan International - You Tube: Impact of HIV on children in Uganda

and Malak: Words and Silence

This film shows a woman who has HIV/AIDS interacting in her community and society without ever speaking a word. The film shows how she listens to other peole’s concerns and thoughts, meanwhile, all the time, we are faced with the reality of her own existence, taking medication, the different things she must live with, without ever getting a chance to speak to others about her own difficult life. Throughout the film she is silent but in the end she decides to speak

Tags:
HIV/AIDS

The 10th Carnival of Positives is up at Transcending Gender An excellent blog by Jennifer Burke

In Nightmare Hall, The Dreamer wrote about his ongoing medical complications both with disease and with treatment:

A big part of living for an extended time with illnesses like cancer and HIV is going for regular followup tests, scans and blood work . . . . I’ve encountered a lot of long term (15 to 20 or more years) HIV survivors over the years. Some have never had any problems, major or minor. Others have battled one infection after another but still keep going. Some have experienced no major side effects from the HIV cocktail medications, while others like me have been carted off to the ER too many times to count from toxicities . . . If it wasn’t for living with HIV, I would have written this episode off to just having a nasty passing bug, but being where I am, it was better to be safe than sorry. There is that possible hazard of developing pneumonia, which I do not need.

Tags: HIV/AIDS; Carnival of Postives

The 1st Carnival of African Women is now up at African Women’s Blog.

Tags: African Women Carnival