Today is the first time in many years that I did not participate in any activities to mark the World AIDS Day. This year´s theme was zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. I kind of missed the annual routine of donning a free t-shirt with the year´s message printed on it, joining other peer educators to carry out some charity events, and matching with banners and little flags. I missed the entertainment that often follows: music, poetry, drama and dance, followed by people talking about their experiences and how they have overcome them (I did not really miss the official speeches, which I listen to because they are important, but are not very entertaining). Most of all, I think I missed my own personal routine of going to the VCT.
I´m surprised by the attitude of some of the young people I´ve met since moving to Bonn. Protected sex is something of an exception and not the rule, it seems. I was appalled when someone told me he had been introduced to a nice African girl, but could not imagine ever asking her out because he knows that many people in Africa ´have AIDS´. Excuse me?
My ´capacity building´ juices started flowing immediately. I asked him, what if he met a nice white girl, who had been with a nice African man, who had done his rounds with a number of nice girls of unknown nationalities… The social network grew in proportion in my head as I explained, “I heard somewhere that the rate of HIV infection in some European countries is going up. Clearly, this is not an African problem”.
I don´t think it made any difference with this one. His eyes went all huge and round at the thought of having to use condoms every single time, and maybe it´s just as well nice African girls will be spared his attentions.
