September 3, 2008

Fight Club: Reflections on Mexico City

POZ’s editor-in-chief shares her impressions of the XVII International AIDS Conference—and how news of AIDS in America hyped in Mexico was downplayed at home.

There’s a saying: You have to stand away from the wall to raise an echo. Indeed, it takes awhile to process the impact of any International AIDS Conference. Trying to accurately characterize the impact of more than 25,000 people gathered from around the world to discuss every aspect of how best to fight the AIDS pandemic requires some perspective.

The conference always seems overwhelming at first. Watching tens of thousands of people—HIV positive and not—flow through the registration area is amazing. As I read people’s nametags, I counted the seemingly countless countries and organizations from which people hail. And as I migrated from media registration to the main conference hall this year (struggling to wheel my heavy luggage that contained laptop, cameras, plugs, cords and pounds of paper), I realized I was following some folks from rural Africa. One of the men had ankles as thin as my wrists. As he raised each knee, his shoes hung off the ends of his legs like anvils on ropes. He marched very slowly, and with great dignity, despite a body that was clearly battling the virus with all its might. Suddenly, my suitcase wheeled more lightly behind me.

For an American AIDS journalist and activist, especially one living with HIV like myself, being amidst a throng of people whose hearts and minds are dedicated in so many different ways to ending the suffering of HIV-positive people is incredibly invigorating. The whole experience is like one giant, never-ending shot of B-12.

But the gathering is also physically, emotionally and spiritually daunting. We spent a week enumerating the exceptionally arduous challenges associated with fighting HIV around the world. Considering the sheer volume and complexity of the issues, there are moments when you can’t help but wonder whether we will ever be able to stop AIDS once and for all. From fighting the gender-based violence that leads to the spread of HIV to addressing the challenges of getting care and treatment to displaced or migrant populations; from preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the developing world to expanding treatment access to all who need it globally; from developing effective prevention messaging to combating stigma, discrimination and criminalization of positive people around the world (and so much more), there is nothing quite like the International AIDS Conference for re-establishing the mammoth nature of the global AIDS fight. And there is nothing like it for helping you ante up your resolution to fight.

For some reason, people in Mexico City have a fascination with lucha libre, a type of professional wrestling. The sparkly masks worn by the fighters are sold all over the city; kids done them as U.S. kids wear football or baseball jerseys and in the airport, I bought twin beaded bracelets for my sister and myself depicting caped, masked fighters. It seemed an appropriate sign from the universe—a reminder to stay firmly on one’s feet, fists at the ready to spar with AIDS.

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Previous Comments:

Vic R, San Jose CA, 2008-09-05 16:43:18
Why in the world won't any onhe stand up and say the numbers were so off in the states? Every dollar spent by ASO's come about based on numbers of infected living in a given area. Our president continued the lies about new infections to simply cut the funding available in thes country. Has any one seen a push to provide funding based on the "corrected" numbers? Face it, we'd rather through funds at corupt goverments outside our countries then face the prolem here at home. Sad, Vary Sad...

Dony Jauregui, Phoenix, 2008-09-05 11:25:52
I am studying to be a Journalist at a community college. Am too HIV positive and wanting to spread to know very much in this lifetime. I am 20 years old and people more than half of my age don't know much about this virus/disease and what it's doing everyday. I agree with this article. I'd like to see more said. Education is one of the keys here to stopping HIV.