The Tibetan Association of Boston hosted the maiden HIV/AIDS awareness and fund-raising event in North America in collaboration with CHOICE - HIV/AIDS Initiative. The event was designed to create awareness among Tibetans in Boston about the HIV/AIDS situation in the Tibetan community, both in exile and in Tibet. In addition to providing information about HIV/AIDS among Tibetans, the event also raised nearly $6,000. Tibetans in Boston were the primary donors. All the funds raised from this event will be given to CHOICE and Kunphen, the two NGOs working on HIV/AIDS in the Tibetan community, and will be used for providing care and support for Tibetans living with HIV/AIDS.
Tenzin Nyesang Bayul, MPH-EpiBio, began the program by presenting her survey of Tibetans in Dharamsala about
their knowledge, attitude, and behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS. She found that many of the Tibetans surveyed held negative attitudes about persons living with HIV/AIDS. More than 40% of the Tibetans in the study believed that individuals with HIV/AIDS deserved to be infected because they indulged in "bad" behavior. Moreover, a large number of Tibetans in the survey believed that the names of persons with HIV/AIDS should be made public, despite the stigma and discrimination that more than likely would result.
Dr. Tenzin Namdul, Executive Director of CHOICE, talked about how vulnerable Tibetans inside and outside of Tibet are to HIV. He said the spread of HIV/AIDS is just as dangerous for the Tibetan community as the brutal human right abuses in Tibet. "The situation is urgent, given the increasing number of Tibetans who have become infected by HIV."
At the end of the program, four young Tibetans captivated the audience with their poetry recitations on the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. Here is one of the poems, written for this event by the well-known Dutch writer, Karin Boone.
Could or Would
If I only could replace
the presence of invisible marks
slogans on the forehead of my face
Who put them there?
Is it you, is it them or anyone?
Is it fear which wants to share:
‘Don’t touch me’
‘Reject this guilty one’
‘My secret kills’
If you only would replace
these stigma’s leading to nothing more
than exclusion in any case
If you put them aside you are able to see
that in our human needs
there is no difference between you and me.
On behalf of the organizing committee, CHOICE thanks the Tibetan Association of Boston and all volunteers for working together to conduct this significant event. In particular, thanks to Tenzin Nyesang Bayul, her family, and friends for their commitment from the idea stage to the event itself. Thanks to Phayul, the leading electronic news site on Tibetan issues, for being CHOICE’s media partner and providing free technical assistance.
CHOICE is looking for partners to help us organize similar events in North America in order to empower the Tibetan people. His Holiness the Dalai Lama puts it, "AIDS can become a peril to our society if we do not take preventative measures right now.”
If you are interested in working with CHOICE to conduct an educational program and fund raiser about HIV/AIDS, please contact us through our web site: http://www.tibetanaidsinfo.org/