BY JAMES MAO

In print | Published December 4, 2008 — Updated December 05, 2008 09:43

This past Monday, Dec. 1, saw the passing of the 20th anniversary of World AIDS day, an event possibly overshadowed by the reluctant return to campuses all over the country by disgruntled college students preparing for the home stretch before winter break. Nevertheless, the sad fact is that the toll of AIDS’s on the globe has been as consistent and predictable as the arrival of Thanksgiving weekend, year in and year out. According to estimates by the United Nations, there are now 33.2 million people living with AIDS. Last year, 2.5 million people became newly infected with the as yet virtually incurable disease.

Clearly, this is an epidemic of cataclysmic proportions. And yet I always get the feeling that not enough is being done about it — either not enough people care, or not enough people who care have the capability to affect outcomes. One great hurdle to overcome in the search for a cure is that of ignorance, and, by extension, prejudice. There are certain misconceptions that the unaware and the uneducated like to spread, and it begins with us, the future leaders of a rapidly crumbling world, to combat misinformation and mistakes.

So I am compelled to dedicate my final column of the semester to imploring all to invoke the spirit of giving from which we have freshly emerged — to invoke the ethos of generosity found in a seasonal song about gifts of a different kind, “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” with its refrain of “feed the world,” except this time it’s about conquering a disease. Though 95 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS currently reside in developing countries, this does not mean that the HIV threat is not a real one for us. Even if the news tends to highlight the plight of the poorest Africans and Chinese, this does not mean that the most affluent among us are immune. HIV/AIDS, despite the misconceptions surrounding it, does not discriminate. It will kill anyone in its unfortunate path if the right steps are not taken to counter it.

The greatest and seemingly most invincible of humans have fallen victim to HIV/AIDS. Prominent cases from the 1980s are the thousand-watt smile of Magic Johnson and the thousand-degree presence of Freddie Mercury. As the decades have passed, instances of the rich and famous succumbing to HIV/AIDS have lessened, which only serves to reinforce the need to support those with less. Magic Johnson, of course, is still alive and the enterprising owner of several movie theaters and restaurants, as well as being a part-owner of the multi-billion dollar Los Angeles Lakers. His continued existence is nothing short of a miracle, since he was diagnosed with HIV nearly two decades ago. Yet such is the unfairness of the world that not everyone can afford the treatment that Magic Johnson can. Moreover, improving education and raising awareness can only do so much for the third of a billion already living with AIDS — according to the UN, half of those who contract HIV die of AIDS-related complications before the age of 25.

Fortunately, a recent International Herald Tribune article highlighted a study by an English medical journal that gave hope to those suffering from AIDS. According to this journal, The Lancet, if those who tested positive for AIDS immediately received antiretroviral drugs instead of following current policy and waiting for their immune systems to be weakened, the disease would likely be eliminated by 2025. Obviously there are still specifics to be worked out in the study, but it is an encouraging step in the right direction.

However, such a step is still burdened by the misconceptions that weigh down the issue of AIDS. There is still much fear in the human psyche that disallows us from visiting a clinic and testing for AIDS. Ignorance, as they say, is bliss. Not only is there the possibility of a frightful confrontation with testing positive, there is also the stigma attached to being an AIDS victim to consider. One need only take a cursory glance at Youtube comments on any given Freddie Mercury-related video to witness the blatant, ignorant homophobia spouted by the worst of humans on a public forum. And yet they ignore the fact that AIDS doesn’t give a damn if you’re rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight. Nobody is safe. And that is why more action is needed.

As we at Swarthmore march towards our final exams, then, there is obviously a lot of non-AIDS related information and worries circulating in our heads. But at the same time, there is no excuse for not helping the cause. It is incredibly easy. You do not need to write 900-word essays that maybe seven people will read. Any of these organizations will be happy to accept your invaluable charity: avert.org, worldaidscampaign.org, worldaidsday.org, and unicef.org. You can also make a difference just by educating others. We can fight a terrible force by learning from it: if it wants to take us down as we transmit it one human to another, we will retaliate by raising awareness, one person at a time.

And hopefully, by 2025, England’s top medical minds will have been vindicated as AIDS is eradicated once and for all.

James is a first-year. He can be reached at jmao4@swarthmore.edu.

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