House of Curiosity...

Last week, scientists announced the first “effective” trial of an HIV/Aids vaccine on some 16,000 volunteers, although the efficacy rate was not sufficient for use.

 My interest in HIV stems out of a feeling of responsibility since I am in the business of taking young people aboard on youth exchange programs. Hmmm… On a second thought…I am lying!… I have been in this business since 2006, but I had only become interested in knowing more last year.

Why Last year? Because last year I met a young Jordanian guy called Salim. He was 19 when he went on an exchange program in 2005 and came back with the HIV virus (not on my programs thank God). He lives normally. His family still does not know about him, and he is not planning to get married any time soon.

“Teach them how to protect themselves from the virus.” He told me “I did not know, and no one bothered to teach me.”  I remember thinking that his  statement was oxymoronic since his T-shirt had stated “I did not know is not an acceptable answer”

I was devastated after talking to him… it is not often that I passe a nuit blanche; but that night, settling world’s affairs seemed easier than thinking about Salim!  Black ideas about the possibility of young people getting infected on one my programs kept coming screaming in my head. I could not sleep until I promised myself that I had to do the right thing with the group that was about to travel, especially that I was not going to be with them. I had to give them a crash course on ways of protection. (I happen to be an HIV certified trainer!)

The group came back safely…but one of the guys took my course as a green light to spend his time doing the monkey business with everyone who gave him a second glance! His excuse whenever someone complained was that the organizer told them that they had to use condoms!

I knew I was going to be in trouble when I was called to defend myself to a committee of perfectly morbid and ugly human beings a week later! The timing could not have been more wrong… it was one of the busiest weeks of the year… I had to reschedule a few seriously important meetings that could not have been rescheduled… I was truly aghast at this foolish and unnecessary muddle that had suddenly arisen out of nothing.

The committee had one question only…. just what sort of training had been required to produce such a model of logic, and common sense as they saw sitting before them!  This was immediately followed by a stream of angry comments….I tried to respond to their question about the benefits I get from dirtying young innocent ears with such nonsense as HIV! I explained that knowledge would function as a first line of protection, and they retaliated with faith being the first line of protection and not knowledge…. after rounds and rounds of arguments, I eventually had to admit that they were right, however if God forbid, their first line of protection should fail, then maybe knowledge should be the second?

Nothing... I think I would have been more successful if I tried to convince stones...

I think the point of this pointless post is that I need to express my feeling that the vaccine is delightful news since the Middle East is the second fastest spreading HIV epidemic in the world. In the Middle East there are around 380,000 cases, 36,000 cases were reported last year alone… and it seems that knowledge is not about to spread any time soon…