I read 2 brief articles this morning. The 1st was about a shelter in Thailand being threatened by the locals in the area. The locals feel the HIV shelter somehow has put their lives at risk & is a threat to their livelihoods. I've read numerous articles of the years of shelters in various countries being harassed, chased off & forced to shut down by ignorant, hateful people. It amounts to no more than idiot villagers with pitchforks.
The 2nd, was about how people living in distressed situations are more prone to contract HIV. The article mainly looked at Sub-Saharan areas that are experiencing an extreme drought. The worse the outlook on a person's future, the more apt they are to engage in risky behavior. Perhaps out of need or an attempt to find some solace. Either way the virus spreads well when society is overly stressed.
Neither of these articles is saying anything new. So, why why write about them? Because of the fact they're saying nothing new. Nothing has changed in these areas chasing off shelters. There's nothing new about risky behavior during bad times.
What also hasn't changed, is our inability to deal with these situations. The stigma of HIV is still rampaging. The need for something to get through the moments is still driving us to decisions we'll regret. The real question is, "Why haven't we done something to change this already?"
Cya...
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