I was very moved by the Tell somebody documentary touching on the Hiv/Aids epidemic in Africa. I learned many things I had no idea about concerning Hiv including treatment, statistics, number of deaths and ways of prevention of this deadly disease. Media is a great way to raise awareness as almost everyone has access to newspapers, television, radio and internet. It was uplifting to see how South Africans since 1998 has been campaigning for the government to provide free health care for those infected. This shows that in reality it is society that has created awareness of this disease and not the government. Hiv is more than a sexually transmitted disease it touches on politics, society and economics as well.
It was disturbing to hear that half of all Africans will or have been infected with Hiv. The statistics of Miami being the third largest city with residents carrying this disease was so shocking to me.This makes me think that it has been more than twenty years since Hiv cases began in the world and it has taken awhile for treatment to be discovered to prolong lives of those with the disease. In the eighties the stigma was that if someone became sick with the disease they would die soon; but nowadays it is comforting to know that Hiv is no longer the death sentence that it was once was. In my own personal life I know somebody that caught the disease at age nineteen and at fourty four years old is still living a healthy and productive life due to his medication.
However others have not been so lucky as they refuse to get tested or they find out too late that they developed Aids and their chances of a longer life are vague. This documentary personally hits close to home as a cousin of mine passed away about five years ago to Aids. It angers me how his parents due to the stigma of him being gay and having aids kept it quiet from the rest of the family. It makes me realize how people still are ashamed or uncomfortable to speak about this disease that is taking away so many lives especially with minorities in the United States. I feel if parents, teachers and those in the media spoke more on this topic and were more explicit on transmission of this disease then maybe the new cases of those being tested positive would be lower. I feel like our media is too oversexualized, political and materialistic; not enough awareness from our politicians, celebrities and those in control is being put out their for the new generation and its health. Yes, I believe that nowadays getting tested is more available for our communities as their are free health clinics, Buses, hospitals and even at home kits to get tested for this epidemic. Nowadays one can get tested and find out results in about twenty minutes to see if Hiv antibodies are present in one’s blood. So it’s good to know that we have come a long way in the fight against Aids. There still needs to be more awareness and we as a community should be able to speak more freely on this topic without fear of stigmas, ridicule or shame. This documentary has opened my eyes more on Aids and inspired me to fight against this epidemic by helping out the community and creating awareness to others.
Born to succeed 