Resumo de Positive Criticism

Positive criticism THE book, Positive Lives is a scathing and critical account of the state of the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in India. After reading Kalpana Jain's truly moving account of her experiences while researching for this book, it seems that the criticism is not misdirected. The ignorance towards the HIV issue in India that she exposes is both shocking and disturbing. We are told that this ignorance manifests itself in a variety of different forms. From within a system that is ill-equipped, under-funded and riddled with self-righteous prejudice, we see it directed at those affected by HIV. We are also made aware of a general population that has no idea of the huge implications of this rapidly spreading epidemic. The book claims to be the first of its kind published in India, describing the first-hand experiences of those with HIV and the experiences of those around them, family, colleagues and friends who have been affected by the virus's power to create social stigma and fear. And if this is so, then it is probably long overdue. The book describes the personal accounts of those who have decided to go public like Ashok Pillai ? the man on the front cover and the principle figure. It also provides a basic but well-studied social history of the virus, and attempts to isolate social and economic reasons for the worsening situation of HIV in India. In this way, the book serves two purposes. First, it is an accessible educational tool for those who want to raise their awareness of the epidemic. Second, it acts as a general warning, loud and clear, to a society full of insubstantial opinion and misinformed preconceptions. Some facts that Jain reveals are shocking. For instance, did you know that there are over 3.5 million people infected with the virus in India, and at present rates nearly two million of those will be dead by 2010? Perhaps the most interesting element is the author's grasp of the way that HIV has compounded the need for social introspection. This virus is forcing all of us to look at the way we construct our respective social boundaries, and how we sentence (without trial) those perceived as transgressors. The book has a philosophical `edge' to it, and deals not only with the practical statistics of HIV, but also the language that has evolved around its presence. As a journalist, Jain must be acutely aware of the power of language, whether spoken or written, and this is particularly evident. While researching for the book, criss-crossing India, visiting the areas affected most by HIV, the point is made several times that the whole issue is constrained by a systematic misuse of terminology. Both the way in which the sufferers of HIV are denigrated and the way the virus itself is stigmatised are made apparent. In this sense, Positive Lives is very much a book about re-evaluation. Kalpana Jain asks us to reconsider certain "mind sets" that have come about as a result of lack of awareness and the fear of a thing that is shrouded in mystery. We must bring this `thing' into the open and demystify its qualities. Indeed, we are shown that it is often the unsaid things that are most powerful statements. HIV presently has no cure; the drugs that are used to treat it only stave off the inevitable. It is precisely this, Jain suggests, that is responsible for the alienation of HIV victims, and the building of such an invisible wall, a wall of silence and avoidance that divides those unaffected by the ravages of an unchecked epidemic from those that suffer. It is also perhaps the fact, that to contemplate the harsh reality of this irreverent killer is simply too much for some of us to deal with, so we bury our heads in the sand instead. The role of the media within this whole issue has been criticised before. At the National Consultation on HIV/AIDS and the Media, held last June in Delhi (at which both Kalpana Jain and Ashok spoke) the way in which certain parts of the media hensationalised the issue was discussed. This book is evidence that the role of the media and its professionals in expounding the myths of HIV is vital in order to increase awareness based upon quality hard hitting writing.

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