📅 Date: Sunday, 30 November
⏰ Time: 2:30 PM
📍 Location: Freedom Square, in front of Parliament
🔴 Wear something red around your mouth, eyes or ears
This Sunday, 30th November at 2.30 pm at Freedom Square in front of Parliament, a coalition of organisations will be marking World AIDS day which falls on Monday with a silent protest. We will meet in front of parliament to protest against the indifference, the silence, the stigma and the misconceptions that still surround living with HIV. We will protest silently with red cloths/ribbons on our mouths, eyes or ears to symbolise the silence surrounding HIV and the Government’s silence and inaction regarding the promise of free PrEP and PEP, which are essential medications in stemming the tide of new HIV diagnoses, continues to harm at risk communities. The silence is deafening. This needs to stop.
Join us on Sunday, bring your placards and your red cloths and ribbons to raise awareness about HIV silence, stigma and inaction. We ask people to wear red material around their mouths, eyes and/or ears, to show that just because one ignores HIV, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
In Malta, HIV is now a chronic manageable condition and not the death sentence it once was, however there are still issues that negatively impact the lives of people living with HIV and those around them. People living with HIV often carry the burden on their own because the huge stigma keeps them from sharing their status with others. Therefore, they lack the necessary support structures that would help them cope better with HIV. There are still many misconceptions about HIV, even though today, HIV medication suppresses the virus to the point that it cannot be transmitted to others, what we call U=U, Undetectable = Untransmittable.
HIV healthcare has improved greatly. However, there is still much that needs to be done. HIV medication is not accessible to everyone, due to issues with their residency status, and the government has still to deliver on its promise to invest in free HIV prevention medication such as PrEP and PEP. This has now become urgent, especially considering that Malta has one of the highest rates of HIV diagnoses in Europe.
Organisations endorsing the World AIDS Day rally:
Checkpoint Malta
LGBTI+ Gozo
MGRM
Moviment Graffitti
ARC
aditus foundation
Drachma LGBTIQ
Il-Jum Dinji tal-AIDS: Silenzju = Mewt
📅 Data: Il-Ħadd, 30 ta’ Novembru
⏰ Hin: 2:30 PM
📍 Post: Misraħ il-Ħelsien, quddiem il-Parlament
🔴 Ilbsu xi ħaġa ħamra ma' ħalqkom, għajnejkom jew widnejkom
Nhar il-Ħadd, 30 ta’ Novembru fis-2.30 pm f’Misraħ il-Ħelsien quddiem il-Parlament, koalizzjoni ta’ organizzazzjonijiet se tkun qed tfakkar il-Jum dinji tal-AIDS, li jaħbat it-Tnejn, bi protesta siekta. Se niltaqgħu quddiem il-Parlament biex nipprotestaw kontra l-indifferenza, is-skiet, l-istigma u l-ideat żbaljati li għadhom marbuta mal-HIV. Se nipprotestaw b’mod sieket b’biċċiet jew żigarelli ħomor jgħattulna ħalqna, għajnejna jew widnejna bħala simbolu tas-skiet li jikkaratterizza l-HIV u s-silenzju u n-nuqqas ta’ azzjoni tal-Gvern dwar il-wegħda tiegħu li jipprovdi PrEP u PEP b’xejn—mediċini essenzjali biex jitwaqqaf it-tixrid ta’ każi ġodda tal-HIV—li l-assenza tagħhom tkompli tagħmel ħsara lill-komunitajiet li jinsabu f’riskju. Hawn skiet itarrax. Hemm bżonn li nwaqqfuh.
Ingħaqdu magħna nhar il-Ħadd waranofsinhar; ġibu magħkom il-kartelluni u l-biċċiet u l-faxex ħomor biex inżidu l-għarfien dwar is-skiet, l-istigma u n-nuqqas ta’ azzjoni dwar l-HIV. Nitolbu lin-nies jilbsu faxex jew żigarelli ħomor fuq ħalqhom, għajnejhom u/jew widnejhom biex nuru li għalkemm l-HIV qed tiġi njorata ma jfissirx li ma teżistix.
F’Malta, l-HIV illum hija kundizzjoni kronika li tista’ tiġi kkontrollata u mhux is-sentenza tal-mewt li kienet darba, iżda għad hemm kwistjonijiet li jaffettwaw b’mod negattiv il-ħajja tan-nies li jgħixu bl-HIV u ta’ dawk ta’ madwarhom. Persuni li jgħixu bl-HIV spiss iġorru l-piż waħedhom minħabba l-istigma kbira li żżommhom milli jaqsmu l-istatus tagħhom ma’ ħaddieħor. Għaldaqstant, ma jkollhomx l-appoġġ meħtieġ li jgħinhom jinnavigaw l-HIV aħjar. Għad hemm ħafna ideat żbaljati dwar l-HIV, minkejja li llum il-mediċina tal-HIV tirrippressa l-virus sal-punt li ma jistax jiġi trażmess lil ħaddieħor—dak li nsejħulu U=U, Undetectable = Untransmittable
Il-kura tal-HIV tjiebet b’mod sinifikanti. Iżda għad hemm ħafna xi jsir. Il-mediċina tal-HIV mhijiex aċċessibbli għal kulħadd minħabba kwistjonijiet relatati mal-permess tar-residenza, u l-Gvern għadu ma wettaqx il-wegħda tiegħu li jinvesti f’mediċini ta’ prevenzjoni tal-HIV b’xejn bħal PrEP u PEP. Dan issa sar urġenti, speċjalment meta wieħed iqis li Malta għandha waħda mill-ogħla rati ta’ dijanjosi tal-HIV fl-Ewropa.
Organizzazzjonijiet li qegħdin jappoġġjaw din id-dimostrazzjoni:
Checkpoint Malta
LGBTI+ Gozo
MGRM
Moviment Graffitti
ARC
aditus foundation
Drachma LGBTIQ
