Inter Press Service - May 18, 2000
Friznel Octave

Throughout hospitals and churches on that day, candles will be lit. Pastors will deliver sermons to their congregations, and moments of silence will be observed in memory of those who have died from the dreaded disease.

In addition, candles, plus flyers and posters on how to prevent HIV/AIDS, will be distributed throughout the capital and the country's other major cities. The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial honours the memory of those who have died of the disease and offers support and solidarity to those living with HIV/AIDS and to their families.

The day's commemorative activities are being co-ordinated here by the non-governmental organisation Zero-AIDS Foundation (POZ), in collaboration with various religious and social groups. Agencies involved in anti-AIDS work are also participating.

According to Dr. Eddy Genece, POZ's co-ordinator, the commemorative activities will give people hope of better days to come in a world free from AIDS. POZ will host an open house on that day to promote their public education campaign on the toll this pandemic has taken.

Sorel Beaujour, Executive Secretary of the Association for National Solidarity (ASON), has called on officials and members of civil society to observe the memorial, whose theme this year is ''Break the Silence: Honour Every Death, Value Every Life".

''In this way, we'll honour those who have died of AIDS, proclaim our solidarity with those living with the virus, and demonstrate our determination to fight the spread of this disease, which respects not race, nor colour, nor social class'', said Beaujour, who is HIV positive.

In a special message, the leaders of POZ said that ''Haiti's participation is an opportunity to show the rest of the world that the lives of those 34 million people living with HIV are irreplaceable''.

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will be observed in more than 350 cities, towns and villages world-wide. The annual event is organised by the Global Health Council (GHC).

"The Candlelight Memorial is entirely grassroots based, and is an opportunity for members of the community to honour those who have died and renew their own commitment to fighting AIDS," says Ron McInnis, the director of the Global AIDS Programme.

"It is one of inclusion and not exclusion, of compassion and of joint actions," Peter Piot, executive director of the UN department dealing with AIDS, UNAIDS, says.

When the first candlelight memorial was held in 1983, AIDS was still on the margins of global health concerns. At that time, the memorial served as a way for "communities to take action by publicly mourning loved ones lost to AIDS."

According to a GHC report, this focus has prevailed over the years spurred by the number of families affected by the rapid spread of the disease. During this period, more than 14 million people have died due to the disease and close to 34 million are currently living with HIV and AIDS. (END/IPS/HE/fo/sz/da/00)
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