http://current.com/items/77150612_aids_in_south_florida
Courtesy of Current.com
For a disease that has claimed thousands of lives and which receives extensive coverage in the news, AIDS still runs rampant today in society and people have grown only slightly wiser. It has killed 25 million people worldwide since 1981 and current estimates say 40 million people are infected, according to a 2006 report by UNAIDS. Still, several people believe that, just because they do not know anyone who apparently has it, it is not happening right in front of them. In my case, I feel I am one of them even though I would want to change that perception.
I have lived in South Florida for six years now and cannot say I remember having met anyone who is HIV positive. Of course, that says a lot more about my (possibly willful) ignorance on the matter rather than an actual perception of the issue in this area. But a quick search in google.com reveals that, indeed, HIV is a problem in the area and people are actively working to help ease the situation of infectees and advice people to practice safe sex at all times. Still, there will always be people who will either not heed these warnings or remain ignorant until it is too late to do anything. I've tried to include a video where a man interviews random people and asks them what they do about it. Their answers seem largely logical (wear protection at all times, abstain), but one gets the feeling that they are parroting what they have been taught and, at any moment, they could forget what they just said here.
I didn't count with enough time to dig up hard, recent data (the UNAIDS website was difficult to navigate and some of the files didn't open in my PC), but I am sure that digging just a little will open a plethora of information that will paint the AIDS situation as one that deserves all the attention it can muster from those who want to make a difference. For now I will start from scratch, looking up numbers and reading articles about it.
If you cannot see the video, here is the address
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3 comments:
Your video was really interesting to watch, even if I didn't believe everyone's responses that they used condoms every single time. The guy's face when they told him that cities in South Florida have the highest rates of AIDS was just priceless. I think many people are equally shocked when they hear the stats and this shouldn't be the case. The media should make this a well-known fact by covering AIDS in Miami more extensively.
I enjoyed the video, but feel perhaps an imbedded file might be more able to catch people's attention. Your overall writing style was interesting and essentially you came up with some of the same conclusions as myself.
I like your page, first of all. I feel like I'm actually reading an actual newspaper, which I prefer to read. You are very straight forward in this piece. You arm your paragraphs with information that brings your point across.
Overall, it's pretty good. However, I would have liked to see a picture to go along. People are mostly attracted to art work.
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