“You
may think it won’t happen to you
that it only touches dirty people.
You feel invulnerable? Who can assure you of that?
There is always death in the Russian roulette.
And if you test positive? What about that?
What will you do with your life?”
The song lyrics are stark. They tell young people that they
can be directly affected by this problem. It may seem distant,
but a different family is hit every day.
The Ecuadorian Red Cross uses music to integrate young people
in the dynamics of prevention, which answers two questions every
youth asks: what information do you have? How can I get it?
“Talking about these issues is difficult, but we must
conduct prevention campaigns among the young, who are a group
at higher risk of contracting HIV. When you are young you feel
invulnerable to everything, and that you own the future,”
says Guillermo Yánez, provincial director of the Ecuadorian
Red Cross Youth.
This song was recorded by the rock group, “Cacería
de Lagartos” (Lizard Hunt), a group that “wanted
to write a song to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS issues,”
according to Yánez. “The Red Cross gave them advice
on this issue and participated in the campaign.”
The members of the group lend their time and knowledge to do
video forums around the country, where after the presentation
of the video clip on stigma and discrimination against people
living with HIV or AIDS, young people are invited to reflect
upon sexuality, drug abuse and loyalty to a partner.
In 2004, 13 video forums were organized in institutions such
as the William Shakespeare school, Vida Nueva (New Life), the
Army Polytechnic University, in the city of Ambato, among others.
“We believe that working with schools and universities
in the field of prevention can change the statistics and promote
a culture of information, thus contributing to fighting the
stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV or
AIDS,” Yañez explains.
This year, the Youth Programme will continue organizing video
forums in six provinces; promoting talks and fairs on key dates,
such as World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on 8 May, and World
AIDS Day on 1 December; strengthening the network with youth
volunteers, and extending the advisory services to people who
approach the Ecuadorian Red Cross for the HIV test.
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Hugo
Ferro, singer of the ‘Cacería de lagartos’
rock band meets fans at the launch of the CD (p12782)
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Poster
for the launch of the CD and video, which was aimed at
raising awareness of HIV among young Ecuadorans (p12783)
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Those
at the launch of the CD and video included Dr. Juan Cueva,
Ecuadorian Red Cross President, Hugo Ferro, singer of
‘Cacería de lagartos’, Marcelo Erazo,
Ecuadorian Red Cross Youth Coordinator, and Fabio Ferro,
from ‘Cacería de lagartos’ (p12784)
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