Yasmin Shiraz

I’m so proud of Nick Cannon and Nickelodeon for hosting the TeenNick Halo Awards tonight and giving teens awards for their community service and dedication. It is hard enough being a young person so when I see young people go the extra mile I think they should be given every accolade possible–including free rides to college, cars, shopping money, etc. I think teens who are helping their community should be rewarded and awarded. Below is a clip on Brryan Jackson whose own father injected him with HIV.  Brryan after learning that he had HIV, did not go and hide, he decided to create the program Hope is Vital to educate and promote awareness for HIV/AIDS.  He was given a Halo Award tonight and he deserves it. If that kid isn’t wearing a halo, I don’t know who is. Check the clip below.

The next clip is from Halo Award Winner Darrius Snow who created the Atlanta-based BTEAM (Bankhead Teens Encouraging Action by Motivating Others), a community youth outreach program. His clip is below.

Sex Slaves in Lagos, Nigeria

The above photo was captured from MSNBC.

Girls as young as 12 are working in a prostitution ring to survive in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria. They do not use any protection, so most of the girls are infected with HIV. They work for pimps who provide protection to them.– MSNBC.COM

It’s interesting that someone chose the words “provide protection” when describing what the Nigerian pimps do for their sex slaves. If they cannot protect them from HIV/AIDS, what kind of protection are these pimps actually providing?

THINK YOU KNOW WHAT THE FACE OF AIDS LOOKS LIKE?

A 12 year old girl in an African slum….

THINK AGAIN….

I respect and honor World AIDS Day!

Leah is a young mom from the UK who is HIV+. She explains what it is like to have a child and how they’ve been treated. Support and Respect the worldwide fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. Today is World AIDS Day!

Today is World AIDS Today and in honor of World AIDS Day we should all wear red in respect and support of those who have long been fighting for a cure for HIV/AIDS, for those who have lost their lives to AIDS, and for those who are living with HIV/AIDS today.

People think that AIDS doesn’t affect them but the work that the activists, researchers, and doctors have done for over 20 years has already impacted you. Perhaps, it is the reason that you are not infected. Perhaps, it is the reason that someone in your family now has access to HIV/AIDS medications. Perhaps, it is the reason that a young person can have access to a condom instead of bring home a STI, a STD or a baby. The education and prevention initiatives that have been done on behalf of HIV/AIDS has greatly improved the treatment for HIV/AIDS sufferers but there is so much more that needs to be done.

Thousands of people in the US are still refusing to get tested and are living unknowlingly with HIV/AIDS. Their refusal has allowed HIV infections to spread in alarming numbers—particularly to women in heterosexual relationships.  Thousands of people in various parts of Africa are dying without access to medications. Without the proper treatment, HIV/AIDS will and has been ravaging various parts of the world.

HIV/AIDS is not the disease that happens to some people, it’s a disease that impacts all people. We are living in a world community. Until there is a cure for HIV/AIDS, we are all at risk. So, today, in respect and support of World AIDS Day, donate to HIV/AIDS education and prevention initiatives in your community. Every donation helps.

Phillipe Padieu

In a celebration that should be heard around the world, a Texas man, Phillippe Padieu, was recently convicted of INTENTIONALLY infecting six women with the HIV virus.  Why should we be celebrating? We should be celebrating because my recent research on the subject of HIV infection shows that it is difficult to prosecute someone for intentionally spreading the HIV virus. The success of this case should set some legal precedent for other victims. Meaning: It will be easier for other HIV victims to see justice by having the person who INTENTIONALLY infected them incarcerated. If you feel that you have been intentionally infected with HIV, you should definitely call your state’s attorney.

I realize that everyone who has HIV is not intentionally infecting other people, but unfortunately there are a crop of people out there who are. It is those people that we must me weary of. When I read the article on Mr. Padieu, he was called a “modern day Casanova.” And with his looks, he probably appeared to everyone as if he was completely healthy.  Of the six women that he infected, over the past 4 years, one already has full blown AIDS. During the trial, Padieu stated that he was “the victim here.” It seems to me that he was a victim who was angry because he had been infected and acted on his anger to infect others.

I think we should learn from this case and realize a couple of things:
1) A handsome person is not necessarily a healthy person.
2) If you feel that you have been intentionally infected, there is LEGALLY something you can do! Call your state’s attorney. There is no fee to speak with the state prosecutor.

What do you think we should learn from this case?

**Note** HIV does not discriminate due to age, race, sex, religion, or economic status. If you are a young person engaging in unprotected sex, you are at risk like everybody else.