THE COMPARISON between the so far incurable AIDS and the intractable crime rate is ominous indeed; and the juxtaposition is compelling, given the latest findings disclosed at this week's HIV conference in Kingston.
Karen Turner, USAID's mission director for Jamaica and the Caribbean, told health and child welfare officials that HIV/AIDS has now emerged as the leading cause of death among the 20 to 29 age group; is also growing among the adolescent population; and striking daily at the productive core of the population aged 15-44.
Ms. Turner's motivation is to evoke the kind of popular reaction that the high crime rate sometimes provokes - the peace walks and vigils, for example. The difference however is that the killings are quick episodes of violence and brutality whether from domestic conflict or gangland feuds. The cure in the latter instance may seem elusive, though in theory, vigilant police work and an efficient justice system should keep crime at tolerant levels and guarantee public safety.
Doubts about safety have arisen from the high death toll of more than 1,160 killed so far this year. It is a death rate highlighted by a record week of 47 killings in August and a monthly high of 150 in June. Of the overall total, police have yet to establish a motive for 185 of the murders. This level of bloodletting suggests random killing unrestrained by any sense of legal consequence. The death penalty is in limbo. And there is real fear of random killing reaching innocent or law-abiding victims.
The victims of AIDS may also be innocent and law-abiding; but the threat they face is silent and interpersonal. The consequences are slow and debilitating for the most part.
A more ominous aspect has emerged from the very medical research to find a cure. We are told that the latest anti-retroviral drugs are effective enough to depress symptoms and induce a false sense of well-being. Thus, infected persons may indulge in sexual conduct without due precaution and thereby spread the disease. There were even calls at this week's conference for legislation to make illegal, the wilful infection by those with the HIV/AIDS virus.
AIDS is a pandemic still waiting for a cure. Crime for us, while influenced by international tentacles, must be tackled at the local roots with tools already at hand. We must use them.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
