Using creative methods to address HIV
“You idiot!” yells the old man, rushing towards the tent to pull a young man out. “If you used the same needle my son uses for drugs you now probably carry the disease,” he roars, as the guy nearly falls to his knees in panic. The young man is thin and bony and has a dark complexion. He can hardly stand up. His clothes are covered in dust and his face is grimy and scarred. He stumbles into the crowd that has formed around him. “I won’t let you go like that,” he shouts at the old man, jumping towards him and trying to hug him. ”Now, you will have the disease as well!” The people standing around jump back as he runs towards them. “Sorry,” the old man replies calmly. ”AIDS is not transmitted by hugging or touching.” This is a salient message for many people in Bam, an oasis town in south-eastern Iran. For several minutes the group of men, women and children watching the spectacle wonder whether what they are seeing is real or an act. Soon they realize the men are actors and what they are watching is street theatre. The project was organized by the Family Planning Association (FPA) of Iran to educate young people on the dangers of drugs and HIV/AIDS. Supported by UNICEF, this activity is part of a community-based HIV prevention and adolescent friendly services project. So far 15 such performances have taken place and the reaction has been extremely positive. “The plays have been very popular,” says Dr. Alireza Tajlili of the FPA. “People keep asking me when the next performance will be and why there hasn’t been one in their area.” Tajlili explains that addressing sensitive issues through street theatre has proven to have stronger and more long-lasting effects, particularly in smaller communities. “Street theatre is closer to people’s lives. People feel that something real is happening,” he adds. The play draws a large crowd. It’s the first time any of them have seen such a thing. Most are men and young boys but there are a few women there too. “Drugs are a real issue in Bam,” says 33-year-old Yousef Bagheri, a construction worker who traveled from the north of Iran to find work. Bagheri describes an incident he witnessed in which a child offered his father opium, saying it would calm him down. “This made such an impression on me, and I felt so sad afterwards,” he said.
Still struggling with loss Being so close to the border with Afghanistan, Bam lies on one of the main drug routes to Europe. Many of the town’s inhabitants are addicts and since the earthquake in 2003 that destroyed most buildings and took more than 30,000 lives, the situation has worsened. As people continue to struggle with the consequences of their loss and grief they must also cope with the challenges of high unemployment. Rates of injecting drug users are reportedly on the rise, creating a situation where HIV can quickly spread. To help combat this, UNICEF and FPA have also started a peer education project targeting high-risk youth. Adolescent volunteers – boys and girls – share knowledge about HIV prevention with their peers through face-to-face encounters. In a local mosque in Baravat, a village near Bam, a group of young boys sits in a semi-circle on a warm spring day. One of them, 22-year-old Ali Esmaili, patiently explains what HIV is. A trained peer educator, Ali is friendly and energetic and involves his peers in group activities during the training to make the session interactive and engaging. “When people get information about the dangers of HIV/AIDS from a friend their own age they are more likely to accept it,” he says. “It’s better than getting advice from adults.” The peer educators have been trained by FPA, which has also designed board games and brochures with HIV/AIDS prevention messages. As dusk sets in, the street theatre comes to an end. The crowd slowly scatters, laughing, chatting and discussing the information they have just learned. ”It was so cool,” says Ali, 14. ”Now I know that AIDS is a disease you can get through sharing needles or blood but not through shaking hands or sharing a toothbrush.”
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