CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Jean Fontaine, Tunisia, October 1998
THEME = AIDS
Tunisia has largely remained free from
AIDS
because of the country's adherence to the Islamic
moral code,
but now action is being taken to combat the disease
In Africa's Arab countries, Muslim ethical values concerning sexual relations have a positive influence over the population's behaviour. In fact, AIDS does not have much of a foothold in these countries. Tunisia has a population of about nine million and there may be about 2,000 people classified as HIV-positive.
In the early days, when the existence of the disease first became known, people were somewhat afraid of public opinion on this subject. So the word "condom" was forbidden on radio and television. Today, things have changed. On 1 December, World AIDS Day, the Minister of Public Health asked non-governmental organisations (NGO)s to help in the fight against AIDS. Three associations directed towards this kind of work now exist. One is specialised in organising round-table conferences and public meetings. The second uses a phone-in service in Tunisia's three main cities: Tunis, Sfax and Sousse. The third association deals mainly with caring for the sick and their families.
Society in Tunisia is different from society as found in sub- Saharan Africa. Tunisia's authorities play an active role in tackling the AIDS problem. How? There are no secrets vis à vis the person who has contracted AIDS. The authorities want to know who has been having sexual intercourse with whom. The Law is clear that there can be no such thing as "free love", and society refuses to tolerate sexual intercourse between a Tunisian woman and a non-Muslim man. Also, homosexuality is a legal offence so anyone with AIDS will certainly not admit to being homosexual.
Religion cannot be ignored either. AIDS is considered to be divine punishment inflicted on a person for his/her sin of the flesh. In secondary schools, biology teachers must give a one-hour course on AIDS-related issues, so these teachers try to work with the religious education teachers, as they don't want the pupils receiving contradictory information.
Also, there's no special care service available for those with AIDS. The sick are temporarily received into the infectious diseases' department in one of the hospitals in Tunis, where, sometimes, people with drugs' problems are treated.
Most of the AIDS patients are Tunisians living in Europe who contract the infection there. When they come home on holiday, they infect their legal wife. One of the associations previously mentioned, has, with the help of French and Moroccan organisations, launched an awareness campaign. Trained members of this association make the ferry crossing between Tunis and Marseilles (24 hours). A cabin is specially reserved for them where they can receive those passengers who want to talk about HIV/AIDS. They also show videos on that subject or hand out appropriate pamphlets - but they have no illusions - Tunisians who get in touch with them prefer to talk and don't really want to read.
Four million people a year visit Tunisia but tourism isn't the main factor causing the spread of AIDS in the country. Foreign tourists are generally prudent and take their precautions. However, it is the second reason for the existence of AIDS in the country, and so an association has been founded for providing appropriate training sessions for hotel personnel in the hotels of Cap Bon (Hammamet and Nabeul). These training sessions are for junior staff, qualified personnel and directors. A questionnaire is distributed beforehand, so that those running the training sessions can have some idea of what participants already know about AIDS issues.
In a northern Tunis suburb, a special kind of activity has been organised with the local sports club. The young people - be they amateurs or professionals, boys or girls - join in four different courses in the morning, on AIDS-related subjects. While this is taking place, members of the association are near the various stalls along the beach, prepared to answer questions on the same subject from the general public.
Each year, the social services of Tunis district, organise a meeting with community leaders, social workers, and private associations. Practical cases involving HIV/AIDS issues are discussed during a full morning's work, and solutions suggested. The meeting is organised in such a way that everyone has the opportunity of giving his or her opinion as to how a particular difficulty should be met.
A first problem has to do with Muslim ethical values, as practised in Arab countries, influencing people's behaviour. Most of the population are not concerned about AIDS and even go so far as to deny it exists in Tunisia. "In any case", they say, "our religion saves us from such a scourge". They don't seem to realise that in refusing to acknowledge people are indeed having sexual relations outside marriage, they are furthering the spread of AIDS.
A second problem concerns young people. Usually, (and inquiries show this to be so), young people are well informed and have, at the very least, a minimal knowledge of AIDS. But most young people say the danger is for others and not for them. They're quite open: "I know my partners", they say. This observation especially concerns those young people living in the more affluent areas of the capital and surroundings. It should be noted that there are wide social differences, especially if one compares the country areas with the metropolitan district.
A third problem is being excluded from the rest of society. Even if the law does protect sick people, if a boss learns that one of his employees has AIDS, he will find any excuse to sack the infected person. In the same way, a family finds it extremely difficult to accept an infected member of the family in its midst. It's for these reasons, that a person with AIDS takes off and eventually dies alone. At the same time, it must be appreciated that the State simply doesn't have the means to offer a care- service for AIDS victims.
It's difficult to find volunteers prepared to offer themselves for long-term service in the various associations, and the situation has now become so serious, that the Tunisian government has asked NGOs to work with them on this point. Providing a care- service is no easy matter, but even more so when it's proving difficult to pinpoint people infected with AIDS. The third association mentioned above, was founded five years ago with the aim of providing a full care-service, but up to now, it hasn't been able to launch such a service.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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