Friday, 24 November 2006

Prejudice is killing HIV sufferers in Cyprus

Ever since scientists identified HIV - fear, denial and stigma have accompanied the AIDS epidemic. In many countries around the world the disease is closely associated with discrimination -- individuals affected by HIV have been rejected by their families, their friends and their communities.

In Cyprus the official number of HIV positive persons is around 500, but AIDS support groups estimate the figure is four times higher - a significant figure for an island of less than one million people where everybody knows each other. Cypriot society believes AIDS is not a problem, but prejudice is killing HIV sufferers.
Living with the stygma of HIV/AIDS in Cyprus by barb

Saturday, 11 November 2006

Tasting reindeer meat and joiking in the arctic

The Sami are indigenous people who form the largest ethnic minority in Norway, Finland and Sweden. Long known as Laps, a term they now regard as colonial, the Sami have lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years, earning their keep by fishing, hunting, boat building and reindeer herding. Today, their total number is estimated at around 80,000. More than half live in Norway, where they possess a high degree of autonomy.

In Sweden, this is not the case and many of the 17,000 Sami who live there are fighting for their right to self-determination. I traveled to Kiruna, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, to discover one of the oldest surviving cultures in Europe.

The Sami People in Sweden by barb

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