Israel launches bell-ringing scheme for World Aids Day
By Amelia Thomas Middle East Times
At the beginning of November, seven young Israelis launched their unique "The Bell is Ringing Initiative", with the aim of encouraging 1 million people worldwide to each ring a bell, simultaneously, for 60 seconds at exactly 8 pm GMT. The scheme was launched in Jerusalem’s "Bell Garden", which contains a replica of the famous US Liberty Bell, something particularly significant for the project’s founders.
"Choosing the replica of the USA Liberty Bell," said the project’s chairman, Dr. Inon Schenkler, "... was declarative. We believe that the values encrypted on the original Liberty Bell should be applied universally also in HIV/Aids."
The idea for the bell-ringing scheme, which its founders hope will create solidarity between concerned groups and individuals worldwide, originated in a pioneering course run by the Jerusalem Aids project earlier this year, called "Ringing Bells". This course focused on training Israeli backpackers, between the age of 18 and 32, who volunteered to educate locals on HIV/Aids prevention during backpacking trips to remote areas of the world.
Backpackers participating in the scheme took two key items on their travels: the first, a set of literature, much of it in diagram form, which could educate on the spread of Aids without the need for a common language, and the second, a small bell. Quickly, participants realized that this simple bell was an extremely powerful tool to raise awareness on the issue, since ringing a bell in the center of remote villages successfully gained the attention and curiosity of locals.
Indeed, the use of bells in the fight against HIV/Aids has been effectively employed on several occasions in the past. In July in Hyderabad, India, for example, locals rang church and temple bells, sirens and car horns, in order to highlight the problem of HIV/Aids, India currently having roughly 5.1 million infected citizens.
Similarly, on a previous World Aids Day, the Aids National Interfaith Network asked that its communities of all faiths toll their bell 14 times at 1.40 pm, to symbolize the 14 years since the first cases of Aids were reported across the world.
The organizers of "The Bell is Ringing" scheme were also keen to point out that even if you do not own a bell at home, there were several ways in which you could participate in the effort. On their Website, www.bells4aids.org, a ’virtual bell’ can be rung at the appropriate time. Similarly, says Dr. Schenkler, one can go next door and ring the neighbor’s doorbell, telling them "this is a day to share responsibility".
Many countries had already promised an active part in the scheme: delegates as far afield as San Salvador promised to ring bells in solidarity with Jerusalem, whilst the carillon at the University of Kansas, weighing 13,440 pounds, was the largest bell promised to the project.
Although Dr. Schenkler, a lecturer at Hadassah College, Jerusalem and international Aids consultant, feels that Israel is one of the countries at the forefront of Aids awareness, he believes that it is nevertheless important to initiate such a scheme.
He points out that Israel was one of the first countries to institute an Aids awareness educational program in schools in 1987, and remains one of the few countries that allow minors to be tested for HIV without parental consent.
Similarly, while the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau states that the Middle East and North Africa region currently has the lowest rate of infection in the world, Farzaneh Roudi, Middle East program director at the Bureau, warns that figures are rising. The Jerusalem Aids project adds that every day in Israel, one new person is infected with the disease. In a country of only roughly 6 million people, this therefore remains a crucial issue to address.
In the occupied territories, too, events were underway to mark World Aids Day, albeit in a lower-key manner. At Bethlehem’s central Peace Center, in collaboration with Bethlehem University’s Nursing Department, a film on Aids was shown by department lecturer Mrs. Salam Al Issa, followed by a lecture for schoolchildren from the district.
But reliable current statistics on HIV/Aids within the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza are hard to obtain. Moreover, Palestinian society largely remains reticent about highlighting issues relating to HIV/Aids, and education in schools is still far from comprehensive.
While progress in education is slowly being made, there is, say health officials, a long way to go. A UNICEF-supported project active in schools has aimed to educate 216 teenagers as ’facilitators’, or peer educators, with the aim of spreading the message on HIV/Aids prevention.
With the cooperation of the Palestinian ministry of education and ministry of health, and funding from the United Nations Fund, this has enabled them to reach roughly 2,500 teenagers during the school year. Schools such as the Fatima Sroor High School in the West Bank town of Qalqilya have put on educational plays for their female students, offering important messages on the prevention and effects of Aids.
The project, says UNICEF, came about as a result of the Palestinian National Youth Survey, which showed that young people in the region had extremely limited knowledge of how to prevent HIV infection.
As Jerusalem supporters of "The Bell is Ringing" prepared for the evening’s event, their sights set on a world record, others across the world joined in. In Yellowstone USA, the event was scheduled to take place on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn. "Bells," said its organizers, "will be available for all participants".
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