I have decided to write this text related to the Day of the fight against the AIDS. I have wanted to write about this event in Mostar and how we marked it. As we all know AIDS is the greatest, the most dangerous disease of this millennium and we still don't have a proper medicine for it and that's why this disease is the biggest danger since the time of plague. AIDS is e s pecially dangerous because of the way of infection. Ways of infection are sexual contact without protection, over infected blood and from infected mother to the unborn baby. I want to clear this ones and for all. 

We can't be infected of AIDS by touch, by s pittle, by kissing, by using the same things as infected persons and by a sting of insects. As the only secure way of protection to AIDS during the sexual connection, although I know because of that a lot of people will curse AIDS for a long time, is usin g of the preservative. Also I know a lot of people will have problems of making new blood brothers. 

Roots of AIDS are in Africa, and once Nostradamus had said that at the and of the millennium the new disease will appeared from the space and that a billion s of people will die (I hope that he made a mistake at least in number).

Now for few years a lot of meetings, public tribunes and speeches are held in our town related to the theme of AIDS. In our schools we regularly create the portfolios (wall papers). Possibly spreading of the knowledge about this disease at this moment is the best way of prevention, although we all think that is boring and that we all know all about that. Related to this day we made a lot of the portfolios and we are often rewarded by some humanitarian organizations, for our work. Institution for health protection has held the meeting related to that day. The topic of the meeting was education of the youths. Conclusion of that meeting was to continue the work with the young people, which are the most imperiled age group.

Mostar, and the whole BiH, was lucky that the problem of the HIV positive people was not so big as it was in other countries, at first because of the fewer population, bit patriarchal and conservative surrounding, and a fewer contact with the infected strangers. Personally I hope that's the way it is going to be for a long time, because the AIDS is the last thing we need after the war.

My message to the all Mostar youths is to be careful, because the preservatives are not so expensive as the medical treatment is, and message for all "unprotected" is that there is a center for the HIV positive in Sarajevo. My opinion is that preservatives are not so expensive, and for all who can't afford them should use the nylon and some kind of the lime track.

 MIRAN ČERKIĆ  09/12/1999