The Hindu : National : Celebrities, media should link hands to fight AIDS: Richard Gere

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Sunday, Jul 11, 2004

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Celebrities, media should link hands to fight AIDS: Richard Gere

By C. Rammanohar Reddy

Richard Gere, Hollywood star and global campaigner against HIV/AIDS, is passionate about celebrities making public interventions with the support of the media. He was at The Hindu headquarters in Chennai on Friday in a quest for partnerships to combat the scourge. — Photo: N. Balaji

CHENNAI, JULY 10. Richard Gere, the Hollywood star who has emerged as a major player in the global campaign against HIV/AIDS, has launched the Heroes Project in India, which will spread the anti-HIV message and combat the stigma that is still attached to the disease with the help of celebrities.

"Icons like athletes, film stars and dancers are at the heart of culture. The quickest way to communicate messages is get these celebrities to make public interventions, with the support of the media," said the actor who visited the offices of The Hindu earlier this week on the Chennai leg of his recent visit to India. One of the first to sign on in the Heroes Project is Rahul Dravid who has prepared a short message that will be broadcast through television.

The $2.4 million, three-year initiative will be funded by Avahan (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India) and the U.S.-based Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. It will be implemented by the Gere Foundation India Trust, currently with the support of Star TV. The Foundation has also been discussing collaboration proposals with a number of other TV and newspaper publishing companies in India.

Richard Gere is passionately concerned about the rapid advance of the pandemic in the country: "It is an important thing for Indians, for the world, to be more aware and fight the spread of infections in the country. If it is not already, India certainly will within the next few months have the highest numbers in the world — one out of seven people infected will be an Indian." Gere, who has been visiting India periodically for the past five years, sees the change in government in New Delhi as "extraordinary" since "the new Prime Minister has himself spoken about the AIDS threat to India and the need for a massive prevention campaign in the country."

The celebrity asks that people demand that the Government show a greater commitment to fighting the spread of AIDS. "In a country like India, without the Government on your side, there is no way you can bring about a transformation. To be successful, a campaign needs an extremely powerful leadership that places a high priority on fighting HIV/AIDS. People must speak up and say, `We want you to do this for us'."

The actor, who is increasingly known in India as much for his efforts to spread the anti-HIV message as for his good looks and romantic roles on the screen, said that he senses that the earlier attitude of denial towards AIDS is changing in India, though people with the disease still suffer severe discrimination. "Five years ago, very few Indians knew anyone who was sick [with HIV] and almost no one admitted to it even if they were. It is different now. People do acknowledge that the disease has affected those around them. People now understand the seriousness of the issue. The newspapers and TV stations I have been speaking to have been very receptive. There is also a community that is starting to emerge [especially in the medical profession] that is talking about the disease and becoming a spokesperson for the movement against the spread of the pandemic."

Discrimination, the film celebrity from the U.S. notes, is still prevalent in India. "This is not unique to India. Even at home there is still a stigma associated with AIDS. In America, the situation changed rapidly when Rock Hudson became sick and had the courage to come out and talk about it. It galvanised the entertainment industry in a different kind of way. Yet when a good friend of mine, a fashion designer, died one-and-a-half years ago, nobody knew he had AIDS. The stigma with HIV/AIDS is still everywhere."

Richard Gere says he is involved in all aspects of the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign: education, prevention and treatment. "All areas are important for me, but I do what I can do best — education and breaking down barriers at all levels." He said that campaigns must be adapted to the region. "Movies and movie stars are big in this part of the country [South India]. So we should think of using the stars more on AIDS shows on TV." The Gere campaign worldwide uses a number of approaches. "My brother [David Gere, an academic at a U.S. University who has spent a long time in India] has put together a programme for the arts community — `Make Arts, Stop AIDS.' There were many artists at home who were positive and willing to stand up and be counted on for the campaign." On his current trip to India, workshops under the `Make Arts, Stop AIDS' theme have been held in New Delhi and Kolkata. The idea is to spread the message by inserting anti-HIV/AIDS themes in plays, films, dances and other arts.

"If the Government does not provide the services that it should, then private enterprise in India should step in. An example is setting up and operating hot lines, which people can call and obtain information on HIV/AIDS. There are no hot line facilities in India, which are essential in a country where there is so much ignorance and misinformation about AIDS." The actor observed that there was very little human rights protection in India for people carrying the virus in India. "There is unfortunately not even any guarantee that they will obtain treatment if they go to a hospital."

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