18th of May 2008, Candlelight Memorial Day...
19th of May, 2008
Every year, the third Sunday of May marks for thousand of communities worldwide the Candlelight Memorial.People around the world unify their efforts to light candles in the memory of those killed by the "century's disease": HIV/AIDS.
The history of this memorial started in 1983, in San Francisco. In the third Sunday of May, many people decided to commemorate by a march to have the public's attention, the premature deaths with an unknown cause at that time that had "stolen" them their friends, family members, people they met...
The manifestation had a success; the attention of the public was paid to the HIV/AIDS and its dramatic, human, medical, social, economic consequences.This event continued yearly becoming a reference event to fight AIDS.
For instance, in 2007 the Candlelight Memorial was commemorated in 119 countries by over 1.500 communities.The event of this year, which in the same time stands for the 25th commemoration, will be launched in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, seriously damaged by HIV/AIDS.
In Romania, the Candlelight Memorial proposes every year to bring back in the memory and hearts the image of our people who died of AIDS and to launch an impulse to solidarity and respect towards the HIV infected people.
In the same time, this commemoration proposes to sensitize and rally all the existent resources, from the political environment to the business one, from the people affected by HIV/AIDS to the medical and psycho-social assistance staff, in order to engage all the necessary resources for the change of HIV trend in our country.
As every year, ARAS (The Romanian Association against AIDS) will organize on Sunday, May 18th, commemorative manifestations in many cities: Bucharest, Iasi, Constanta, Piatra Neamt, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Bacau, Brasov and Arad.
This edition of this year joins to ARAS the Medical Students' Society in Romania.
Shall you live in Bucharest and want to take part to the AIDS Memorial; you can do so beginning with 17:30 until 20:30 o'clock by attending the following events:
- Herastrau Park (the alley to H Pavilion) - where the mass media representatives can find press kits;
- Cismigiu Park (the entrance from Schitu Magureanu St.);
- Tineretului Park (the entrance across the "Gh. Şincai" High School, after the basketball arenas).
Additional information can be found to:Maria Georgescu, ARAS Executive Director, maria.georgescu@arasnet.ro, telephone: 0745 101 469 Mihai Lixandru, ARAS Volunteers' Coordinator, mihai.lixandru@arasnet.ro, telephone: 0727 559 398.
Click here to access the press release issued by ARAS!
