ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Elizabeth Arias Alfaro, left, and Amanda Mena stand on the steps of City Hall before the start of the march to the Lynn Museum.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Dozens of children performed “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas at Central Square and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” at the Lynn Museum on Thursday afternoon in the World AIDS Day march from City Hall. They carried signs and candles and wore homemade T-shirts.
“It’s good to see support,” said James Doyle, a Lynn resident who has been HIV-positive for 20 years. “Back in the ’90s when I was diagnosed, you didn’t see this — kids reaching out. It was a ‘no-no’ subject. It’s not so taboo anymore.”
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) affects the body’s immune system. As the virus progresses, it destroys the immune system, leaving a person vulnerable to opportunistic diseases.
If left untreated, the virus can lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). According to AIDS.gov, this is the last stage of an HIV infection.
The early stages of HIV mirror flu symptoms; fever, chills, rash, muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat and swollen glands. The only way to know if one has HIV is to be tested.
Mercie Lora, 12, said she learned about AIDS through the YMCA. Children from the YMCA Leaders Club, Kaya program and Music Studio Clubhouse, and youth from Upward Bound, Girls Inc. of Lynn and Lynn Youth Council all attended Thursday’s program.
“People who do have AIDS should feel like people care,” said Lora. “We should let them know they’re appreciated, even if they’re different or if they’re the same as us.”
Arsema Gebreyesus, 11, said she was walking because if she had the disease, she would want people to march for her too.
“It costs a lot of money for the medicine,” she said. “People spend money on cars when they already have cars. Why don’t they give it to someone who needs it?”
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said people in the city have been walking in memory of those who died from AIDS, and in support of those living with the disease, for 34 years.
“I’m sure a lot of the people here are too young to remember what was going on in the ’80s,” Kennedy said. “An AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence.”
Robert “Tish” Muise, who managed Fran’s Place for 34 years until the bar closed at the end of September, said the march is as significant now as it ever was.
“It’s very important because we do not want to forget,” Muise said. “This is still affecting people. We’ve lost so many people. This is a way to remember them.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at bturcotte@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte