So I have been back in Lima for two weeks now and have time to fall back into my routine of life in Lima. Things are definitely different this time around, I feel more comfortable here, more at home. It helps that the weather is nice, I know my way around, I’m healthier and have a stronger support network.
When I first arrived in Lima last fall, I had a difficult time settling in. One of my biggest obstacles was getting a grip on the racial, gender, and social economic injustices that could be seen in every aspect of daily life. My social/community work analysis made the “realities of life in Peru” harder to process. I don’t like admitting this but… this time around I have noticed that I have become less sensitive to these injustices, that gut wrenching feeling that I would get when reading the myriad of news articles about government corruption, extreme violence, and violation of human rights has subsided. Some of my Limeñan friends say that this type of desensitization is normal if you are to maintain sanity. I don’t know that I agree, nor do I think, nor do I ever want to stop questioning these injustices and harsh “realities”.
Regardless of my level of desensitization, there are something’s that I will never fully comprehend about the priorities of the current and previous Peruvian governments. The one that I want to focus on today is lack of access to medical treatment for the poor, specifically children suffering from Leukemia. There are about 2000 children a year in Peru who are diagnosed with Leukemia, about 80% of these children will not survive without a bone marrow transplant. The potential to get access to treatment in Peru is slim. There are many faults with the current system 1) Peru does not have a bone marrow bank 2) There is limited access to free medical procedures including chemotherapy, and transplants 3) Lack of access to specialists for those who cannot afford to pay 4) Lack of government funding. A cruel example of this systemic failure is Sony’s story. Sony had Leukemia and was waiting to have a bone marrow transplant; he was 100% compatible with his brother.
Regardless of his compatibility with his brother he died earlier this month because he didn’t have medical insurance! Where is the respect and love for children’s lives?
La Association de Angles de los Arenales ( http://angelesdelosarenales.blogia.com/2011/febrero.php) is a Non-profit organization who supports children suffering with Leukemia and their families. They help them negotiate thru the web of medical bureaucracy with the goal of getting these children adequate access to lifesaving treatments. LAAA also acts as an advocacy group, last Monday on Feb 14th they held a march in the downtown core of Lima. The goal of the march was to educate and bring these systemic issues to the forefront, as well as act as a plea to the Presidential candidates to make funding for a transplant centre a priority in the upcoming April elections. Things must change or else children will keep dying.
How do you process these truths without, internalizing them? How do you agitate on behalf of all of the unjust causes? Children dying from curable diseases are only symptoms of a malfunction system. How do you change the system? Some of my friends would say revolution. These are all larger questions that I don't have answers for. What I do have is the power of this blog to highlight some of the issues that the most disadvantaged face in Peru, and the organizations who are trying to create positive change in their lives.
L.D.
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