The “Faces” booth was well received despite its rather poor geographic location. Word quickly spread however that there were very good t-shirts on offer at giveaway prices so that many visitors happily referred their friends time and again to the booth.

The volunteers serving at the wider conference were touched to receive a free t-shirt each by way of tribute to their obvious spirit of volunteerism. T-shirts in Spanish were also a big hit while French and Spanish visitors felt right at home as so many Red Crossers were competent in one or more of those languages.

Without exception, everyone was complimentary about the message of the t-shirts. Some were taken as far afield as China and Tibet to be distributed to office colleagues as souvenirs of a very good conference.

Lamentably, except for a piece on the youth response by a young woman out of Jamaica and the appearance of the chairperson of the recently formed Caribbean Journalists Network in support of HIV and AIDS, the Caribbean’s voice was not among the more strident.

This has to change, given our current incidence rate as second to sub-Saharan Africa. This near silence reflects this region’s continued preference for dealing with HIV via mass mobilization without genuinely including those who suffer most or are the most stigmatized.

We are all guilty of this sin of omission and Red Cross Caribbean HIV and AIDS Network needs to bear the standard of change in the region, providing the level of inclusion that would be the catalyst for newfound respect for PLWHA.

Clearly there are many unsung heroes in this struggle – men and women, youthful heads of households, grandmothers, voluntary caregivers – who continue the Herculean task of battling the virus and its effects.

The conference provided a gathering of the clan, a safe space for those affected and infected by HIV. It underscored that the will to fight still burned in the hearts of activists everywhere and that increasingly, people are far more concerned about the future of humanity than they are about the irrelevance of sexual orientation.

Hopefully, by 2008 when the next International AIDS Conference takes place in Mexico, the Caribbean would have been able to share its success in the fight against stigma, the unmasking of fear and discrimination which will result in a tangible impact, statistically.

There was an undercurrent of warning to all attendees that we resist the temptation to collect conference attendances like so many notches on our belt. It is advice that should be heeded. If all who attend commit to the question: “Where will the next Conference in 2008 find you?”