Koffi
Annan's
call for
leadership to tackle the HIV pandemic has been hijacked by corporations
whose primary stated aim is to increase revenue for their
shareholders, not to reduce the growing number of HIV-related deaths on
every continent.
Through organisations like the Health Institute of New Jersey and the
Health Leadership council, corporations have taken charge of national
and international health policy to the detriment of billions of people
worldwide.
Syringe manufacturers have adopted tactics of deception, asserting that
needlestick injuries and unsafe injecting practices, and the subsequent
risk of blood-borne virus (BBV) transmission, can be avoided by the use
of their product.
They have ignored the complexity of the issues faced by health care
workers in developing countries and people who inject drugs across the
globe.
The introduction of retractable syringes in Australia has been through
the back door. The trial of these devices in Australian needle and
syringe programs (NSPs) has been
veiled in secrecy, possibly to prevent the media and the public from
making the Wooldridge connection. The fact that former health minister
Michael Wooldridge is set to make a direct financial gain from the
opening of an Australian market for retractables, is enough to prompt
the Australian Federal Police to commence an inquiry.
Australian companies have mirrored the multi-nationals' marketing
strategy and have blatantly flouted trade practice laws and guidelines
issued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for the advertising of
medical devices. Potential investors are being sucked in to this fraud
and stand to lose significant amounts of money when the bubble bursts.
Despite the lack of support across the board, the Australian Government
has pushed ahead with this trial of an experimental device on human
beings. The Trial breaches numerous principles of the Nuremberg Code
and should be stopped immediately.
Nearly three million people died of HIV-related causes in 2003. If the
syringe manufacturers and their drug-producing allies are allowed to
continue their reign, this figure will continue to grow until HIV has
affected every family on the planet.
The third Darwin International Syringe Festival aims to bring together
people who inject drugs and our friends within the community to look at
new ways to tackle the war on drugs and the harms associated with it.
Injecting drug users in Australia are still at risk of HIV infection
through uinsafe injecting practices and this is set to increase with
the introduction of the retractable syringe.
The theme of this year's conference, is the challenge to the
introduction of the retractable syringe. As with our previous two
syringe festivals, we will honour and cherish the original device.
Darwin Syringe Festival needs artists, performance artists,
filmmakers, skaters, jugglers, acrobats, performers, DJs and bands to
perform throughout the week. We want to create
a diverse environment that's stimulating, comfortable and
unforgettable.
This
is your
festival, so get involved to make it an amazing event.
the Network Against Prohibition is working to a "skeleton script",
which includes an art exhibition, party, cabaret,
our S11 tribute community smoke-in, and the annual crowning of the
needle queen. This year we will also have a film competition and invite
filmmakers to make spoof versions of the various retractable syringe
product videos. This way people from all over the world can be involved
in the Darwin festival.
Send
us your
suggestions or contributions for the festival. We
especially want overseas entertainers to add their own flavour to our
home-grown event.
The
Network Against Prohibition will do everything in its power to
ensure guests' comfort of during their stay in Darwin. Accommodation
can be arranged to suit all budgets, including billeting,
camping, hostels, guest-houses and luxury hotels. People with specific
needs are asked to contact NAP ASAP. Low-cost vego and carnivore meals
will be available at all
events throughout the week by Chops not Cops.
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What’s
happening in this year’s Syringe?
Event
details
SyringeFest
Family Picnic
Sunday 5th September 2004 @ 4.00pm -
Kahlin Beach, Larrakeyahh
Opening
event of
the 3rd Darwin International Syringe Festival... at Kahlin beach down
in
Larrakeyah... opposite Cullen Bay marina… please bring a picnic
basket and
come down for a beautiful Darwin sunset.
Contact:
8942
0570
The
ARSE Foundation – Online launch
Monday 6th September 2004 @ 6.30pm Darwin time
Join
us online or
at NAP HQ to officially launch The ARSE Foundation and help us take the
fight
against the global HIV pandemic to a new level. Wine and cheese will be
provided at HQ, byo chems and herbs.
SyringeFest
Cabaret Dinner
Tuesday 7th September 2004 @ 7pm – Groove Café Nightcliff
This
will be the
second time we have held this gala event at the Groove cafe in
Nightcliff. Only
$30 per person and that basically covers the cost of food and helps
with other
costs incurred during the Festival. We will be showing a presentation
on the
history of the syringe and will be lucky enough to be entertained by
local
musicians.
Contact:
8942
0570
Retract
this Motherfuckers Film and Art Show
Wednesday 8th September 2004 @ a venue and time TBC
For
the first
time we are offering you the chance to enter 2 competitions with a
twist. A
SyringeFest film competition and Art competition. We have asked artists
and
filmmakers to choose from a selection of promotional videos from
companies
which produce retractable syringes. The theme of the competitions is
"Retract this motherfuckers..." and we have asked participants
to choose one of the company films and edit it to give it their special
touch.
We will show all of the films and display the artwork at a venue TBC.
NAP
Public Meeting – Injecting Drug Use and the Global HIV Pandemic
Thursday 9th September 2004 7pm @ the Darwin Railway Club, Somerville Gardens Rd, Parap
NAP
members will
give participants an overview of the current picture of the Global HIV
Pandemic
with up to date information on the situation in the NT. Find out why
injecting
drug use is a major driving force in the high rate of HIV infection in
Eastern
Europe, Asia and among indigenous communities around the globe...
including
Australia.
SyringeFest
Family BBQ – Palmerston
Friday 10th September 2004 1pm @ Goyder Hill
Just
to make sure
that Palmo mob don't miss out on the festivities, we will be having a
SyringeFest family BBQ at Goyder Hill from 1.00pm onwards... We will
provide
the BBQ and refreshments so just bring yourselves, your friends and
your
families...
The
19th Community Smoke-In for Human Rights
Saturday 11th September 2004 12noon @ Raintree Park
Our
S11 tribute...
Join us for the 19th Community Smoke-In for Human Rights in Raintree Park... this month we will be
focussing
heavily on the role that corporations have in the continuation of the
global
HIV pandemic. We will be crowning the Needle Queen as part of this
year’s
SyringeFest and we will have our standard free lunch, speakers, live
music and
fun for the whole family...
SyringeFest
2004 Closing Party
Saturday 11th September 2004 7pm til late @ NAP Headquarters in
Parap
Join
us at NAP HQ
for the event of the year - the closing party for the 2004
SyringeFest... byo
chemicals and herbs, we will put on a BBQ but if you bring along some
tucker
that always helps....
Not
a Liver Friendly Breakfast
Sunday 12th September 2004 9am @ NAP HQ
For
those of you
who haven't made it home yet... or if your up early enough and you want
to join
us for the NAP recovery breakfast... make your way to NAP HQ for a
protein
packed breakfast that should help you get over whatever it was you put
in your
body the night before.. and if you can't (or don't) do protein… we will
have
fruit and other stuff for you to munch on....all washed down with heaps
of
coffee...
For
more info
about any of these events call NAP on 8942 0570
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For the first time we are
offering you
the chance to enter a
SyringeFest film competition with a twist. Below, you will find a
selection of promotional videos from companies which produce
retractables. The theme of the film competition is "Retract this
motherfuckers..." and we ask
you to choose one of the company films and
edit it to give it your special touch.
We suggest you use The Arse Foundation for
inspriation.
Entries can be sent electronically to napnt (a) bigpond.net.au
or by snail mail to:
Darwin SyringeArt 2004
Po Box 701
Parap
Northern Territory, 0820
Australia
We look forward to receiving your submission/s!
Unitract
- The Next Generation of Syringe Technology:
An introduction to the Unitract Syringe and its strengths when compared
to previous generations of products including Standard Disposable
Syringes, Reuse Prevention (Auto-Disable) syringes and Manual
Retraction Syringes. Modem 4Mb - Broadband 10Mb
View
Unitract Syringe Demonstration: Broadband 5.6Mb
View
Full-Length Animation: Modem 1.8Mb or DSL 11.3Mb
Introduction: Modem 292Kb | DSL Low 1.8Mb | DSL Med 4.5Mb | DSL High 5.5Mb
Drawing Up: Modem 230Kb | DSL Low 1.4Mb | DSL Med 3.4Mb | DSL High 4.3Mb
Injection: Modem 287Kb | DSL Low 1.9Mb | DSL Med 3.6Mb | DSL High 4.2Mb
Withdrawal: Modem 383Kb | DSL Low 2.6Mb | DSL Med 5.8Mb | DSL High 6.3Mb
Comparison: Modem 230Kb | DSL Low 608Kb | DSL Med 1.2Mb | DSL High 2.4Mb
Summary: Modem 320Kb | DSL Low 1.7Mb | DSL Med 3.1Mb | DSL High 3.6Mb
NOTE: To save the
animation to your computer, right click on your connection and press
'Save Target As'.
Quicktime
6
presents the very best of streaming techology, featuring MPEG-4, the
next-generation of the most advanced digital media technology on the
Internet. Please visit Apple's website for detailed info ( http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ )
ENSI-MED
training video
Ritract
Demonstration Video
View a Video
RealPlayer®
Windows
Media® Player
To view the video you will require Flash Player.
Click
here to download Flash Player.
Ideal for Fax/modem
connection of 56k or lower
Download time: Approx. 5-7 minutes
(There is a download time bar on the video clip)
This video has a spoken and
text commentary regarding the
SecureGard® Retractable Needle System.
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CALL FOR ARTISTS
Organisers of the 3rd Darwin International Syringe Festival
invite
artists of all kinds and genres to participate in the 2004 SyringeArt
exhibition. Submissions can be in any form and we welcome
them from anywhere on thet planet. The theme for this year's SyringeArt
Exhibition is "Retract this motherfuckers..." We suggest you use The Arse
Foundation for inspiration.
Entries can be sent electronically to napnt (a) bigpond.net.au
or by snail mail to:
Darwin SyringeArt 2004
Po Box 701
Parap
Northern Territory, 0820
Australia
We look forward to receiving your submission/s!
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The
Network Against Prohibition will do everything in its power to
ensure guests' comfort of during their stay in Darwin. Accommodation
can be arranged to suit all budgets, including billeting,
camping, hostels, guest-houses and luxury hotels. People with specific
needs are asked to contact NAP ASAP. Low-cost vego and carnivore meals
will be available at all
events throughout the week by Chops not Cops.
For important information for drug
users travelling to the Territory, please refer to our Taste of the Top
End page.
Getting a taste
of the Top End
Map of Darwin- Public
Transport:
Addresses of NSPs/Chemists
& drug user friendly services:
NSP @ NT Aids and Hepatitis
Council
46 Woods Street, Darwin
8941 1711
Monday-Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am -2pm
Palmerston Nsp
Palmerston Health Precinct
Cnr Temple Terrace & Roystones
Avenue, Palmerston
Mon, Wed & Friday 1:30pm-4:30pm
NAP
Underground Exchange
When you are really desperate and can't get fits call the NAP
underground exchange on 0415 16 2525 or 0414 835 254. This is not a
guaranteed 24 hour 7 day a week service but they may be able to help
you.
For more services (chemists selling
fits and other NSPs) see link:
Click Here!
Note: Clean injecting
equipment is available after hours. Just ask organisers.
NT Drug Laws
Here is the Misuse of
Drugs Act (as at August 11, 004). We are hoping to be able to
find more information soon. To learn about your legal rights
as a drug user in the NT, see the TUF forums on the AIVL
website.
Misuse of Drugs Act
Airport Transfer:
Airport City Shuttle Bus
Fares: $7.50 single one way $13
Family and group bookings available
Freecall 1800 358 945
Information
for Travellers
Australian
visitors – car transport
People interested in travelling to
Darwin by car, please email us.
One group of people is proposing
to travel by road from Sydney as part of an anti-prohibition
convoy.
International
visitors - visas
It can take up to five months to get a
tourist visa, so
people need to apply ASAP. Please email
us if you need assistance.
Visas
Visas info
Airlines
NAP suggests that international visitors
fly into a major Australian
city, ie, Melbourne or Sydney and then travel by air to Darwin. Virgin
Blue has the cheapest rates by far (currently as low as $320 return Syd
to Dar). For people wanting to fly into Darwin directly, Royal
Brunei offer the cheapest international flights and fly from Germany,
the UK and most Asian countries to Brunei, where you connect to Darwin.
Links:
Virgin Blue (domestic australian flights):
Royal
Brunei
Air New
Zealand:
Qantas
(domestic and international):
Japanese Airlines:
American
Airlines:
Tourism
Top End
Accommodation
Darwin and its surrounds provide a range
of accommodation from 1-star through to 5-star to meet all tastes.
Please advise us of your
accommodation needs and we will be able to suggest a venue that is
affordable and close to all syringe festival activities.
Billeting is also available. Please
advise organisers ASAP at napnt(a)bigpond.net.au
Disclaimer: By providing this
information NAP is in no way
endorsing any of the above companies or services. This information is
intended only to assist people attending
the Darwin International Syringe Festival
Accommodation
Hotels/Motels:
MGM GRAND DARWIN
Gilruth Avenue, Darwin
Phone: (08) 8943 8888
reservations@mgmgrand.com.au
www.mgmgrand.com.au
NOVOTEL ATRIUM DARWIN
100 The Esplanade,
Darwin NT 0801
Phone: (08) 8941 0755
www.novoteldarwin.com.au
PALMS VILLAGE RESORT
901 Stuart Highway, DARWIN NT
Phone: 1800 350 888
email:
reservations@palmsresort.com.au
www.palmsresort.com.au
6 Mackillop Street,
Parap NT 0820
PO Box 4046 Darwin NT
Tel: (08) 8981 9200
Email: parav@octa4.net.au
Budget
digs
BANYAN VIEW LODGE (YWCA)
119 Mitchell Street, Darwin
Phone: (08) 8981 8644
BARRAMUNDI LODGE
4 Gardens Road, The Gardens, Darwin
NT 0820
Tel: (08) 8941 6466
Email: barramundilodge@bigpond.com
www.barramundilodge.com.au
CASABLANCA MOTEL
52 Gregory Street, Parap NT 0820
FREECALL 1800 039 077
Phone: (08) 8981 2163
Email:
casablancamotel@austarnet.com.au
www.mtlcasablanca.com.au
FROGSHOLLOW BACKPACKERS RESORT
27 Lindsay Street, Darwin NT 0800
Tel: (08) 8941 2600
Email: book@frogs-hollow.com.au
www.frogs-hollow.com.au
VALUE INN
50 Mitchell Street, Darwin
Phone: (08) 8981 4733
Email: reservations@valueinn.com.au
PARAP VILLAGE APARTMENTS
39-45 Parap Road,
Parap NT 0820
FREECALL 1 800 620 913
Tel: (08) 8943 0500
Email: pva@paspaley.com
Since forming in March
2002, NAP has
campaigned actively against draconian Labor Government legislation
that
affects drug users and "itinerants" in the NT. This includes the
introduction of "drug house"
legislation, youth curfew legislation, increased police "discretionary"
powers, discrimination against people dependant upon s8 (schedule 8)
medications such as morphine, and "community policing" of indigenous
people.
NAP actions have
included:
- responding
to tip-offs and picketing
outside premises while drug raids were in progress;
- occupying the
Chief Minister
and Chief Health Officers offices;
- disrupting
the Legaslative Assembly
while it was in session;
- presenting
the (now sacked) Police Minister
with a silver platter containing pigs heads at the annual NT Police
Association meeting;
- collaborating
with the Longgrass Association to
occupy the Darwin City Council chambers;
- demonstrating
outside the
Justice Department and Parliament House; and
- holding
information stalls
outside the Magistrates Court while people inside were facing
prosecution under "drug house" legislation.
NAP has successfully
highlighted and
engaged the community in the
urgent need for drug law-reform through monthly Smoke-Ins for Human
Rights; dance parties, with areas set aside for safe injecting; stalls
at
markets and the university; relentless flyer and poster distribution,
and
by conducting interviews with local, national and international media.
In
2002, NAP collected more than 700 signatures on a petition against
"drug
house" and "anti-social conduct" legislation. It also lodged numerous
complaints with the Ombudsman about the conduct of the NT
Police and the Medical Board.
Direct
Action
Only through common struggle based on self-organised direct action
can people bring about their own liberation. In contrast, indirect
action is allowing/encouraging/tolerating others to do
something on your behalf or in your name. Appealing to third parties to
solve your problems doesn't work - especially if they are the people
who
created the problems in the first place, and doubly so if they stand to
profit from the concequences of these problems.
Direct action is a means
of keeping
the struggle for a better future
under our own direct democratic control. It is a more effective form of
highlighting issues that directly affect us, than lobbying. Direct
action is the powerful means by which people become aware of their
oppression and the means to counter it.
Not only is direct
action empowering
and solidarity-building, it is
cultural form in itself. Anyone who has done it will never forget the
buzz! By putting our ideas into practice, taking control of our lives
and learning to trust and be trusted in the heat of the moment, direct
action is a now-thing that can help us build a new society in the shell
of the old. Direct action is central to confidence, which is essential
to creating a culture of resistance - and that is the core of the new
movement we are building totally independent of the existing order.
Solidarity, the
idea that only through co-operation can people be
liberated and free, is given practical meaning in direct action. It
means giving something to yourself and to others- it is doing something
useful.
Confidence,
self-education and
solidarity are the basis of change and ability to create further change
toward liberation. Through
every direct action, people demonstrate to themselves they are not
merely a dispensible commodity. People gain self-confidence and a sense
of self worth, becoming more aware of how they are being oppressed, and
of the urgent need for an
alternative to our collective lot.
In attempting to build a
new society
within the old, the
self-organising, self-education and self-confidence around direct
action is an ongoing spark for fresh change. Once it gets going, it
feeds itself. Aims, principals, whats, hows and whys are emerging (or
re-emerging) internationally, giving real strength to direct action.
There is a greater realisation that using direct action and
self-organising instead of negotiation and bureaucratic leadership is
paramount to success. This struggle must be based on solidarity - there
are no short cuts. "Unity is strength" is central to every struggle and
every action, and only through this can we really expect to progress.
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Direct
Action to end the War on Drugs
The 1st International
conference on
Direct Action to end the War on
Drugs was held in conjunction with our second Syringe Festival in
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Monday
September 22, to Monday September 29, 2002.
Delegates attended from
around
Australia. Two delegates from the Thai Drug Users Network were also
able to attend thanks to the Network Against Prohibition, and the
Australian drug user movement. We hope to be able to repeat the
conference, but cannot this year because of the backlog of court cases
faced by organisers and NAPsters.
More on
the International conference on using direct action to end the war on
drugs
The conference aims to
bring
together activists and drug
users from around the world. The war
on drugs is not aimed at eradicating drug use - it is aimed at
curtailing the rights and civil liberties of drug users, as well as a
war on the third world, a race war
and a class war. There can be no serious discussion about drug
law-reform, harm reduction or drug user issues without taking this into
account.
Although we acknowledge the
tremendous
efforts by many people in
challenging drug policy, conference organisers feel the results of
many approaches such as government lobbying or service provision have
not gone far enough in changing drug laws or community attitudes toward
drug use. We believe it's time for drug users to demand change on our
own terms and for the drug user movement to re-examine it's tactics,
hence the focus on direct action.
We believe it is integral
that this
conference is organised for and
by drug users, not hijacked by "professionals", who claim to understand
from the devastating concequences prohibition has on our lifestyles. We
encourage people with first-hand campaigning experience and strategies
to
present workshops and-or chair forums on any subject relating to
challenging zero tolerence policing, prohibition and the war on drugs.
However, anyone with ideas or experience in direct action for other
human rights/community issues which may be relevant, is
welcome to participate. We feel it is important to have contact and
exchange support with other civil liberties and civil disobedience
groups, community groups and pressure groups so that we expand
our networks and glean inspiration from each other.
Click
here to see the 2003 Syringe Festival website
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