Young rappers from across the country performed Saturday at the Pasar Festival Arts Center in Kuningan, South Jakarta, sending a message to fellow youngsters about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. Some 35 young rappers from 21 provinces gathered for the AIDS rap competition grand finale organized by the National Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN). The competition, which saw singer Edo Kondologit and rap star Iwa K. among the judges, was held to mark World AIDS Day, which fell on Dec. 1.

With rapping, I think young people will listen, said Ainuddin Blackball , 27, a rapper from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. I mean, they’re not going to listen to old people talking on a podium about what they need to know about HIV/AIDS. They’re going to listen to this. They may still end up breaking the rules and having unprotected sex or using drugs, but at least they have listened.

Blackball’s song, Watch out , talks about the importance of being aware of the dangers of the virus and, at the same time, the need to show compassion to those who have it. Adi Raja, 20, a rapper from Pontianak, West Kalimantan, said he knew all about the discrimination that people with HIV or AIDS had to deal with as he often counseled them. People are scared of them, which is just so wrong as the virus is easily avoided, not like bird flu, said Adi, a former drug user.

So, I rap instead of talking. It’s my means for getting messages across and my way of fighting against that sort of attitude. According to the latest Health Ministry’s data, drug users top the list of people with HIV/AIDS in Jakarta, with more than 70 percent of 2,894 users having become infected through needle sharing. In addition, those aged between 20 and 29 years of age accounted for over 75 percent of the total of population with HIV/AIDS.