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Commentary: Stick it in, round ‘em up: Papuans with microchips
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 12/15/2008 7:16 AM | Headlines
They’re as ubiquitous as the garden mosquito, from the innocuous bar codes scanned at the supermarket counter to the invaluable cash card in everyone’s wallet.
Microchips are an inescapable part of daily life — literally for the few thousand people across the globe who have one implanted in their body.
If the Papua Provincial Council has its way, people living with HIV/AIDS in the province will be tagged like livestock by having microchips implanted into their bodies.
There is warranted concern over the apparently uncontrollable spread of HIV in the country’s easternmost province, with nearly 5,000 cases reported there.
This means prevalence of HIV infections in Papua is 15 times higher than the national average.
Poor education, the lack of condoms and traditional promiscuity related to tribal rituals of partner swapping have contributed to the explosion.
Some agencies forecast that as many as 7 percent of Papuans could be infected within the next two decades.
Ironically it was a doctor, John Manangsang, who first suggested the controversial measure of microchipping “sexually aggressive” HIV/AIDS patients.
“I’ve been researching it and found online that microchips can be used in humans, so I’m convinced this can help us detect ... the spread of HIV in society,” councilor Manangsang, who is tasked with preparing Papua’s new health bill, said, as quoted by ABC News.
But if the good doctor were so diligent in his research he would have uncovered potential complications to his plan.
Quite apart from the moral aspect, mandatory microchipping of AIDS patients is dehumanizing and prejudicial, and violates one’s physical integrity. One must question the applicability of the technology and the safety of the practice.
If Manangsang and other councilors look beyond the gadgets that feature in James Bond movies, they will realize that in the real world microchipping people with HIV/AIDS is technologically a hazardous and ineffective solution.
It is doubtful the provincial health agency will have access to, or can even afford, “CIA-grade” espionage technology and thus will have to rely on devices available on the open market.
The most common means of human chipping is by using a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID).
About the length of two grains of rice, these medical-grade glass capsules contain a microchip and transmitter injected into the forearm.
The leading maker of chips for implant, Florida-based VeriChip Corp., promotes the product as a device to access an individual’s medical records, such as those with Alzheimer’s, heart disease or diabetes, through the use of hospital scanners.
They are a high-tech replacement for the medical bracelet worn by many patients with chronic illnesses.
It is also being marketed as a high-level security device to verify the identification of individuals in restricted areas.
Considering the technology used, the market price for each microchip (RFID) is relatively low, at about US$200 with a scanner upward of $350.
So far, so good ... if the chip were simply implanted as a voluntary device to aid medical emergencies.
But for the intent and purposes envisaged by the Papuan councilors, the RFIDs become unfeasible.
These devices are not GPS (Global Positioning System) locators.
They do not function as “eye-in-the-sky” thingamajigs pinpointing a person’s location at a press of a button.
More powerful high-end technology à la James Bond may exist for counter-terrorist spy agencies, but the common scanners available on the market need to be within one meter of the chip to be able to detect them effectively.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration four years ago gave the green light for RFIDs to be implanted in humans, they also noted risks associated with the procedure.
Most notable was the impact caused by cross-signals from external electrical devices and the potential for adverse tissue reaction.
While the data are inconclusive, there are also suggestions that implanted RFIDs may cause cancer in the long term.
The most damning information on implanting people living with HIV/AIDS perhaps comes from the literature of the chip-making companies themselves.
VeriChip, for example, notes that recipients with a known blood disorder should not be implanted with the microtransponder.
Hence those unfortunate enough to be infected with HIV are being victimized threefold: Not only are they burdened with a still-incurable disease and faced with daily prejudice, their bodies are “violated” with a device that could prove perilous.
The proposal by the Papuan Council is another example of society’s narrow-mindedness, ignorance and instinctive bigotry when faced with unwieldy challenges.
Ultimately the evidence shows the debate about whether to microchip those living with HIV/AIDS to be a coarse waste of time that needs to stop.
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Ssaa86 — Tue, 12/16/2008 - 7:19am
Ubiquitous and prevalence commentary based on inadequate literature research indeed is what the reader found on this article entitled “Commentary: Stick it in, round’em up: Papuans with microchips” written by Meidyatama Suryodiningrat.
First of all, the spreading of HIV AIDS has been a global issue people are trying to solve. Searching through Google search engine, one may notice the poverty is the crucial reason of why HIV spreading 15 times higher in Papua compared to other areas of Indonesia. Alright, maybe it would NOT wise to put “poverty” as the main parameter that speeds the spreading of HIV in Papua since we all know that Papua and Aceh have “special autonomy laws” which come with big bucks from Jakarta. It will be a big slap on the face if this were true since facts show that years of the implementation has not showed any real results.
The reader found that the author simply ignores the facts and directed his own perspective on how some people try to crucify individual contracted with AIDS to save more victims. I agree with the idea that “The proposal by the Papuan Council is another example of society’s narrow-mindedness, ignorance and instinctive bigotry when faced with unwieldy challenges..” as the writer put on this article, however credits should be given on this people representative since attempts were made and discussions were automatically followed out of this controversial ideas. I mean if dr. John Manangsang was NOT proposed this ideas, non steady solution for HIV problem curing and prevention would not become an overnight national and international discussion on Papua health issues since clearly human right is violated on this proposed ideas.
Anyway, I am not trying to lecture anybody related to this article but we all should aware of the impact of HIV AIDS on human race. I believe that it is a must for the author to present this article to raise the awareness this monstrous beast rather than pointing how expensive planting chip on human body and/or showing “fortune cookies” that may surprise brain cell of those uninformed.
George
Florida, AS