By CAROL MATROO Sunday, May 18 2008
It was a bittersweet moment for reigning Miss World 2007 Zi Lin Zhang as she arrived in TT on Friday night as she spoke about the devastation which rocked her native country, China, last Monday.
“I am very happy to be here, but it has been very difficult because my country, as you know, had a terrible earthquake. I hope I can come here to be able to do more for my country...I will try my best to do my work. I try my best every day,” she said in halting English.
Zhang is in TT to address the 19th National AIDS Candlelight Memorial to be held in Chaguanas, tonight.
The petite Asian beauty, dressed simply in a sleeveless top and a flowing, printed skirt, with flat ballerina shoes on her feet, arrived at the Piarco International Airport at about 9.30 pm.
She was greeted in the airport’s VIP lounge by chairman of the National AIDS Co-ordinating Committee Angela Lee Loy, TT organiser of the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants Peter Elias, former Miss World Giselle La Ronde-West, Miss TT/ World 2007 Valene Maharaj, Miss TT/World 2008 Gabrielle Walcott and Miss TT/Universe 2008 Anya Ayoung Chee.
Zhang was accompanied by chairman of the Miss World Organisation Julia Morley.
Zhang said more than 20,000 people have already died because of the earthquake. The death toll is estimated to reach as high as 50,000.
“All of us work hard very much and we wait for the response for the earthquake and the people. I don’t know how to do it, but I will try my best,” she said.
Assisting her in trying to comprehend and respond to questions from the media, Morley said Zhang had limited ability in speaking English... and the fact that Zhang thought that Trinis spoke “funny” did not help.
Morley said the people were pulling together and the government was trying to sort out what was needed.
“Zi Lin has friends in the area so it is very hard for her. We talked about whether she should go home or not, but she thought she could do more useful things here,” Morley said.
Zhang said she hoped she would be able to help the people in the Caribbean become more aware about HIV/AIDS. The Caribbean has the dubious honour of being ranked second highest in the world, after Sub-Saharan Africa, in terms of the number of HIV/AIDS victims.
“Miss World is a big title for me so I want to use my title to give all of the world more information about HIV/AIDS,” she said.
Again assisting Zhang with her response, Morley said HIV/AIDS awareness was as important for the old as it was for the younger generation.
“Information should start with the grandmother and go through the family. There should be family conferences, there should be awareness without trying to be crude or disrespectful.
“It is a terrible thing when your husband, or wife, or child has AIDS and how can you stop it? By talking about it, by educating people, but most importantly helping the people who’ve got AIDS with the right drugs and the right nutrition,” she said.
Morley said people needed to be better educated to better understand HIV/AIDS and suggested the need for a “full frontal attack” in the battle against the virus.
“We need not to be shy, we need to be respectful — how you do that with such a subject that is so delicate,” she said.
http://www.newsday.co.tt
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