A lot more work to be done.....

[med forum]

Just read this article in today's paper on children in Asia......
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/world/asia/14orphans.html

[Ann]

Hi Med, I've moved your thread into the Living forum from the Activism forum as this is the more appropriate place for it. If you started a thread about a movement or group that members could participate in to effect changes in Asian hiv arenas, then the Activism forum would be the appropriate place. This is just an article about hiv in Vietnam, with no mention of any way we can help.

As a moderator, I can see the IP addresses of posters, so I know what country they're posting from. (but no specifics on exactly where they are in that country, so don't panic!) We often get people from Vietnam in the Am I Infected forum and they display the same hysteria discussed in this article. It's really sad. It's very hard to get through to them, and not just because of the language barrier. It's like the hiv hysteria is so deeply engrained in their culture that they cannot accept any of the science of hiv transmission.

Ann

[leatherman]

What a sad and troubling article; but thank you for sharing it. Although I have no ties to Vietnam, I was moved by this piece. I also sadly realized that no matter where in the world you are, there are the same troubling challenges to facing HIV/AIDS. I think moving this to the "living with" forum was probably an appropriate action. 

"And once you’re sick, it’s difficult to become a normal person again.”

Even though the person quoted meant this in a whole other way, this is definitely a mental phase that many of us with HIV go through and therefore can probably understand the words in this statement. Though the physical symptoms of HIV are the easiest to diagnose and treat, mentally and emotionally HIV/AIDS is quite a challenge to overcome. Depending on how well those physical symptoms are treated though can help with those mental issues. I hear people often say that AIDS doesn't define them; but I think those people are also less likely to be dealing with physical ailments. It's hard to not think about how you have AIDS every day when you're disabled or sick from it. I've gotten better after 17 years; but I guess even today I can't say that I feel like "a normal person again" - though I do have my moments.

Altogether, 250 people have died, Sister Bao said, including 90 whose unclaimed ashes are stored behind the hospice buildings.

Though the article doesn't say for what reason those ashes remain (fear of the disease or financial), I couldn't help but shed a few tears reading those lines. Once again, I feel compelled to mention that if it were not for the financial assistance from AIDSMEDS members, the ashes of my beloved Jim might still be sitting on a shelf at the crematorium in Canton OH gathering dust.

But the 12-year-old fourth-grader seemed to have changed her mind.
“I don’t want to go to that school,” she said. “I already have enough friends here.”

The final line of the article just broke my heart; but also made me consider how lucky I am.

Just like having the mental/emotional issues when one is diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, I think many of us go through a period of withdrawal. Whether it's a withdrawal from society simply because the illness forces it upon us (being hospitalized with an OI certainly forces you into an unwanted isolation) or because of the surrounding stigma. Some people put themselves into this isolation from feelings of "unworthiness" or being "damaged" (once more those mental/emotional challenges of having this disease come into play); while others are forced into withdrawal becuase the surrounding society members are uneducated and fearful of an unrealistic contagion.

How sad that a little 12 yr old girl would be forced into limiting the scope of her life (ie her rationalization of "having enough friends" to counteract the actions of those parents); while I was lucky enough to be able to live my life until the grand old age of 35 before isolation was forced upon me by an incident of PCP.

AIDS is just a cruel disease no matter where you live in this great wide world. Not only can it destroy one's health or kill your loved ones; but the surrounding stigma often subjects those with it to isolation, apprehension, and depression.

[WillyWump]

This saddens me greatly. Yes, we do have alot more work to do.

-Will