AIDS the disease, HIV the virus. Today yours truly, like many around the world, is aware of how it spreads, how it can be contained and also the meds needed to keep it in check. Having AIDS does not mean one is destined to die. While those who are HIV positive would wish for a vaccine or cure to come, the lack of knowledge among many people also stigmatises them,??
So imagine how the scene was back in 1993. It was then that I had my first encounter with the stigma AIDS patients face, simply because of the lack of knowledge and the fear factor.?
I was 7 years old and had for the last 2 years been living in Uganda. Dad had taken a job there and from 1991 to 1996 my mom and I lived there. So basically my ideas on certain subjects and experiences stemmed from this country.?
A friend had invited us to his birthday party. Our parents dropped us off at the venue and would pick us up when the party ended. I went with my gift, wished him and then joined in the fun and frolic. Most of us were 7 or 8, so free spirits running around. This was the pre-digital era so kids actually liked to be outdoors. But then something happened.?
One girl was missing and we wondered where she was and if she was coming. She did turn up with her dad, but none of us saw what was coming next. The birthday boy's mom went up to them and politely requested them to leave. Both father and daughter looked embarrassed, but none protested and slowly left. We wondered what was wrong because he had been invited when the invites were given a month back. Then the truth came out.?
I got to know from other students that in the course of the month she had been diagnosed with AIDS. We later learned it was due to a blood transfusion. But at that time knowledge of how one got HIV was even less than what it is today. People, like the boy's mother, thought that interacting, shaking hands, or even being close to a person with HIV meant one would end up getting AIDS.?
Mind you, yours truly had no clue about how one got AIDS and yet I saw for the first time that patients with this disease were treated like garbage. They still are in many places. When I came home I asked my parents if what happened was wrong. My father said it was wrong to treat the girl like a pariah while my mother said she understood the concern of the boy's mom. This left me even more confused.?
As the years passed by, we relocated to Kolkata and I eventually entered my teen years and the curiosity grew. As the internet took precedence and we were taught about AIDs in school, I learned how it did spread and how it did not. It convinced me that what happened that day at the party was wrong. To be brutally honest, even at 7 it did not feel right. A kid's gut feeling is strong because he or she sees things neutrally.?
Well 27 years on, things have changed. People know more about AIDS, but there's a lot more to be done. I am working in media now, based in Delhi but back home due to COVID. My mom is enjoying the life of a senior citizen, my dad is no more and it has been 24 years since we left Uganda.?
As for the birthday boy and HIV girl, I have no contact with them post 1996. But it would be interesting if we met by chance because there would be a lot to say to each other.?
AIDS is a tough disease to fight, but what helps is standing by those who are HIV positive instead of treating them as outcasts. After all, they are people too. ???