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Journalism of Courage
August 3: A skit on HIV-AIDS is in progress. But 26-year-old Suhasini is not interested. All that occupies the mind of this mother of two, is the fear of losing her government job. "My husband succumbed to AIDS a year ago. Last week, blood tests were carried out on all the employees. If they find out I’m positive, the men will blame me. I’ll lose my job," she says timidly.
Suhasini is one of the many HIV-positive individuals who along with their families and friends, met and interacted at the Sarvodaya Hospital, Ghatkopar on Sunday morning. The get-together was organised by the HIV/AIDS information and guidance centre (founded by Drs Prakash and Aruna Bora in 1993) in collaboration with Lions Club of Bombay Hill Top and AIDS Research & Control Centre.
During the course of this programme, Suhasini was informed that it is illegal for her employer (especially if it is a government organisation) to discriminate between or even test employees for HIV. A medical officer with the BEST and a representative of a pharmaceutical firm also spoke about the relevant policies of their companies.
In stark contrast with Suhasini, is one of the organisers of the programme, Lata Batwal (her real name). Time and again, Lata has spoken about her HIV-positive status on a platform "in an attempt to combat the stigma and the false sense of shame that people bear," she says. Lata’s husband died of AIDS and is raising her three children through acute financial difficulties. Lata has a part-time sales job and propagates the concept of family planning on weekends.
Through the numerous instances quoted by patients, it emerged that a large chunk of medical fraternity indulges in discrimination. "Forget treating us, nurses don’t even smile at us. Such hostility hurts," said a patient. Lamenting the lack of support from surgeons and gynaecologists, Dr Bora said, "The number of doctors treating AIDS is increasing, but when it comes to surgery or child-birth, most doctors are reluctant to operate on HIV- positive individuals."
Sushama Suryavanshi, a social worker working in Kamathipura spoke of a sex worker who was to undergo a tonsillitis operation. "Once the doctor discovered she is HIV- positive, he flatly refused to operate. Since then, she and her child have disappeared," says Suryavanshi. Surma, yet another HIV-positive young widow, spoke about the problem of her mother-in-law who refuses to eat the food cooked by her. An ailing B Prasad described how he is being shunted between his village in UP and Mumbai as nobody wants an AIDS patient in their midst.
On the other hand, there is Ramesh who nursed his brother for four months before he succumbed to AIDS. There are the ageing Shahs who looked after their son and daughter-in-law who died of AIDS. Says Kanta Shah,"My husband used to be on his toes all the time. I too used to promptly cook whatever my son wished to eat at that time. My other sons, daughters-in-law and their children were all involved in caring for them."
As Dr Bora says, "With rising hospital costs, it is home care that is of prime importance."
(Patients’ names have been changed to protect identities.)
