“People and AIDS”
“You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.”
People think that “AIDS” is a synonym for “imminent death”. But the sad reality is that, the suffering is not from the pain, but from the people around. The stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS itself is sufficient to ‘kill’ these people. The fact society fails to notice is that no one wants to bear agony willingly. Think of mothers who bear their child for 10 months, with each second of it filled with guilt of giving birth to a HIV positive child? Do we still want to punish them further?
Surprisingly, AIDS-the disease that breaks families, cripples the society and takes life, has also been the reason to get people together. Volunteer works all around the world are the best examples. People from different walks of life, different background and beliefs are emerging to give these unlucky people a shoulder to lie and cry over. The support is compelling, and yet it is still insufficient.
As the peak of a civilization is reflected by its people, each of us should take the first step to make a difference in someone’s life. Let us fight AIDS, and not people with AIDS.
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Propping her arms on the seat of the toilet bowl, she shuts her eyes in anticipation of a regurgitation that would never take place. Since that cup of tea she had in the morning, waves of nausea have been hitting her every tenth of a minute. Having knelt on the cold bathroom floor in the same position for hours, she felt like her arms were going to give way, mirroring the way she felt about her own life. Her tears were all spent over the last few rainy days spent indoors, quietly crying because she couldn’t keep up with the terrifying rate at which her body deteriorated.
The new protease inhibiting pills that she recently started taking on a tediously painstaking schedule might be slowing down her HIV infection, as her doctor promised, but the frequent bouts of nausea and fatigue were extremely hard to cope with. It made so many more of her acquaintances aware of her disease, and so much less of them who would be able to stand next to her without fearing for themselves. She knew the feeling of fear well. It was something that she wakes up with every morning.
Lee Siow Wei, 21, Runners-up
“Living Without HIV/AIDS”
