Condemned for what?

For past few days I was just thinking of a news that went unnoticed in a leading newspaper. It was about a girl Pratyusha from Wrangal who died of AIDS because of contaminated blood at children’s hospital. Why the doctor did not check the blood before giving it to the poor 7 year old child is a different issue. My major concern here is aftermath of the girl’s death.

The family was boycotted from the village as soon as the villagers came to know the reason behind her death. The life of her parents and siblings has become worse than the hell after this incidence and they now wish that they too have died. The family tried to convince the villagers and went through the blood test but all of their appeals to prove their innocence went unheard. According to them the family had done a major crime for which they will be convicted and punished.

Here again comes the question who is to be blamed for this? The villagers cannot be fully held guilty for whole of the situation as there are less number of initiatives taken from the side of the government and NGOs to educate the masses that it does not spreads by touching or eating together and the like. This story is particularly important as legal battles surrounding rights of positive persons are bound to be few and far. Its simply because often the high risk groups are also the ones that already inhabit the peripheries of the social system and HIV only entrenches this isolation.

We need to tell the people are also human beings. When environment- earth, water, wind does not distinguish them then who are we to abolish them? Besides that what is the mistake of the family? Life is a gift for everyone by the almighty and we are no one to take it from them. There should be vast awareness programme on the AIDS related issues that can help them more. Wake up Guys! It is an issue that is really a taboo in many parts of India as of its diversity. Both the lack of information and abundance of misinformation are at the heart of the continuing discrimination faced by positive persons both in terms of access to health care and social exploitation and victimization which denies them and their families even basic human rights.

Shikha Garg