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Nestled in the lap of an undulating landscape, Nazaret is
an hour’s drive to the weekend getaway for the people
of capital Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. If offers an attractive
ambience and climate and today this fast growing commercial
hub amidst the poverty-stricken east African country is emerging
as its “southern capital”. But Nazaret has also
earned a dubious distinction for its HIV/AIDS population.
It has an alarming HIV prevalence rate of 18 per cent against
Ethiopia’s national average of 6.6 per cent (estimated
at around three million people) as per the UNAIDS statistics
of 2003.
But Nazaret is also a symbol of hope and courage for the
People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) worldwide, especially
in developing countries like India which now has to grapple
with the biggest social problem of the scourge: stigma.
With a population of 200,000, Nazaret’s is a story of
transition from despair to hope, scripted by the extraordinary
grit and spirit of the same people who brought it on Africa’s
HIV/AIDS map.
People like Tesema Begiga and Aynalam Kebede are the protagonists
of that unfolding positive revolution.
Thirty-five year old Tesema, and Aynalam, 29, are a couple
who are both carriers of the virus and yet have decided to
tie the knot for a second time starting life anew so that
they don’t die everyday before death finally catches
up. They are both members of the Adama branch of the Dawn
of Hope Ethiopia Association (DHEA), an NGO of People Living
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
At the DHEA centre of Adama, the beaming faces of Tesema
and Aynalam belie the fact that they are HIV infected.
“It is always better to be two than one when it comes
to fighting this battle. We can share our problems and live
in the hope of being cured,” says a vivacious Aynalam,
who married a separated Tesema (a mason-turned HIV/AIDS educator)
after her first husband died of TB-AIDS two years ago and
left her not only alone but also with the virus in her veins.
Cupid struck when Aynalam and Tesema met at DHEA for counselling
and treatment.
“I had contacted the infection from just one encounter
with a woman during my period of separation from my first
wife three years ago. Later when we decided to patch up and
start afresh, my wife suggested that we both get ourselves
tested. The test revealed that I was positive and she deserted
me again,” says Tesema as his eight-year-old daughter
from the first wife clutches on to him. He has another 10-year-old
son living with the mother. Fortunately, the children are
not affected since they were born much before the virus infected
Tesema.
“I never think of death though we know that there is
only death at the end. But whoever among us dies first, the
other would take care of the dying. So we live in happiness
and share our problems instead of burdening others,”
says Aynalam smiling, leaving behind the pain of losing her
first husband to AIDS. Aynalam’s inner strength and desire
to enjoy life to the fullest with her new found love Tesema
in the face of the inevitable is astounding.
“In fact, I have put on a lot of weight since I met
Tesema. I think it is just for the happiness of finding someone
to share the problems of life,” says Aynalam who also
has an eight-year-old daughter from the first husband.
“My daughter stays with my mother but we all get together
and celebrate very often. We are now one big family with his
children and my daughter and us,” says Aynalam.
While Tesema and Aynalam are lucky in the sense that their
children are not infected, 27-year-old Meseret is another
brave warrior of Nazaret who fights the virus with her infected
daughter.
For AIDS widow Meseret Molla of the DHEA, life now revolves
round her eight-year-old daughter who too is HIV positive.
The short woman in a red body-hugging T-shirt and black trousers
is a profile in courage.
“I stay alone with my daughter and sustain on a monthly
200 USD sent by my US-based brother. Of that amount 90 USD
is spent on my medicines. No one gave me a job since they
are aware of my status,” says Meseret whose dream of
being a perfect homemaker and be surrounded by children was
cut short by the death of her husband three years ago.
“Now it is my daughter for whom I live. I hope God will
take care of us,” says Meseret who also faces social
discrimination from neighbours.
“It is difficult to even rent a house since they know
that I am HIV positive. No one in our neighbourhood takes
food with us. My father gives me moral support though besides
the financial help from my brother. But I live with optimism.
I want to go back to studies,” says Meseret.
“We have 798 PLWHA, including 400 women, and 306 AIDS
orphans here whom we support by means of medical, educational
and other assistance,” says Hulu Behailu, Adama branch
Project Officer of DHEA. Set up in August 2001, this fund-strapped
branch too struggles, like its members, to survive but never
gives up. What keeps them going is a positive attitude and
robust optimism.
At a café in the neighbourhood of DHEA, Dr Daniel,
Internist, Adam Hospital, says the worst affected population
in his town is in the 25 to 35 age group while 10 to 15 per
cent of the pregnant mothers are HIV positive.
However, the silver lining here is the growing awareness
among the young to get tested before marriage. “We get
at least two engaged couple on a day for testing though the
prevalence rate is 18 per cent here,” says Dr Shimelis
Awoke, head of a screening centre under Family Guidance Association
of Ethiopia.
For India, where the prevalence rate is 0.09 per cent but
the infected population is a staggering five million according
to the World Health Organisation owing to its huge population,
African countries like Uganda can be models of how to fight
the virus with aggressive awareness campaign. But the brave
men and women of Nazaret in Ethiopia can show the way of fighting
the social catastrophe in a conservative Indian society.
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