What do I know about HIV/AIDS and how it affects me!

‘What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs at night?’, the lynx told this riddle. What does it speak of? This is the life cycle of a human being. If you think about it, a human is the only creature on earth that relates to this. Unfortunately, some humans don’t even live that long, they are born to the world to die sooner than others. The question I ask myself is, ‘why?’ The answer to this question is simple; it is because of a virus called ‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus’ (HIV).

The keyword is ‘sex.’ This is because HIV is primarily sexually transmitted. However, it can also be passed on through mother to child during pregnancy, medical personnel and even sharing needles. It is both sad and depressing to see the number of innocent men, women and children in this world who have been chosen to hold this ticket to death’s door. It is not a punishment sent by God, but largely due to carelessness that these people have received HIV. Miraculously, a few people have been given a chance, to protect their lives as well as many others.

Indeed, HIV leads to AIDS. A person who acquires HIV is in serious danger of not living long. The cells in their body can no longer fight sicknesses, even those as simple as the common flu. If an uninfected person has the common flu, it is just a matter of days or weeks before they recover, but for a person with HIV who catches the common flu, it will take many months for them to recover. This is because their white blood cells count is low and incapable of fighting bacteria.

People say that those suffering with AIDS ...

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People say that those suffering with AIDS should go to hell. I don’t think so; they don’t deserve hell or heaven. They shouldn’t go to heaven because they had not been cautious enough, however hell is too much of a punishment, since it might have not been their fault after all. Whatever happens, we will never know as someone once said; ‘out of life comes death, and out of death, life.’

Most people with AIDS, especially the children, don’t have much self-consciousness. They believe that this is not the right place for them and they have no hope. This is because of the attitude from their parents, their friends and the people surrounding them, they slowly become weaker, giving up hope and finally they are gone from this world. They did not die in peace, but in hell. They died by thinking and wishing what they could have been if they, their parents or their partners had not acquired AIDS. This may seem hard to believe, but from my point of view, I think that probably half of the people that die from AIDS could have been really famous, had they not been infected.

People should not give up hope, even if they know they are going to die; they should fight to live, because they could end up being the next ‘Brittany Spears’ or the next ‘Brad Pitt.’ This is just my opinion, some people think that HIV is a sentence to death and they should obey without fighting against it. This is not true. This is absolute nonsense! People should have a right to live, whether they are perfectly normal, or whether they have AIDS.

I don’t have HIV or AIDS, but from my point of view, AIDS is just a way of testing you, to see whether you can fight it. It is just like pneumonia and malaria, except that it lasts longer, it hurts you more and it is much more deadlier. It is not anyone else’s fault, except for the person who has acquired AIDS. If a child is born with AIDS, it is his or her right to complain and blame their mothers or fathers. This may sound harsh, but it is the truth. People are born with AIDS and they are helpless. It is not their fault, but their mother’s, for being so careless and irresponsible, for not being faithful, or for not keeping up the family values.

Around every corner, every turn you take there is always another helpless body, another helpless soul. Somebody that has AIDS, who needs a hug, a helping hand. This person needs someone to talk to, someone who can lend a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, most people in this land find it difficult to do that. They find it hard just to give a hug, just to show some care and respect. They think that people with AIDS are different. Yes, they are because they have a deadly virus inside of them, but they are humans, they came from mothers, and they lived in this world. People with AIDS have difficulty facing their own parents, why? This is because their parents sometimes act obnoxious and feel too proud to be cautious. They can’t face the fact that a child of theirs has acquired AIDS. Parents are supposed to guide their children and be of help when needed, not treat them like dirt from the garbage bin. This appalling behavior especially from a parent is unacceptable because a person with AIDS is still a human and they still have a life; after all, this child is their own flesh and blood. They need someone to love them and to care for them. It doesn’t hurt to hug someone, or to lend them a shoulder to cry on, sing a song to them or sit next to them, but certainly it does hurt to see them die. Another life will be lost, a soul will be gone, a person we had loved, a person from this place, we call earth, will vanish sooner than we could have said ‘I Love You.’

By Dini Paranagama

2C, Rainbow High

Word count: 969