Experts try to prevent new HIV, Aids cases by spreading awareness in children

Former drug users say that parent­s should not isolat­e their childr­en when they go astray.

KARACHI:

About 43 per cent of Pakistan’s HIV and Aids patients live in Sindh and 80 per cent of them live in Karachi, said the monitoring and evaluation officer of the Sindh Aids Control Programme, Dr Arshad Mehmood.

At an awareness programme organised by the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Tuesday, he warned young people that there was a long way to go before the incidence of disease could be completely eradicated.

The event, titled ‘World HIV and Aids day 2011: Beginning of the End of Aids’, was held at the Salvation Army Secondary School in Azam Basti. Its aim was to spread awareness about the disease among children so that they could keep themselves safe.

“Young people are most curious, seek thrills and engage in daring behaviours,” said a training coordinator for PRCS, Dr Rizwana Wasif. “In order to fulfil their curiosity, many boys and girls may become drug users and expose themselves to risk.”

Over time, the quality of the drugs begins to matter less and the quantity becomes more important for an addict. From smoking cigarettes to injecting drugs, the journey is a dark and dangerous one, the experts warned the children.

Aftab and Tufail, two former users who have been through the rehabilitation process, shared their experiences with the hope that this would dissuade the crowd from choosing similar lifestyles.

“I started with charas [hashish] but after a year it wasn’t enough of a high for me and I started chasing something else,” Aftab said. “The downward spiral began when I learnt about heroin.” Aftab valiantly narrated anecdotes from his troubled days.

He became a pariah and his mother and sisters were taunted as a “heroinchi’s mother and sisters”. When Aftab finally sought help at a rehab centre, he learnt that he was HIV positive.

“I was further plunged into the depths of isolation. People would not even want to see my face and would run away. At times like these I wondered if I was even a human at all.” For a brief period, Aftab reasoned that since he was already infected, then what was the point in quitting his addiction?

“I got this virus from society, by sharing someone’s needles. At the time nothing mattered but my need for a fix. I asked myself why I should stop.”

But his rehab centre helped him and Aftab has vowed that he will not be the cause for someone else’s infection. “I work to create awareness, but on a more personal level, I want to ensure that no one is infected by me.”

A family needs to support their children when they go astray instead of isolating them, Tufail said. “I lost the golden years of my life running after a senseless addiction. I will never get that lost time back.” Family members and society should focus on the good in people and try and save their sons and daughters from drug abuse, Tufail said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2011.