KENYA-SOMALIA: Halima*, You find out very quickly who your friends are

June 10, 2010

KENYA-SOMALIA: Halima*, " You find out very quickly who your friends are "

NAIROBI, 10 June 2010 (PLUSNEWS) - In Somalia's conservative Muslim society it is extremely rare for someone living with HIV to speak out about their status, and even more so for a woman. But Halima*, a Somali refugee in Kenya and a mother of four in her fifties, told IRIN her story, which is also part of a recent IRIN Radio Somali programme [http://www.irinnews.org/audiofiles/IRIN_Radio__Somali_Programme_Tuesday_8_June_2010_08062010.mp3].

" I found that I was HIV-positive in 2009. I was being treated for TB [tuberculosis] when I was advised that I should go to the VCT [voluntary counselling and testing] centre and get tested. The results came back and I was informed I was HIV-positive.

" At first I was devastated - all I knew about the disease was that it had no cure, and that anyone who contracts it dies. I suspect that my former husband passed it on to me. He is now in Somalia, and, I am told, sick.

" At First I did not tell anyone out of fear that my children and I will be ostracized. Thankfully, all my children have tested negative.

" When something like this happens you find out very quickly who your friends are. Everybody is afraid of you. I had to move house at least four times because I could not deal with the discrimination by others.

" People here think that if they talk to you they will catch the disease; there is so much ignorance.

" The worst part is that even those being treated for the disease will not acknowledge that they are being treated. I run into them at the VCT and everyone pretends they are there for something else. Instead of supporting each other, we run away from each other. It is sad.

" If you ask me, the biggest problem we face is ignorance and stigma. I am worried about discrimination, but I want to speak up.

" I would like to see awareness campaigns targeting young people and women. I want them to know how to protect themselves - we don't have to bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich.

" I am now on medication and doing fine, but need more help. Here [Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya] we only get the medication, nothing else. We need help in getting proper food.

" At first I honestly did not think I would live, but now I am here and I want to do what I can to help my children, and others like them, to stay safe. Maybe if people hear about my story, then others will benefit. That is why I am speaking out. "

ah/he

* Not her real name[END]

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June 10, 2010