In the wake of US actor Charlie Sheen's recent revelation that he is HIV positive, there has been a mixed bag of reactions from people across the world. Many praise his courage to come forward. Some feel he is no hero as rumour has it that he hasn't been honest with his sex partners about his status.
In Thailand, even though HIV/Aids patients don't publicly declare their diagnosis, the situation and discrimination towards the infected has considerably reduced, especially compared to 1984 when the Kingdom's first HIV/Aids case was recorded.
Back then and even a decade later, people with HIV were considered subjects of social disdain and were forced to isolate themselves. Antiretroviral drugs were not as widely accessible as today, resulting in a high mortality rate and public fear.
In 1990, Thailand started implementing HIV/Aids control and preventive measures, which efficiently helped reduce infection rates, according to the Bureau of Epidemiology under the Ministry of Public Health. Since 2002, the ministry has enforced a healthcare policy allowing HIV/Aids infected people easier access to antiretroviral medication, enabling them to keep the disease at bay, live longer and enjoy a better quality of life.
As of last year, there are approximately 445,504 people living with HIV/Aids in Thailand, according to the National Aids Committee's 2015 Thailand Aids Response Progress Report. The number of new infections has also dropped. According to the report, Thailand saw approximately 7,800 new cases in 2014, a significant drop when compared to 8,800 cases in 2012 and 10,200 cases in 2010.
Ammorn, 47
- Vendor and HIV/Aids care support staff Bangkok
Ammorn was told by a doctor at an HIV anonymous clinic in 2000 that her life expectancy would be reduced by half due to HIV. She immediately was haunted by uncertainty.
"I couldn't believe I was infected because I always thought that promiscuous sex would lead to HIV/Aids. And I am not that kind of person. So I kept asking myself how did I get it?" Ammorn said.
Ammorn had divorced her husband and was living with her new boyfriend, who transmitted HIV to her. Her boyfriend soon died, and she was left alone to deal with the consequences.
Her family was understanding even though a few of them behaved awkwardly with her. "Some of my cousins didn't share water with me. Once I borrowed a mobile phone and I saw them wiping the phone clean as if to sanitise it."
Ammorn has been on antiretroviral drugs since 2005, allowing her to ward off severe symptoms. To earn a living, she worked as a vendor selling things like fruit, bread and grilled pork on skewers. The income, she said, wasn't good so she decided to join the Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand as a care support employee. Her job is to provide advice and support to people infected with HIV, especially men who have sex with men.
"I think HIV/Aids infected patients can have a job and live their lives normally," she said. "Once I volunteered as a chef cooking for passersby at Victory Monument. I told them that I have HIV. Were they going to eat the food that I prepared? Of course, they did."
Today Ammorn has no fear when announcing her medical status to friends and people around her. Ammorn said that she is glad that her friends treat her normally. Society's attitudes towards HIV/Aids patients, according to her, have been getting better, especially in the last few years. "The more knowledge people have about the disease, the less the discrimination," she said.
Ammorn reconciled with her ex-husband and now lives with him in Bangkok. Her 21-year-old daughter, who was born before she got infected, is studying at Burapha University. After all these years, Ammorn's fear of death has vanished.
"In the end, I overcame despair. In the years right after being diagnosed, patients may have mixed feelings -- fear, panic and anxiety. After we learn how to cope, we will come to realise that we are just like others. Especially with patient-friendly antiretroviral medication, we feel normal."
Somsri, 44
- HIV/Aids counsellor and volunteer Chiang Mai
Somsri contracted HIV in 1992 from her sex partner who she met while working in a karaoke bar in Hat Yai, Songkhla. Seven years later, she decided to return to her hometown in Chiang Mai, expecting family support and understanding. But life was cruel.
"After my family learned that I was HIV positive, they started to rub it in," Somsri recalled. "They blamed me of having unsafe sex. I disgusted them so much that they didn't even share the same dining table with me."
Not only was she shunned by her family, but people in her neighbourhood also treated her with disrespect. Suffering from depression and rejection, Somsri locked herself in a room and refused to meet anybody.
Years later, Somsri was invited to join Chai Prakan Yim Soo, a club in Chiang Mai set up to provide counselling and support for HIV/Aids infected people. At first she participated as an onlooker, but soon made friends with people who were also infected.
This gave her confidence to believe that those suffering from HIV/Aids could still live a normal life.
"I told myself I would live, too," she said.
Her role in the Chai Prakan Yim Soo Club started to expand. She was no longer a mere observer, but a counsellor, who provided advice to those suffering a similar fate. Seeing her dedication to the community, her family, as well as people in the neighbourhood, started to understand her. Today, they no longer look at her with hate.
"They no longer loathe me," she said. "On the contrary, people approach me for knowledge about HIV/Aids. And I am happy to share it with them so that they know that the infection is not as frightening as they think."
Somsri is one of the club's leaders, and lives with her husband and her nine-year-old son, who is HIV-free thanks to mother-to-child preventive medication she took during her pregnancy.
Somsri admitted that discrimination against people with HIV/Aids still exists, but the situation has much improved. Education on the disease is the most important thing that needs to be spread.
"As a patient, I only wish that people stop seeing HIV/Aids patients as detestable. We have already been stigmatised by the fact that we are infected. We've learnt our own lesson.
"After all, HIV/Aids infected patients are also human," she added. "Social discrimination will only deepen the wounds in our hearts."
