Where the AIDS "storm" passed

(Baonghean) - Nearly 30 people die each year due to AIDS, dozens of children become orphans, many mothers are struggling to make a living due to the loss of their breadwinner. That is the heartbreaking reality we witnessed during a recent business trip to Dong Van commune (Que Phong)...

Mr. Vi Thanh Ha - Deputy of Dong Van commune health station showed us a list and said: From 2010 to 2011 alone, Dong Van commune had 21 people who passed away because of HIV. Following the list, we made our way to the HIV-infected villages. When asked about the disease of the century, the people innocently replied: Now, there are countless people infected with HIV, the villages here are almost out of young people because of HIV... Contacting some female cadres and commune police, asking about the number of HIV-infected people, we only received a shake of the head!

However, stories about families having members die from "eating" are common in the commune.

This man did not know he had AIDS.

At the age of 30, Tran Thi T looks old like a person in her fifties, her face is dark and haggard. Since her husband passed away (suspected of HIV/AIDS), all the heavy work in the house has fallen on her weak shoulders.

Receiving us in the dilapidated house in Na Chao village (Dong Van commune), Ha Thi H (born in 1991) sadly recounted: At the end of last April, within just 2 days of each other, she had to endure 2 deaths when both her husband, Luong Van T (born in 1987) and her father-in-law, Luong Van Th (born in 1965), passed away due to the "leth" disease. The already dilapidated and dilapidated house became even more dilapidated when the "pillar" her husband passed away. Her only consolation now is her 1-year-old son - who is not known to be at risk of infection from the terrible disease of the century?

As for the case of Ha Van D (born in 1987), Na Chao village, even though he has reached the other side of life, he still does not understand anything about the disease "et". Although he is strong and has broad shoulders, D looks miserable and depressed. His whole body is just skin and bones, always lying there gasping for breath. When asked, D said: "I am not addicted, I only injected a few times". How he got infected with "et", D did not know. Even D's wife (born in 1992) is as innocent as her husband, never knowing what a condom is, although she also heard somewhere that "et" is very scary!

Suddenly I remembered a story that a friend of mine who works at the Que Phong Forest Protection Department told us when he went to the forest: The villagers thought that the “et” was a worm that crawled into their stomachs and hurt them, so they invited each other to drink alcohol to kill it. I don’t know if my friend’s story was real or a joke, but it was heartbreaking to hear. The women’s cadre of Dong Van commune also said that the situation is still going on: some women whose husbands died of AIDS, a few months later were found “living together” with another man. I wonder how many people will be infected with AIDS and die from AIDS in a few years?

Huu Duc