MUSCAT, Jul 19 (Times of Oman): Oman has been witnessing a rising trend in HIV/Aids cases for the last 25 years since the first case of the dreaded virus was reported in 1984.
By the end of 2005, a total of 1,453 cases were reported, over a third of them have died. The majority of the deaths were in the early years of the disease. There are about new 100 cases reported per year in the Sultanate which is “high for a low prevalence country”.
Young people are most affected with nearly half the cases being between the ages of 20-35 years; and another 12.4 per cent under the age of 20 years. Sexual transmission is the most common mode of transmission. However, injecting drugs is also of concern, according to Ministry of Health’s HIV Notified Cases Database.
HIV/Aids-related stigma and discrimination is often triggered by a lack of understanding of the disease and myths about how it is transmitted. There are people who do not know if they are HIV positive and are afraid to be tested because of the stigma attached to the disease and the possibility of being rejected by their families and community.
Times of Oman came across one such case who narrated his suffering as an HIV positive patient. The man said he is revealing his private torment as a warning to others. Ahmed is 35 years old now. “My childhood was the most beautiful period of my life because I had the blessings of my parents at that time. But fate intervened to take my father’s life in a car accident when I was 11 years old”.
Ever since, the path of Ahmed’s life went spiralling down like a shaft plunging to the bottom of the sea. In 1989, he fell into bad company. His so-called friends tempted him to take the first cigarette puff to feel high and to escape from the reality of life at that time. He started taking narcotic substances till he became a victim of addiction.
“I got a job in 1993 in one of the government sectors. I didn’t bother to listen to my well-wishers who advised me to stop taking drugs. Due to excessive absence from duty, I was fired from that job. But I was not bothered about this loss as I was obsessed with drugs and the company I had fallen into.
“In 1994, I was arrested by the police investigation department and sentenced to a jail term for drug abuse. My life turned into a living hell. I was constantly in and out of prison and had no control over myself. “But the most catastrophic day for me was when I was informed that I had got infected with HIV because of drug-injection. My life turned upside down and I was pleading to Allah not to get me out of the jail and to free me from the clutches of the drug mafia. “This happened when I was ordered to undergo blood examination in the prison. The last time I underwent a prison term was in 2005. I went on a pilgrimage to Makkah more that five times to pray and plead to Allah to cure me from this plight.”
Today, Ahmed’s life is comparatively peaceful and successful. He got married recently to a woman who is also infected with HIV. Ahmed says, “We live in peace, me and my family. I am very happy because my mother is satisfied with me. We hope to have kids who are not infected with Aids.”
Ahmed was heartbroken when he narrated his tragic life story. With tears in his eyes he said, “I revealed my personal torment to warn others not to indulge in such misadventures that lead to Aids infection and to spread awareness about the dreaded disease.
“A social stigma is attached to this disease and the discrimination which the Aids patient has to suffer due to the insensitivity and ignorance of most people here in the Sultanate, is a cause of worry. Finally, I pray to the Almighty that me, my wife and all Aids patients get cured from this fatal disease.”