Umm Yasir, 28, and Abu Yasir, 38, are just like any newlyweds, but with one difference: They are HIV positive.
Arab News was invited recently to meet the couple at the Saudi Charity Association for AIDS Patients (SCAAP).
Not surprisingly, they were guarded and expressed themselves cautiously. They avoided shaking hands. Umm Yasir, was energetic and would laugh at times, while Abu Yasir remained serious and reluctant to let us take his picture to avoid possible embarrassment.
Umm Yasir was diagnosed with HIV at age 20. She was reluctant to talk about how she contracted it. HIV was sexually transmitted to Abu Yasir, who hails from Jazan and has never traveled abroad.
Recalling the sudden reaction after the diagnosis, Abu Yasir said he faced a long phase of isolation and rejection from his family.
“I was surprised myself and I couldn’t believe my diagnosis,” he said. “My family neglected me at once and I felt isolated from society. However, with the passage of time, medication and counseling at the SCAAP, I moved toward life once again. My family has also accepted the reality and now cooperates a little, but I live independently with my wife.”
Compared to Abu Yasir, Umm Yasir was lucky to have her family support. “The sudden reaction was that of shock and fear, but my family gave me support. They accepted it as a disease. However, I’ve become very sensitive and felt myself isolated,” she said.
They were concerned bout the stigma of AIDS, of the unjustifiable fear and misunderstanding of how HIV is contracted.
“People regard us as untouchables; they avoid us,” said Abu Yasir. “They think interacting with us will infect them too. The media has presented this disease as lethal and unethical, and that makes people look down on us and deny our basic rights.”
While the couple may not be having relationship problems with each other and stay fit despite the infection, they suffer financial problems brought about in part by their lack of college education, but also by a heavy social stigma in Saudi society, which is why the couple are not using their full names.
Umm Yasir says she contracted HIV from her 50-year-old husband. She said they separated after the birth of their child, who does not carry the HIV virus. He later divorced her, in part because his other wife did not like her.
Later she married Abu Yasir, who says this is his first marriage.
Thanks to the medication provided by the Ministry of Health, the two are able to live with their infection without any serious debilities, at least for now. People can live healthy lives for years with proper anti-viral treatments with no risk of transmitting the virus to others in normal day-to-day human interactions.
SCAAP in Jeddah currently tends to 400 infected people, including 10 children who inherited the virus from their mothers during fetal development. In total, 1,472 people — including uninfected family members — receive SCAAP assistance. The association provides free psychiatric counseling, a stipend and food baskets.
However, the organization suffers from a lack of sufficient funds to meet the requirements, says the group’s acting director Mosa Hiaze.
Dr. Sana Filemban, the director general of the group, says the organization works under the umbrella of the Ministry of Social Affairs and relies on both government funding and private donations.
In 2009, the Health Ministry identified 1,287 new cases of HIV/AIDS in the Kingdom, 481 of whom Saudi. However, the numbers of undiagnosed cases are believed to be much higher. The World Health Organization says, as a general rule of thumb, that one in 10 cases go undiagnosed though this ratio can vary depending on each country’s statistical methodologies and accuracy in data collection.
The Kingdom is home to a significant number of undocumented immigrants and illegal overstayers who are averse to AIDS testing at public clinics. Statistics show that a majority of HIV cases are diagnosed among the Kingdom’s foreign population. Expatriates diagnosed with HIV are deported. Those applying to work in the Kingdom must be screened for HIV before acquiring work permits.
Filemban claimed that the Kingdom has the lowest HIV/AIDS cases — 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the population.
“The percentage is relatively higher in men than women. The most recent male to female ratio showed 4:1,” says Filemban.
She said many awareness programs to combat the spread of disease are being planned and implemented. The more targeted population is youths who are taught the means of preventing disease.
She added that the Ministry of Health will be organizing awareness programs in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) throughout the Kingdom all year long for educating people about HIV and how to treat those infected with HIV.
There are 20 voluntary counseling and testing centers available in the Kingdom. Moreover, HIV testing can be done from any hospital. In recent years the Kingdom has attempted to promote and enforce patient’s privacy.
“People should feel free to get the benefit from the test and counseling in a proper way, whether they are nationals or not,” she said. “There are eight treatment centers available now in the Kingdom that are fully equipped and offering the investigations and new treatments and care lines.”
On the question regarding the Kingdom’s policy of deporting those testing positive for HIV, Filemban said that not all foreigners that test positive are deported. A “good percentage” of foreign residents are given full care and medication like Saudis, but under certain conditions, she added without elaborating. (Hiaze said the SCAAP has 18 foreign residents in its care.)
“Human life is precious and should be valued,” said Abu Yasir. “One should be very cautious about it and should practice healthy lifestyles that includes avoiding illicit activities and company that may encourage evil temptations, like drug addiction or illicit sexual activities.”
Dr. Ziad Salim Nasir, member of SCAAP and manager of National AIDS Program at King Saud Hospital, said that there is greater need of awareness regarding AIDS.
“There is greater need of integrating them in society,” he said. “They are not mere statistics, but humans like all of us. It’s my aim to correct the negative impression of the disease. They must be given their human rights.”
In addition to underscoring the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding illicit sexual behavior, he encouraged the use of contraception and fresh blades and needles at salons and hospitals.
Filemban also stressed that it is everyone’s duty to help in combating HIV by spreading awareness about AIDS and opposing risky behavior.
“No single sector can work alone and progress on this ground. Civil society collaboration is essential and much appreciated,” she added.
By AMBER SHAHID
ARAB NEWS