Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
BBC News - Monday, 17 November, 2003
Marko Kovac, BBC, Zagreb
Some 40 parents staged a protest rally outside Stjepan Kefelja Elementary School this September after they pulled their children out of the otherwise cheerful 2b class.
The talk of the town had become an eight-year-old girl Ela, who had moved with her foster parents to Kutina some months ago.
Ela is infected with HIV.
Although Croatia and the region of Western Balkans have the smallest numbers of HIV cases in Europe, international organisations warn of a possible rapid epidemic.
Ela was born infected with HIV. Her parents were heroin addicts and died long before she ever got to know them.
Adopted by the Oblak family, she has travelled with her troubles through three Croatian towns and has had to confront prejudice and anger over her disease in each and every new environment.
People of both the urban capital Zagreb and the coastal town of Kastel expressed their outrage with the Oblaks after local media broke the story of Ela's condition and gave away her identity last year.
None of this makes sense to this small girl, who yearns for her first classes of English with only a handful of colleagues, whose parents defied a group-decision not to send their children to school.
"She was so excited about her first day. She would prance around the house with her backpack full of colouring books and crayons, asking impatiently when school would finally start," said Branko Oblak, her foster father.
Ignorance
The efforts of Croatia's health minister and medical experts to educate parents had little impact.
"I only have one child and don't want to take any risks," explains one of the protestors, Miljenko Mitrovic, making worrying looks towards Ela's class.
"Doctors tell us that infection with HIV is theoretically impossible, but practically possible. We don't understand that. They tell that there's no danger, and then teach our children how to wash hands," says another parent, refusing to be photographed or give his name.
Even Prime Minister Ivica Racan's emotional meeting with Ela didn't persuade the people of Kutina.
Psychologist Mirjana Krizmanic explains that the relatively small number of known HIV infections in Croatia - around 360 - is the reason that the disease remains so misunderstood.
"It's a question of civilization and progress," she says, appealing to the government, institutions and the Church "to do more in breaking down the walls of fear and ignorance."
Free drugs
Croatia's Health Minister Andro Vlahusic feels proud of his government's fight against HIV/Aids.
"We provide the latest retroviral therapies free of charge to everyone in need," he says.
Since the mid 1980s about 100 patients have died of Aids in Croatia.
The Government lately has taken on the role of spreading its experience to other countries in the region, such as Albania and Bosnia.
In a recent study, the World Bank called upon the Governments of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria to address the rising numbers of injected-drug users and sex workers in order to keep HIV from reaching the high levels found in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
The World Bank also has raised concerns that merchant sailor Croats, travelling back and forth to Croatian costal areas, are increasing the indigenous spread of HIV.
All this sounds too familiar to Tomislav Vurusic, head of the HIV Patients Society, the leading non-governmental organisation of its kind in Croatia.
Vurusic spends his days raising awareness about the disease and counselling patients, assuring them they can talk of their troubles under anonymity.
"Patients are afraid to give their names, because they fear social exclusion. When your apartment block finds out you're infected, they'll watch where you walk or what you touch," says Vurusic.
He gives evidence of exclusion even in the cosmopolitan city of Zagreb, where his organisation tried to find a dentist for its members, but with little success - no one answered their request.
Back in Kutina, Ela still feels the consequences of prejudice. Her life has been forever changed by the killer disease.
"I'm sorry that the task of breaking the ice on discussion about Aids in Croatia was around this small helpless girl, but someone had to do it, like Magic Johnson did in the United States," says minister Andro Vlahusic.
The Oblak family has imposed a blackout on media, refusing to talk to journalists.
Meanwhile, the news of one other family with an HIV-positive child leaving the country occupies media attention.
Croatia's fight against Aids prejudice is only beginning.
031117
BB031111
Copyright © 2003 - BBC. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BBC.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
.