International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - 7 June 2007

His reaction? "So stressed. Better to take an overdose now than die of AIDS. I'll never get married, have children, I'll lose all my friends. I started using again, and for six months I isolated myself, I didn't go anywhere or see anyone."

He got some brochures but felt any NGO that would try to help him would "make my life a prison". Little by little friends and doctors got through to him and via detox, self-help and lots of support Decky wound his way into the Indonesian Red Cross where he now works as a volunteer on a HIV/AIDS hotline. "I've got my self-esteem back", he smiles. He's working as an office manager in an IT company and - here the smile nearly cracks his face in half - he's met a woman who accepts and loves everything about him.

In July Decky and his belle will tie the knot, and they are already getting counselling on how they can conceive and have a family. "I feel comfortable now and confident, a lot is due to my experience in the Red Cross. There's no discrimination here and I am involved in a lot more than just HIV activities, I've learnt to write articles for the press, and I've learnt public speaking."

But the dark days are never far from his mind. He remembers his neighbours trying to burn him out of his home. An NGO intervened and a vote was organised: should he stay or should he go? He lost the so-called vote, and had to leave his home.

Now, thanks to changing attitudes in Indonesia and some good campaigning by the Red Cross and other partners, Decky and his peers have won some notable achievements. Treatment for people living with HIV is provided free by the government, and during one of the PR events to mark a deal on cheaper medication Decky was photographed shaking hands with Indonesia's former president Megawati. And these days testing is done voluntarily, and with counselling.

But being HIV positive in Indonesia today is still difficult. For many it means exclusion and stigma. Around 200,000 people are estimated to be HIV positive in the world's largest Muslim country, where discussing the vectors for transmission has to be handled sensitively. It is difficult to talk about using drugs or having sex in general, let alone more challenging areas such as needle sharing or men having sex with men, in a society which shuns such activities.

However, in a little room upstairs in the East Jakarta Red Cross office, the gloves are off in the fight against stigma, ignorance, hostility and exclusion. Fadli Ahmed, a soft-spoken 32-year-old is the coordinator of the AIDS Hotline, which was started with an Australian Red Cross grant and now receives funds from UNFPA.

"The first thing people want to know is what the symptoms are", he says. "But we don't give them a list, we ask them about their habits, the sort of sex they have, their relationships, their friends, and try to establish if they are in a high risk group. We tell them to get an anonymous test done, and we are able to arrange pre and post test advice with an NGO that conducts voluntary counselling and testing."

Some estimates put Indonesia's tally of intravenous drug users at almost one million people. What advice do they give these callers? "If someone is an intravenous drug user we tell them it's best to use a needle only once but if they don't have access to fresh needles please please sterilize the ones they have carefully".

And about sex? There's a bit of nervous giggling, as "official" Indonesia struggles with "reality" Indonesia. "Well, we tell them to wait till they are married", says Ika Sari, 28, editor of the Indonesia Red Cross HIV/AIDS newsletter. "But then we say if you can't stop, use a condom. But think of your future. Don't wreck it with free (casual) sex."

HIV education is available in schools after the age of about 16, she reports, and sex education from the age of 14. Worryingly, children as young as eleven or twelve are sexually active, especially in the cities.

The Indonesia Red Cross hotline (Jakarta 021 8661 1616 or 021 8661 1717) gets 70 per cent of its calls from people under 27, and 60 per cent of callers are female. Funding after mid-2007 is uncertain, and the Indonesia Red Cross would be more than grateful to talk to any prospective donors.

"Now is the time to invest in HIV education," says Glenn King, Regional HIV/AIDS Coordinator in the Federation's Southeast Asia Delegation.

"At the moment Indonesia has a concentrated HIV epidemic, primarily among its injecting drug users, but it is moving into the general population, which is a big worry in a country of 230 million people. Education has to be done well without adding to the stigma people already face. There should be no judgement as to how people became HIV positive. People living with HIV need to know that the Red Cross emblem protects them just as much as anyone caught up in conflict or natural disasters."
070607
IF070601

Copyright © 2007 - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IFRC Contact.

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, 2007. 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. .