LIVING POSITIVELY WITH HIV/AIDS : AN EX-SOLDIER’S STORY

A condom demonstration during an HIV/AIDS awareness seminar in Adigrat

These days Gebremichael Gebreselassie spends most of his time touring schools in Adigrat and surrounding areas to warn young people about the dangers of the HIV/AIDS virus. Yet just a few short years ago, life was very different for the former soldier who served for three years with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

"I used to have a very happy life, going out with my friends eating, drinking and smoking. We used to have a good time", he recalled. But all that changed four years ago when Gebremichael found out he was HIV-positive.

"At first I just did not know what was wrong with me. I felt very ill. I was tired all the time and I felt hot and my skin itched", he explained. He consulted a number of doctors in Addis Ababa where he was living at the time but none of them was able to diagnose exactly what was wrong with him. A number of them told him he was suffering from tuberculosis. After a year of suffering and unable to earn a living, Gebremichael decided to return home to his village in Tigray. Again, nobody seemed to know what was wrong with him and his family tried all kinds of traditional medicines before eventually taking him to Adigrat Hospital, when his condition deteriorated. Once there, he was tested for HIV/AIDS and the result was positive.

"When I was told I was HIV-positive, it was hard for me to understand at first. I had heard of AIDS but I did not really know what it was. I did not know what being HIV-positive meant", he confessed. But the doctors and counsellors explained what having the HIV virus meant and warned Gebremichael that he would have to change his lifestyle – no more drinking, smoking or chewing "chat" – the intoxicating leaf that some Ethiopians chew.

"I listened to all the advice the doctors gave me but when I realised that my illness was very serious, I did not know whether I wanted to live or die. I spent three or four days thinking about what I wanted to do and eventually, I decided I wanted to live and I was going to do everything to get my health back", said Gebremichael.

He spent three months in hospital, during which at least one of his nine siblings was always at his bedside.

"They stayed with me until I got better but they did not know what was wrong with me and I did not know how to tell them", he recalled. Today, Gebremichael smiles as he recalled how his family found out about his HIV status. "After leaving the hospital, I returned to my village and decided that instead of just sitting around doing nothing, I would start telling people about HIV/AIDS and how you can protect yourself from it", he explained. And that was how his parents and siblings found out about his illness.

"At first they could not believe it but eventually they accepted my illness and have since been very supportive", said Gebremichael. Infact his whole community has been very supportive. They have accepted his illness and he suffers no discrimination.

These days Gebremichael is philosophical about his illness: " I’m happy these days because I feel free. I know what my illness is and how to look after myself and at the same time I feel useful to my community because by sharing my experience I can help some people avoid HIV/AIDS."

KENYAN OFFICERS BENEFIT FROM MINE AWARENESS COURSE

In April, the newly instituted UNMEE Force Mine Action Centre (FMAC) conducted a series of mine awareness induction training courses for newly-deployed peacekeepers in Sector East. The mine awareness-training programme for rotating troops is an ongoing process and strategic to UNMEE’s overall mine education.

In Assab, Sector East headquarters, Chief Mine Risk Education Officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Momanyi said that his Unit had so far completed induction training for 35 officers from KENBAT 11. He pointed out that the training exercise for the troops focused mainly on general awareness of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and operational briefings on high mine risk areas in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). He also said that mine awareness education theory and practice were also emphasized in the course in his opinion the course content would prepare the officers for future reporting on mine and UXO accidents. He further disclosed that participants for training were sometimes drawn from UNMOs (United Nations Military Observers), UNMEE international civilian and national support staff, Ethiopian and Eritrean government officials, civil society groups and NGOs. UNMEE FMAC mine awareness education seeks a clear co-ordination between UNMEE Force Headquarters, UNMEE MACC, Ethiopia and Eritrea mine action and other humanitarian de-mining groups.