Officials step in to help HIV boy a village shunned
Print Edition
AN 8-year-old boy, shunned by fellow villagers and rejected by schools because he has the HIV virus, will soon be going back to class, the local government said yesterday.
Xichong County officials also said that police had strengthened their efforts to find the boy’s parents.
The boy, nicknamed Kunkun, was diagnosed with the infection in December 2012, two years after his mother left Shufangya Village in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
She met Kunkun’s stepfather when she was already three months pregnant. Medical checks suggest she passed the virus to her son at birth.
Kunkun’s stepfather also left the village when he found out about the boy’s condition.
The local government has sent officials to the village to act as Kunkun’s guardians and experts are looking after his mental welfare. The health authorities have also begun an education campaign to correct villagers’ mistaken impressions about HIV and AIDS.
With Kunkun’s parents gone, it was left to Luo Wenhui, the father of his stepdad, to look after the boy. Fearful of being infected, everybody, including Luo, began keeping their distance from Kunkun.
“He used to sleep in a bed with us but I dare not to do it now,” Luo said, adding that he had also stopped sending Kunkun to kindergarten to “prevent him harming others.” According to a China Central Television report, no schools in the area are willing to accept the boy.
During the day, Kunkun is left to play on his own and he has been known to steal in a bid to attract attention and, on one occasion, even set a villager’s house on fire, CCTV said.
Last week, it was reported that more than 200 villagers had signed a petition to banish the boy. Luo was among those who signed.
However, Wang Shulin, head of Shufangya Village, denied reports that the village was guilty of discrimination.
“We just want to find a charity agency to take in the boy since his grandfather is unable to raise him,” Wang said.
At the weekend, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said: “China has always attached great importance to protecting the rights of HIV carriers and AIDS patients, including children.”
In 2006, the State Council specified that no one can discriminate against them. They also have the rights of marriage, employment, medical treatment and school enrollment.
The case even attracted the attention of the United Nations, which issued a statement on Friday. “All people, living with and affected by HIV, including children, are entitled to the same rights as others,” it said on the website of UNAIDS China.
“Stigma and discrimination are our biggest enemies in the fight to end HIV,” it said. “In all forms and in any circumstances, stigma and discrimination are unacceptable, and they must stop. There is no reason to exclude someone with HIV — adult or child — from normal life.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
