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加拿大亞裔愛滋感染者在無聲中受苦 Westender, July 27, 2006 Amy Chow 資源中心協助打破寂寞,羞恥感 1997年1月，當呂艾瑞（Elrick Lu, 音譯）檢驗出感染愛滋時，他想過要自殺。當時，他對愛滋的知識很有限，他所了解的只是「這是個必死的絕症」，他當年26歲，使用古柯鹼/海洛因，住在城市的東區。檢驗結果太過震撼，他得了憂鬱症，也持續使用毒品。 在醫院待了3個月之後，他厭倦了這種生活型態，厭倦了「吸毒－坐牢」這種惡性循環。 現在，他已經戒毒6年。,在亞裔防止愛滋協會（Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS, ASIA）這個「致力於在愛滋及相關議題上，提供適合亞裔社群文化的教育與支持」的非營利組織中，擔任外展工作者與同儕諮商員.。 亞裔防止愛滋協會的共同主席王麥可（Michael Wong, 音譯）說：「亞裔社群尚未認識到愛滋是個既存事實。.亞裔社群一般認為愛滋是亞裔沒有、也不會有的疾病。他表示，亞裔人士不認為自己性濫交或輕忽安全性行為，且部分亞裔人士仍然否認在他們的社群中有同性戀或毒品吸食者。 愛滋對他們來說，是白種人的問題。他說。 這個假設是危險的。根據加拿大溫哥華英屬哥倫比亞省「健康、計畫、及健康服務部門」表示：在英屬哥倫比亞省，每天都有1到2名新感染者出現，而本省估計已有13000位愛滋感染者。加拿大政府估計約有三分之ㄧ的感染者可能不自知，這可能造成病毒的傳播。 根據2004年加拿大各省疾病管制局）的數字，亞裔、南亞裔及阿拉伯/西亞裔人口，僅僅佔新案檢驗陽性率的5.9%（白種人是57.5%）。既然亞裔人士接受此病毒檢驗的人數在一般人口數中僅屬於小部份，王麥可相信，感染愛滋的亞裔人數被嚴重低估。 他歸因亞裔人士對接受檢驗的保留態度，是由於社會對陽性結果的否認及恐懼。對此疾病堅持古老的偏見。他說：「如果你是愛滋感染者，沒有人會擁抱你、和你使用同ㄧ間浴室、跟你握手、或甚至拜訪你家。」 王麥可解釋亞裔防止愛滋協會的目的：「文化和種族的因素並不能使你免於愛滋的感染。靜脈注射毒品、未防護的性交、同性戀或異性戀，都可能感染愛滋。教育，是讓個人可以保護自我的關鍵。」 幾年來，亞裔防止愛滋協會落腳在中國城中心地區，試著進入華人社群。但是，去年五月，他們被亞裔傳統遊行會意外地取消遊行的參與。 王麥可解釋他們參與遊行的難處，如：「理由之一是我們被視為是政治團體，即使我們的焦點放在教育…，愛滋仍被視為是白種人的問題。要在亞裔傳統月中承認我們這個組織，不論用什麼理由,可能都不太適當。」 莫伊凡（Evan Mo, 音譯）是溫哥華的愛滋個案管理師，認為亞裔人士其實知道他們會感染愛滋；他也同意亞裔人士是恐懼、並且缺乏如何預防疾病傳染的知識。他表示很多亞裔人士覺得愛滋感染者的身份，會讓家族及社群蒙羞.。 「當身體還健康的時候，很多人選擇隱瞞，因為擔心讓家族蒙羞。」他（莫伊凡）的一些案主選擇告訴他們的家人他們得了癌症，因為癌症是非受害者的疾病，然而，對於愛滋，「人們會猜測你怎樣得病，性行為不檢或毒品」，人們可能還是如此評斷。 蘇珊（Susan. 姓氏不公開）認為，如果她告訴父母，她被強暴後的愛滋檢驗結果是陽性，這可能會是個災難。檢驗後，她逃避朋友五年，保密她的愛滋檢驗結果六年。蘇珊說，亞裔人士不願承認這是個問題，而寧願相信這是西方人的問題。「亞裔人士對談論愛滋是相當敏感的。在我們（亞裔）的文化中，我們不談論性或毒品使用，我們認為這些是邪惡的事物。」 蘇珊表示，她認為亞裔人士的低愛滋檢驗率可被歸因於文化因素。. 「他們（華裔）認為華裔人士是乾淨的，優於西方人。很多華人男性及較年長者，認為西方人是骯髒的。西方人對性真的很開放，這是不對的。」 蘇珊是亞裔防止愛滋協會的志工，是第一個參與英屬哥倫比亞省愛滋社團與愛滋庇護所的亞裔人士，「我想，對亞裔人士來說，最主要的障礙是公開談論自己的問題，特別是跟愛滋有關的問題。」 「來這個庇護所幫助很大，可以和有其他相同問題的女性朋友聚在一起…我們需要協助，我們需要瞭解，而且我們需要對我們的問題有更多的認識。」 - |
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HIV-positive Asians suffering in silence Westender, July 27, 2006 Resource centre helps break solitude, shame When Elrick Lu tested positive for HIV in January 1997, he thought of suicide. At that time, his knowledge of AIDS was limited: all he knew was that it was a deadly disease. He was 26 years old, a cocaine/heroin user, and living on the streets of the Downtown Eastside. Lu was stunned by the results. He fell into a depression, and continued to use drugs. After a three-month hospital stay, Lu decided he was sick of his lifestyle - tired of the vicious cycle of using drugs and ending up in jail. Today, he's been clean for six years, working as an outreach worker and peer counselor for the Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS (ASIA), a non-profit organization committed to providing culturally appropriate education and support to the Asian community on HIV/AIDS and related issues. The Asian community "has not acknowledged that AIDS is a reality. There's a general feeling in the Asian community that AIDS is something that Asians don't have, Asians don't get," says AIDS to them, he says, is a Caucasian problem. The assumption is dangerous. Every day in B.C., between one and two people contract HIV and join the estimated 13,000 British Columbians already living with the disease, according to the B.C. Ministry of Health, Planning, and Health Services. National estimates suggest that as many as one-third of those with HIV may not know they're infected, and may be spreading the virus. According to 2004 figures from the province's Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Asian, South Asian, and Arab/West Asian populations account for a mere 5.9 per cent of new HIV positive tests (Caucasians account for 57.5 per cent). Since the number of Asians getting tested for the virus is low in proportion to the general population, Wong believes this is a drastic underestimate of HIV-positive Asians. Wong attributes Asians' reticence about getting tested to denial and fear of the social repercussions of a positive test. Archaic ideas about the disease persist, he says: no one will hug you, use the same bathroom, shake your hand, or even visit your house if you are HIV positive. The purpose of For years, ASIA, based in Wong explains their difficulty getting into their parade as "one of the reasons has been that we're viewed as a political organization even though our primary focus is on education... the idea of AIDS is still thought to be a Caucasian problem, to acknowledge our organization in Asian Heritage Month may not be appropriate for whatever reasons." Evan Mo, case manager at AIDS Vancouver, believes Asians know they can get AIDS, but agrees that there is fear, and a lack of knowledge about how to prevent the spread of the disease. Mo says many Asians feel HIV-positive status leads to embarrassment within the family and community. "A lot of people choose to hide when they're healthy - afraid of shaming the family." Some of his clients choose to tell their families they have cancer, because, "people will speculate how you got it, sex or drugs." The rationalization? Cancer is a victimless disease, whereas with AIDS, people may still be judgmental. Susan (who doesn't want her last name used) thinks it would be disastrous if she told her parents she tested positive for HIV after being raped. After her test, she avoided her friends for five years, and kept her HIV status a secret for six years. Susan says Asians don't want to see that there's a problem, and prefer to think of this disease as a Western problem. "Asians are very sensitive about talking about HIV/AIDS; their really embarrassed. In our culture we don't talk about sex or drug use, they're evil things." Susan says she thinks the low HIV testing rates among Asians can be attributed to cultural assumptions. "They think that Chinese people are clean; they're better than Western people. A lot of Chinese men and older people think that Western people are dirty; Western people are really open about sex and that's not right." Susan, a volunteer with "It was very helpful to go to this retreat and be with other women who have the same problem... We need help, we need understanding and we need to learn more about our problems." - |
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原始出處：http://www.westender.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=49&cat=23&id=697205&more= PRAA譯校小工：Alien、Belial、Ivory ㊣ 中文翻譯沒有版權‧歡迎到處轉載 2006.09.17 |