AIDS campaigners at the Garden of Mercy Foundation (GMF) appealed yesterday to families of patients of the disease to allow sufferers to return home for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The GMF also called for the government to provide financial aid to the House of Mercy, run by the GMF to house AIDS patients thrown out by their families.
Accompanied by KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-wen (
The patient, who used the pseudonym A-tai (阿泰), is staying in the House of Mercy, where six other AIDS patients are also sheltered.
"I have a home. But I cannot go home. We [patients at the House of Mercy] really need our families' comfort and encouragement very much. We really want to go home," A-tai said.
The GMF's CEO May Chyou (
According to Chyou, when A-tai was at home, his family did not want him to move around the house and asked him to stay at his room. When eating, A-tai used a set of chopsticks, spoons and bowls of his own, which his family would never touch.
"During the New Year vacation, relatives will visit each other. The AIDS patients' families said that they would be ashamed if their relatives know they have AIDS patients at home," Chyou said.
According to Chyou, the families of four of the House of Mercy's seven patients have agreed to take their relatives back home for the holidays.
The GMF and the two lawmakers both expressed concern that most people in Taiwan still discriminate against AIDS patients.
"Our society needs to act with a better attitude toward AIDS patients. Moreover, our government should strengthen education about AIDS," Chiu said.
Many people are afraid of AIDS patients because they have the misconception that they would be infected with the disease if they touch the patients, Chiu said.
"It is important to let the public know how AIDS is transmitted. The disease is transmitted mainly through sexual intercourse. Sometimes it may be transmitted through blood transmissions or injections," Chiu said.
But people would not be infected with AIDS simply through touching the patients, Chiu stressed.
According to Chiang, many AIDS patients thrown out by their families rent houses and live together.
"Some churches also provide shelters for these patients. But the churches keep their locations strictly confidential so as not to disturb the neighborhoods," Chiang said.
Meanwhile, Ou Nai-ming (歐乃銘), director of the Center for Disease Control's Division of AIDS & STD, said the Department of Health has launched several measures to help AIDS patients.
"The government provides AIDS patients with free medical care. Moreover, the DOH has been monitoring the situations in accommodation centers for AIDS patients," Ou said.
RSS