Here are two more articles on the shelter eviction debacle.
If officials are worried about drug resistant tuberculosis then they can support the shelter with provision of resources to prevent drug resistant TB from developing. Are conditions at the Thaketa facility any better?
The IAS runs lucrative conferences but has little technical clout.
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HIV/AIDS Patients Refuse to Leave Shelter
Ko Htwe
Irrawaddy
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
More than 80 people with HIV/AIDS who are living at a “safe house” run by the National League for Democracy (NLD) in South Dagon Township, Rangoon will not leave the shelter despite being ordered by Burmese government authorities to vacate.
A day after a visit to the shelter by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, township authorities said on Thursday that they would not renew the permit for guests to stay in the safe house and said that those who remained would face legal action.
In Burma, a host must receive permission from authorities for overnight visitors.
Yarzar, one of the organizers of the shelter and an NLD youth member, said he will request permission from township authorities on Thursday, but the guests will stay regardless of whether a permit is granted.
“The patients will continue to live in the safe house whether they get a permit or not. It is not appropriate for HIV/AIDS patients to stay in a hospital. We need to think of a better way,” said Yarzar.
Shelter organizers said that officials from the Ministry of Health told them to transfer some patients to the government's Tharkayta Township clinic because the NLD-run safe house is too small for the number of patients living there and therefore diseases like tuberculosis can easily infect the residents.
“I went to see the new clinic myself, but I think it is worse than our current place. This place is a place where we can survive. So we don’t want it being destroyed,” said Htin Aung, a resident of the safe house.
HIV/AIDS patients living at the shelter told The Irrawaddy that none of them wanted to relocate because they did not believe that assistance at the new location would be as good as that provided by HIV activist Phyu Phyu Thin with the support of Suu Kyi.
“We feel like this is our house. We receive care and warmth. We feel like we are family. We can also share our feeling with each other. We are happy with our current place. We were very sad when we heard that we have to move,” said Win Win Naing, 31, a resident of the safe house.
“We feel she [Phyu Phyu Thin] is our sister and we are very happy to stay with her. We will not move even though they try to force us to move. We will continue to stay here,” she said. “We don’t want this house to be destroyed and we don’t want to go to Tharkayta clinic. We think they [government authorities] want to make this aid group disappear.”
The HIV patients also worry that they will be required to buy their own food and drinking water at the Tharkayta clinic, Win Win Naing said.
Kyaw Thu, the founder of the Free Funeral Services Society and one of Burma's best-known actors, visited the safe house and donated food and clothing along with Burmese writer Than Myint Aung, film director Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, popular singer Than Thar Win, punk-rock singer Kyar Pauk and rapper Annaga.
“Patients want to live happily before they die, so patient relocation should be decided with the spirit of humanity,” said Kyaw Thu.
On Monday, Win Tin, a leading member of the NLD, Dr Phone Win, an independent political candidate, Yuna Maung Tun and Tint San met with diplomats and provided information about the shelter. The diplomats included officials from the US, British and Australian embassies in Burma and the Philippines ambassador to Burma.
Phone Win and Yuza Maung Tun requested that the diplomats be aware of social welfare issues in Burma and donate aid directly to concerned organizations.
According to the United National General Assembly Special Session on AIDS report, in 2009 there were 238,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Burma.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20162
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HIV/AIDS Activist Says Closure of Shelter Unjustified
Ko Htwe
Irrawaddy
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Statements made by government authorities to justify the closure of a Rangoon shelter for HIV/AIDS patients run by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) are not accurate and the shelter and its organizers will defy the government shut-down order, said Phyu Phyu Thin, a well-know HIV/AIDS activist and the NLD's affiliated welfare group leader.
The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, reported on Wednesday that the shelter would be closed because of the “possible spread of infectious disease from the patients.”
The newspaper said that a medical team from the Rangoon Region Health Department explained that “as there are many patients at the shelter in a limited space for the patients it can be a source of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases which are a complication of HIV/AIDS.”
“Out of the patients at the home, 30 patients are also infected with tuberculosis, and it [the government medical team] is concerned about the possible spread of the virus from the patients to neighbors,” and therefore, “it is suggested that the host follow the [government] instructions [to have patients vacate the shelter],” the The New Light of Myanmar said.
In response, shelter organizers said the authorities simply wanted to pressure them because of a recent visit by pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi, who was freed from more than seven years of house arrest Nov. 13.
The shelter, which includes a small wooden house and a two-story building of wood and thatch walls, accommodates 82 patients, including young children.
Phyu Phyu Thin said there are factual inaccuracies in the newspaper's reporting and if the Burmese government wants to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading it needs to report the truth.
“It is true there is limited space for the patients, but we cannot afford an extension,” said Phyu Phyu Thin. “But we are serving under the guidance of doctors and nurses who are HIV specialists.”
“The The New Light of Myanmar's writing style is instigating neighbors,” she said, but added that after residents in the community living near the shelter are educated about HIV/AIDS, they are not afraid to deal with the patients.
“Residents donate food for patients and they also participate in interfacing with township authorities,” said Phyu Phyu Thin.
Since 2002, Phyu Phyu Thin has worked with hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients. The NLD's affiliated welfare group runs three safe houses in Dagon Myothit (South) and Dagon Myothit (North) townships.
Dagon Myothit (South) Township authorities said on Thursday, a day after Suu Kyi's visit to the shelter, that they would not renew the permit for guests to stay in the safe house and those who remained would face legal action. In Burma, a host must receive permission from authorities for overnight visitors.
Shelter organizers said that officials from Burma's Ministry of Health told them to transfer some patients to the government's Tharkayta Township clinic because the NLD-run safe house is too small for the number of patients living there and therefore diseases like tuberculosis can easily infect the residents.
More than 80 people with HIV/AIDS are now facing a move to the government's Special Hospital in Thakayta.
“The move depends on the wi
shes of the patients. We have to care about their wishes. If the patients don't want to move, we will stand in front of them even if authorities try to arrest us,” said Phyu Phyu Thin.
HIV/AIDS patients living at the shelter told The Irrawaddy that none of them wanted to relocate because they did not believe that assistance at the new location would be as good as that provided by Phyu Phyu Thin with the support of Suu Kyi.
Patients come to the shelter because they trust the clinic—there is no discrimination among patients and patients feel the relationship between them and the staff is warm, Phyu Phyu Thin said.
The HIV patients also worry that they will be required to buy their own food and drinking water at the Tharkayta clinic.
Meanwhile the Geneva-based International AIDS Society (IAS) on Tuesday called on the Burmese government to reverse the ruling to shut down the NLD-run shelter/clinic and allow it to continue operating free from intimidation.
“This clinic is a well known establishment that is dedicated to helping marginalized or displaced people get the HIV treatment they need for free. It should be allowed to continue with its work and I urge the Burmese government to reconsider and enter productive negotiations with all those involved,” said IAS President Elly Katabira.
IAS is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 19,000 members from more than 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS.
According to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS report, in 2009 there were 238,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Burma.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=20173
