AIDS - The secret the Arab world is afraid to face

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Secret that the Arab world is afraid to face: AIDS

By Mariam Fam, Associated Press, 5/7/2001 01:19

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) Seven months ago, this 38-year-old engineer thought about AIDS if he thought about it at all with pretty much the same attitude as many others in Egypt and across the Arab world.

''All I knew about it was that it kills patients in a day or two at the most ... and that it hasn't reached Egypt and only foreigners can suffer from AIDS,'' the engineer said.

That was before he was diagnosed with AIDS. Now, he says he would rather kill himself than tell his secret. He won't allow his name to be used for fear of being rejected by family and friends who think of the disease as synonymous with sin and shame.

The Egyptian engineer's reluctance to speak out is typical. In other places in the world, sports heroes and film stars have spoken publicly about having HIV the virus that causes AIDS as a way to educate the public. But in the Arab countries, silence remains the norm.

As does ignorance. Some strict interpretations of Islamic prohibitions against premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality, coupled with stern conservative traditions means that publicly discussing sex let alone educating people about it is taboo.

Many argue that Islamic strictures on sex will protect Arab countries from an AIDS epidemic. But experts say the number of cases in Arab countries is far greater than reported. In Egypt, the United Nations estimate of HIV-positive cases is nearly 10 times the official number.

The engineer said that had he known how AIDS was transmitted he believes he was infected during homosexual sex he would have been more cautious.

Nasr el-Sayed, director of the government's National AIDS Control Program, often encounters such ignorance. Even some doctors, he said, don't believe AIDS can strike in Egypt, with 65 million people the Arab world's most populous country.

''Some people refuse to even listen (to information) about the disease. 'We're good and religious people, what do we have to do with AIDS? This is for other people,' they argue,'' said el-Sayed, whose office was established in 1986, the year the first AIDS case was reported in Egypt.

El-Sayed said his office's seminars, lectures and pamphlets have made Egyptians more aware of the dangers of AIDS, but they still have much to learn.

Because of the stigma, many cases go unreported. Egyptian officials say they have recorded only 928 HIV-positive cases, but admit that is likely well below the real number. The United Nations estimated that by the end of 1999, some 8,100 Egyptians were infected with HIV.

Egypt's situation is typical of Arab countries. Saudi Arabia doesn't even have an official estimate of HIV-positive cases. In Yemen, the Health Ministry says the actual number is much higher than the 1,200 cases recorded in the year 2000. Jordan is trying to educate the public about AIDS, but ads and leaflets stop short of discussing safe sex.

Misconceptions about the disease persist even in countries where officials consider public awareness high. In Kuwait, people remain fearful of AIDS patients and do not want to mix with them, said Rashed al-Owaysh, the country's director of public health.

Egypt's Health Ministry launched an AIDS hot line in 1996, advertising it through leaflets and posters at subway stations and on buses. The hot line gets an average of 1,000 calls a month.

''We talk about patients as human beings with whom we sit and are not afraid of,'' said Mervat el-Geneidy, a psychiatrist who takes some hot line calls. She added that by acting as role models, experts can help the public accept AIDS patients.

But despite such efforts, negative attitudes linger.

The Egyptian engineer with the disease said Arab society regards AIDS patients as sinners who deserve what they got. He feels guilty himself. Though he believes he got AIDS through homosexual sex during army service eight years ago, he said he is not gay.

Just as many Egyptians think of AIDS as a ''foreign disease,'' they refuse to admit that homosexuality or prostitution exists in Egypt, said Sana' Nassif, who runs an AIDS program for the international aid group CARITAS.

Nassif, whose agency decided against creating a homosexual support group for fear of being accused of encouraging homosexuality, said this attitude makes it difficult to reach high-risk groups.

Experts worry that the inferior status of women in Egypt puts them at greater risk. Nassif said some women who are certain their husbands are having affairs still do not dare ask them to use protection or be tested.

''It's really tragic how women are unable to negotiate their own protection in wedlock or outside it,'' said Jihane Tawilah, the World Health Organization's regional adviser on sexually transmitted diseases.

The engineer, who lives with his mother and siblings, said he is resisting the usual family pressures to get married because he doesn't want to infect anyone. He is fearful his condition may be discovered because he has lost so much weight.

''I just pray that God ends my life as soon as possible before more symptoms show,'' he said. ''I don't want to create problems for my family.''

-- Anonymous, May 07, 2001


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