‘I was treated more humanely in Pakistan’

Its a story that will compel one to think about how we as country deal with our HIV positive patients. A teenage boy who was treated with utmost care and compassion in a Pakistani jail after being diagnosed with HIV positive, was infact thrown out of a hospital in his own country, just because he was an AIDS patient. The security in the ward of the government run KEM Hospital in Mumbai is misleading. They are not in attendance of a VIP or a gangster but a young teenage boy. 17 year old Narendra Bhagan — a fisherman from Gujarat, was taken as a prisoner by Pakistan when his boat had accidentally strayed into the Pakistani waters, four months back. After his plight came to light, the embarrassed hospital administration had to admit him. But now has virtually a prisoner. With any request to meet him minutely screened, the dean of the hospital himself, escorts people to meet the boy. Narendra said, “I was treated well there, atleast I could roam around freely. The people in Pakistan were very kind to me.” Ironic that an Indian citizen is openly admitting that life as a prisoner in Pakistan is better than the treatment meted out to him back home in India. Despite the government’s claims of a thriving AIDS awareness campaigns, 17 year old Narendra is a glaring example of how even government hospitals turn away patients in immediate need of medical help.