HIV+ and AIDS Stigma

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Just recently, I attended an interment of a former co-employee who died of complication which is AIDS related. He is not that rich but moderately well off. His remaining family is in denial that he has AIDS because of the stigma attached to it.

His closest friends told me that during his last month, his siblings (both his parents are dead) would separate his eating utensils from theirs on fear of the myth that he might infect them.

And 3 days before his death, did they brought him to the hospital. Their reason - He will die anyway so why waste money eventhough he gave the lion share of the house expenses when he was still strong and able to work. During his wake, his siblings gather all his clothes and belongings (except his jewelries and money) and literally throw it away for the garbage collector to pick it.

It saddens me to hear this kind of story.

Here in our country although gay-friendly, still, most people thinks that when you are HIV+ergo you have AIDS. Awareness to this disease is still in working progress

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That is sad in so many ways. It would be nice to know that he left all his money to an AIDS charity but I fear the relatives will have got their hands on it 

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Probably including all that remains of the "Abuloy" literally translated Contribution or Donation - in our country, it's a tradition (but not necessarily mandatory) for people (other one's own immediate family) who attended the wake to give money to the remaining family of the dead as help whether they needed it or not.

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I really hate hearing stories like that and while I didn't grow up as AIDS started if I was born say 10 years prior I would have probably gotten it myself and no telling where I might be but I am happy to overall see that that stigma has dwindled a great deal and the worry of HIV+ is nowhere near as it was back then. It really breaks my heart hearing all the stories of how it was back then.

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I agree.... Stigma isn't as bad as it used to be, even back as far as 2009 when I was diagnosed. That being said though, there's still a long way that we need to come with stigma unfortunately.