Muthupandiyan, the clinic's public relations office, says, "We
took care of ashram with the money we got from the clinic. Now..."
They get calls at night, soliciting for girls. And have to cope
with men brazenly walking in and asking for women.
Some of the volunteers of the ashram have even lost their jobs
because of their association with AIDS victims. Sridharan, an
ashram PRO, was earlier a catering contractor for marriages. "It
was purely by chance that I came to know about this ashram. I
became very attached to both Krishnaveni and Ravi. My photographs
with them even appeared in the local weekly. And, the very next
day, I lost two contracts. Those parties did not want to have
anything to do with a man who kept AIDS children on his lap. Those
photographs ended my contract business."
What society seems to forget is that children born to HIV positive
mothers have only a 30 per cent chance of getting the virus themselves.
And yet, the innocent are punished for no fault of their own.
These children mark the arrival of a new generation which will be branded, ostracised and excommunicated for life. India, with
the maximum number of AIDS patients in the world, will soon have
the maximum number of AIDS orphans.
Dr Manorama paints the scary scenario in stark colours, "Children
of HIV positive patients see their parents/mothers suffer tremendously
before dying painful deaths. As orphans, they are not accepted
by society even if they are HIV negative. Instead, they are ill-treated.
They can lead normal healthy lives, but face the same discrimination
as HIV positive children. I strongly feel that they should be
adopted and loved. Otherwise, they will be the problem generation
of the future."