Word: childrene
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...younger ones, says Sister Nguyen Thi Bao, who had walked the children ranging from ages 6 to 15 to school, were too little too understand. But the older ones knew all too well the reason for the comments and the stares. "They drove us away," one of the children later said. "They hate us. We got the disease from our parents. It's not our fault." With the school balking and classrooms now mostly empty, Sister Bao thought it best to take the children back to the Mai Hoa Center where they live rather than endure more hurt. The center...
...Discrimination against people living HIV/AIDS is nothing new. But the irony in this case is that Vietnam has some of the most sweeping HIV/AIDS laws in the world, says Jesper Morch, the UNICEF representative in Vietnam. Children cannot be barred from school because they or any of their family members have HIV/AIDS. The law also states that employers cannot fire nor can doctors refuse to treat anyone because of their HIV status. Even the laws in the United States are not as far reaching...
...Efforts to enroll HIV-positive children in Vietnam's public schools have had dismal results. Even where teachers and local officials have gone door-to-door to educate parents, very few children have ever successfully been enrolled and actually attended. "Parents have their own arguments and it's hard to answer them," says Nguyen Van Chan, the beleaguered principal of An Nhon Dong Elementary School. "We all know how HIV is transmitted but who can give complete assurances?" he asks...
...children will continue to be schooled at the orphanage. An Nhon Dong Elementary has agreed to provide textbooks and send teachers to the center, which some might see as a victory. The children, however, know it is nothing of the sort. Several broke down, says Sister Bao, when they heard that once again they would not be allowed to go to a "normal" school...
...What happened to the children at the Mai Hoa Center illustrates how much work the Vietnamese government, as well as international development and aid agencies, have left to do, says Morch. More awareness campaigns are obviously needed. Government officials and celebrities need to photographed hugging AIDS patients and playing with them out on the sports field, he says. But Morch is encouraged by the fact that as soon as the incident was made public, the central government fired off a stern warning to the local authorities that they had violated the law, and they wanted assurances that this will...