Kerala: Now, not even a grave for PLWHA

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Now, not even a grave for AIDS-hit!

T S SREENIVASA RAGHAVAN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005 11:36:51 PM ]

KOTTAYAM: The disease kills and the stigma follows beyond death.

AIDS patients in Kerala, who live in fear of being discovered and

ostracised, are being turned back even after death by the Church.

For, they are being refused burial rites or space in the cemetery by

God's own men.

Although the full extent of this story of bias and ignorance is yet

to unfold, it has become shocking enough for NGOs to campaign for

giving AIDS victims a dignified burial and persuade the Catholic

Church - the very faith that propagates tolerance, humanity

and 'dignity in life and death' - not to shun them.

" Local churches in Kerala are denying customary burial to AIDS

victims, " said Sister Dolores, founder of the Cancer and AIDS

Shelter Society (CASS). " In Kottayam itself, where there has been a

spurt of AIDS cases in the last three years, once the church comes

to know AIDS is the cause of death, the body is not allowed into the

cemetery, " she told TOI.

" Priests don't visit my house for customary prayers. They visit my

neighbours, but they don't come to my house. When my child asks me

why, I have no answer, " says a 30-year-old woman whose husband died

recently of AIDS. She preferred to remain unnamed. Even when they

are alive, AIDS patients face social ostracism.

Confronted by a stubborn church, CASS proposed that bodies of

Catholics dying of AIDS be cremated, although the faith doesn't

permit it. It has approached the Kottayam municipality for

permission to cremate AIDS victims in the electric

crematorium. " After two years of fighting, we finally got permission

for the crematorium. But now, the crematorium machinery has broken

down, " said another CASS member.

Sister Dolores, the founder of the Cancer and AIDS Shelter Society

(CASS), feels cremation is the best way to deal with the problem of

AIDS patients being refused burial rites. " I tell my people there is

nothing wrong in it. Even I would like to be cremated after my

death, " she added.

" When an AIDS victim's body is brought to the church, there's

pressure from the public not to bury his body along with the graves

of their relatives. This in turn puts pressure on the priests, " said

an official of the Kerala State AIDS Control Society.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) - the apex

administrative body of the Catholic Church in India - appeared

embarrassed by the Kerala church's attitude. Said CBCI health

commission secretary Father Vadakkumthala. " The Catholic Church

has a very clear policy on this. To quote Mother , 'A person

infected or affected with HIV is Jesus among us.' The church won't

discriminate on the basis of this as it would go against our faith. "

CBCI has formulated a policy on HIV-AIDS which is being finalised,

said Vadakkumthala. " The policy that focuses on prevention, care and

support also addresses stigma and discrimination. It will help raise

awareness among the people and the priests, " he added.

Following protests led by Sister Dolores and others, the wall that

separated the 'condemned grave' from the rest of the cemetery was

pulled down. " We still have a long way to go. If the church

continues to behave in this manner, we will seek a court order to

ensure a customary and decent burial to AIDS victims, " she said.

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