Former addict campaigns against drugs
Former addict campaigns against drugs
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Demitrius (not his real name) would always be silent every
time a conversation touched the sensitive issue of his younger
brother, who is HIV-positive. He blames himself for his brother's
condition.
"It took me a long time to make peace with myself about it,
thanks to the support of my loyal and caring friends. But I have
never been able to forgive myself for what happened to Dino," he
said.
In the middle of last year, he found out that he was infected
with HIV. Two months later, he learned that his brother Dino was
also HIV-positive. In addition to HIV, they were both diagnosed
with Hepatitis C.
The news about his brother had almost destroyed him. He spent
many days feeling sorry for himself, and wondered how soon the
cold hand of Death would beckon him and his brother.
"There are only two boys in our family. Our father and mother
put all their hopes into us, but with this virus, there is a big
possibility that we will only wind up as a heavy burden for them.
And this is all my fault," he said.
It all started when he was just ten years old, when he bowed
under peer pressure and drank a glass of Arak, a locally made
liquor.
Brought up in an Army barracks in Denpasar, Bali, it took him
just a few months to switch from drinking alcohol to smoking
cheap marijuana.
By his last year in high school, he had already tried almost
every kind of substance, including sedatives, sleeping pills,
homemade cocktails, and had been with many girls.
When all these things failed to stimulate him and bring him a
sense of utter satisfaction, Demitrius finally resorted to the
ultimate fix: he tapped his vein and injected the liquid form of
"putauw" -- the street name for low-grade heroin.
The instant rush of heroin gave him quite a high, and for
years Demitrius's life was a never-ending joyride on a roller
coaster of fixes and highs. He tried to quit many times, but the
needle always found its way back to his rapidly thinning veins.
Demitrius, a dark and handsome young man with an amazing
ability to survive the most terrible street brawls, had always
been a role model for Dino; so it was no wonder that Dino
faithfully followed his older brother's footsteps and
experimented with alcohol, marijuana, girls and finally, heroin.
"Since syringes were expensive and we were afraid that if we
carried syringes the police might use it as an evidence to nail
us, needle-sharing was common," Demitrius said.
The needle-sharing habit, which initially looked cool and
reflected the spirit of camaraderie, was eventually realized to
be not only a foolish, but also a dangerous, practice.
"It is a one hundred percent fail-proof way to get infected,
if one of your needle-sharing partners is an HIV-positive person.
Its effectiveness in transmitting the virus is much, much higher
than through unprotected sex," Demitrius said.
About two years ago, after surviving two violent incidents
that reminded him how much God loved him, Demitrius finally threw
away the syringe and re-embraced Christ. Working with a local
non-governmental organization, he fought an uphill battle to stay
clean and to help other people quit using drugs.
His charisma, leadership and perseverance won him respect and
were essential to the work of the NGO.
"I will not just stand aside waiting for my death. No, my
friend, I will fight and it will be a very good fight -- the kind
in which you get your nose broken, but you succeed in kicking
your enemy out of the room," he grinned, the grin of a fighter.