Wearing a white mask that symbolizes the discrimination that she faces from Saudi society, Sara, a 13-year-old HIV positive schoolgirl, stood before Prince Mish'al Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, telling the audience about her suffering from the injustice of a community which treats her like a criminal. She spoke during the inauguration of the programs of the Saudi Charity Association for AIDS Patients (SACA) on Tuesday and said that she was not there to ask for people's pity and tears, but rather wanted to show that she had the personal strength, resolve and determination to fight the disease. Sara, a Saudi who was infected with the virus as a result of a blood transfusion outside the Kingdom, always gets top marks in her class, but says that students in her school go out of their way to avoid her. However, this schoolgirl is only one of thousands of HIV positive people in the Arab World who are stigmatized because they have contracted the virus. Dr. Sana Filimban, Chairwoman of SACA, said that society should accept HIV positive people in its midst and give them the support they need instead of discriminating against them. She said that SACA provides those with HIV and their families with treatment, training and job opportunities, but that all of this is useless unless society changes its negative attitudes to HIV victims. She said that when applying for a job, applicants should not be asked about their HIV status since it is a private matter, unless the nature of the job is such that it can lead to the transmission of the virus, such as, certain jobs in hospitals. “Outside of Saudi Arabia, companies tend not to hire those who are HIV positive because insurance companies are unlikely to cover such people because of the cost of the treatment that they must receive,” Dr. Filimban said, adding that “this is not the case in the Kingdom because the government provides free medical treatment for them.” She said that there are between 250,000 to one million HIV cases in the Arab World and that this number is very small when compared to the number of cases worldwide. “There is, however, a lack of information in the region,” said Dr. Filimban, “with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that there is a need to increase awareness of the disease in the Arab World.” Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs, said that the Arab World has less HIV cases because of the religion and traditions followed by people in the region.
