NDTV
Dimapur | December 27
Nagaland Churches has now opened itself to addressing and discussing the problem of HIV/AIDS to help those in need in the State. For Mezhu its a special Christmas, the doors of the Church have opened to a community who were considered sinners till yesterday, drug addicts and people living with HIV.
Neitho a recovering addict and a social Worker said, ‘’The attitude of the church 5-6 yrs back, they were discriminating the drug user. One way or the other they would call us sinners that made us hesitate to go to our own church also. Now they know that addiction is a disease their attitude towards HIV infected and has changed.’’
At a special lunch at Dimapur’s Chavara Home, the only care centre run by the Church in the state. Sister Angee recalls how in her travels across Nagaland, she was confronted by people on the role of the Church in fighting HIV.
Sister Angee said, ‘’I used to go around Nagaland and meet a lot of people who would ask me that we are losing one generation and why is the church sleeping. So that made me think and we started discussing with our congregation and we came up with this.’’ Medicines free of cost, nutrition and counselling will be provided here. But discussing sexuality is still out of bounds. Sister Angee Chavara added, ‘’We have not reached that far it takes time.’’
It is still a huge first step for an institution that would confine drug addicts and people living with HIV till recently. Dr Vizolie and his colleagues spent years educating the pastors and the Church community.
Dr Vizolie Suokhire of National Rural Health Mission said, ‘’Pre 1999 there were a lot of misconceptions and misgivings about HIV/AIDS but after that with a series of training of pastors, today there’s a lot of positive things that has come about.’’ He added, ‘’because of the awareness activities they are able to understand sex and sexuality and also taking care of HIV /AIDS affected and infected people.’’
‘’That time the concept of understanding the issue drug abuse was not there, we thought abstinence was the best way and could immediately cure. Even I thought that drug use could be treated by confining an addict to a room for ten days. Today, I know its much more complicated,’’ Dr Vizolie.
Victims of discrimination expect the Church to do much more. Neitho said, ‘’The church is the strongest body in our State, it still needs to come forward. They are doing a lot but they need to do much more. There’s still some amount of discrimination. For example the church is not talking about condoms, they have to talk about preventions.’’ Thus, the role of the Church is not defined but the expectations are high.
Dr Vizolie said, ‘’I cant expect my pastor to go to the pulpit and say use condom and you will be safe. But there is a proper way it can be imparted. I think the Church can be more forceful, there should be continuous activities going on in the churches.’’ Abstinence has taken a whole new meaning in Christian Nagaland, a movement has been started by the Church called True Love Waits.
Rev Keviyiekielie Linju, a Pastor said, ‘’The more you are educated, your abstinence becomes stronger. We teach them the forces of sexuality that cannot be denied but we educate them properly so that their abstinence becomes stronger. We have a programme True love Waits.’’ Azonuo a student of theology says that there’s a better to understand the Bible today. Jesus had always helped the oppressed, there’s no reason why people living with HIV should not be cared.
One gets an impression that the various denominations of Christianity in Nagaland are now much more open to the issue of HIV. They’ve opened their doors in a sense but people living with HIV and working with HIV feel that the Church could do much more though neither is sure what that is.
