Gift giving HIVer dies
Martin
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He passed away in the early hours of the morning at the Mount St. John
Hospital. He had requested that this interview using his real name be
only made public after his death.
[...]
Who am I?
He was 22 at the time and he wasn't afraid to let me know of his
perceived gender.
"I was a gal since I was seven and no man or gal out dey carn hold me
down," a smiling he said.
He revealed that by the time he was 12, he had already had sex with
about four men, noting he "is a woman who was strapped in a man's
body.
"Nobody believed me when I told them that I had strange and
uncontrollable feelings for men but every time I tried telling someone
that I trusted I was rebuked and even beaten up," he revealed.
By age 16, he had multiple sex partners and was fully involved in
living a life of a gay. He noted that his mother showed him
unconditional love throughout his years despite several family members
expressing their disgust at his lifestyle.
[...]
Life in prison
At 17, he was arrested after he and his 'boyfriend' had pulled off a
daring robbery in Antigua on a tourist.
[...]
The duo were convicted and he was given seven years imprisonment at
Her Majesty's Prison (HMP). While he had no problem in going to jail
he said that he learnt the harsh reality of the sex trade in prison.
"Sex goes on day ah Antigua jail everyday and even some of dem guards
are involved," he claimed.
"...you see no one could ah resist me and once they see that you soft
or like other men you became a target," he said.
He spent a total of five years at HMP as he got out early due to his
good conduct.
[...]
Of condoms and one night flings
After his release from prison he has had a number of sexual partners.
He noted that most of his partners are from St. Lucia, Dominica,
Jamaica, St. Kitts and homeland Antigua and Barbuda.
"I must confess that I have add over 90 sexual partners and the truth
is that I have had unprotected sex as while I dislike having sex with
condoms they hated it and in many cases (they) refused to used a
condom," he said.
He admitted though that he has lied on many occasions about his sexual
status telling many of his sexual partners that he was "clean" and not
infected, adding that he said what they wanted to hear.
"I was wrongfully infected while I was in prison so I do not see
anything wrong with persons being infected by me." [he said].
[...]
That dreadful year
The year 2008 is one he remembered clearly. That was the year he was
released from prison and also the year he found out he was HIV
positive. He admitted that when the doctor revealed the dreaded news
to him, he was completely shocked as he found out that it was some
years that he was living with the virus.
He recalled being sad as he knew that while he had contracted it in
prison he also knew that several other young men had contracted it
from him also.
"I was very devastated it is not that I was afraid of dying but to
know that the many negative things that me family and others had told
me was coming to truth as dey did say that me ah go get AIDS," he
said.
[...]
The inevitable
He stressed that he has accepted the reality that he will soon die
noting that he doesn't take his medication as he is still angry and
disappointed over his situation. He said that while he doesn't blame
the legal system for sentencing him to prison, he feels that they have
some responsibility for his AIDS situation.
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<http://www.hiv-poz.co.uk/>
14 years, 11 months and 26 days.