Random Conversations from Addis…

Name: Anonymous
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Occupation: Not employed

When was the last time you went to a funeral of a person who died from AIDS?
Who knows what they really died of? It might be AIDS.

Where do you think AIDS comes from? How do you think it spreads?
God knows where it came from but it spreads mainly through sexual intercourse.

How do you know when someone has AIDS?
If they start losing a lot of weight.

When did you first hear about AIDS?
I don't remember.

If someone has AIDS, what do you have to do so that you don't get it yourself?
Stay away from that person. Avoid any kind of body contact.

Do you talk about AIDS with anyone?
No.

What do people you know say about AIDS?
Everyone is scared of it.

Are you afraid you might get it?
You never know.

What is the most frightening thing you've heard about AIDS? Do you think it's true?
The long suffering you have before you die.

Have you changed your own behavior to avoid getting AIDS? If so, how? If not, why not?
I have. I only have sex with my boyfriend and we only have protected sex.

Have you ever been tested? Why or why not?
No, I've never been tested. Because I don't doubt myself.

Could you ask your partner to be tested?
No.

Do you think you can avoid getting AIDS even if you are sexually active?
Yes.

Do you think people get AIDS because they have somehow been
bad/sinful?

No.

Do you think you can live with AIDS? If so, for how long?
I don't think one can live with AIDS that long.

What, to you personally, has been the greatest fallout from AIDS?
I can't say.

Are you hopeful that one day Ethiopia will be free from AIDS?
Oh yes, very much so.

Name: Anonymous
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Occupation: Prostitute

When was the last time you went to a funeral of a person who died from AIDS?
I don't go to funerals any more. I don't keep track of people.

Where do you think AIDS comes from? How do you think it spreads?
I don't know where it came from but sexual activities is how it spreads.

How do you know when someone has AIDS?
When you get tested or when you get sick.

When did you first hear about AIDS?
I don't know.

If someone has AIDS, what do you have to do so that you don't get it yourself?
Try not to have unprotected sex.

Do you talk about AIDS with anyone?
Not really.

What do people you know say about AIDS?
I don't talk about it because it scares me to death.

Are you afraid you might get it?
Yes, very much.

What is the most frightening thing you've heard about AIDS? Do you think it's true?
I can't say anything in particular, the whole virus is scary.

How successful are you in convincing your clients to use condoms? Do they offer more money to use or not use one?
Not that successful when it comes to local customers. When it is foreigners they don't even ask they use it themselves.

Have you changed your own behavior to avoid getting AIDS? If so, how? If not, why not?
I can't change my behavior to avoid getting AIDS. This is what I do for living, changing my behavior means no work, and that means no way to survive.

Have you ever been tested? Why or why not?
No, I have not because I am scared to find the result.

Could you ask your partner to be tested?
I don't have a partner.

Do you think you can avoid getting AIDS even if you are sexually active?
Yes by protecting yourself when ever you have sex.

Do you think people get AIDS because they have somehow been bad/sinful?
Who knows? Mmaybe.

Do you think you can live with AIDS? If so, for how long?
Not for long.

What, to you personally, has been the greatest fallout from AIDS?
Decrease in the number of customers.

Are you hopeful that one day Ethiopia will be free from AIDS?
I hope so.

Name: Anonymous
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Occupation: Shoe Shiner

When was the last time you went to a funeral of a person who died from AIDS?
Never

Where do you think AIDS comes from? How do you think it spreads?
It's a curse from God, and it spreads through bad sexual behaviors.

When did you first hear about AIDS?
A couple of years ago.

If someone has AIDS, what do you have to do so that you don't get it yourself?
Stay away from infected people.

Do you talk about AIDS with anyone?
No, it is not any of my business.

What do people you know say about AIDS?
No one talks about this bad curse, at least not around me.

Are you afraid you might get it?
No.

What is the most frightening thing you've heard about AIDS? Do you think it's true?
Death and suffering.

Have you changed your own behavior to avoid getting AIDS? If so, how? If not, why not?
I don't have any behaviors that would lead me to getting AIDS.

Have you ever been tested? Why or why not?
No, because I don't think I have been endangered

Do you think you can avoid getting AIDS even if you are sexually active?
Yes, married people are sexually active and they avoid the virus by staying faithful to one another.

Do you think people get AIDS because they have somehow been bad/sinful?
Definitely

Do you think you can live with AIDS? If so, for how long?
A very short time.

Are you hopeful that one day Ethiopia will be free from AIDS?
I don't doubt it, with God's help

Name: Berhanu
Age: 43
Occupation: Teacher

When was the last time you went to a funeral of a person who died from AIDS?
About a month ago.

Where do you think AIDS comes from? How do you think it spreads?
At least in Ethiopia, primarily through unprotected heterosexual intercourse

How do you know when someone has AIDS?
It depends on the maturity of the disease, it is not possible to tell at the early stages unless you do tests

When did you first hear about AIDS?
In 1980, in the US

If someone has AIDS, what do you have to do so that you don't get it yourself?
Not sleep with the person without protection, I guess.

Do you talk about AIDS with anyone?
Yes, with friends, at work…etc.

What do people you know say about AIDS?
That it is a terrible disease that is wiping out a whole generation.

Are you afraid you might get it?
Not really.

What is the most frightening thing you've heard about AIDS? Do you think it's true?
That there is no medicine for it and that you are pretty sure to die of it in due course.

Have you changed your own behavior to avoid getting AIDS? If so, how? If not, why not?
Not really, I never did those things any ways before.

Have you ever been tested? Why or why not?
No, I have not because the reason did not arise.

Could you ask your partner to be tested?
If it is a new one, yes.

Do you think you can avoid getting AIDS even if you are sexually active?
Without protection, I don’t.

Do you think people get AIDS because they have somehow been bad/sinful?
I don’t believe in that stuff.

Do you think you can live with AIDS? If so, for how long?
If you get the appropriate care (including affording to take the medicine) I suppose you can last for a while (like Magic Johnson).

Name: Dagne
Age: 27
Occupation: Entrepreneur

When was the last time you went to a funeral of a person who died from AIDS?
Last week. I went to three last month.

Where do you think AIDS comes from? How do you think it spreads?
Through unprotected sex. Insignificantly from intravenous drug use.

Do you and your friends talk about AIDS?
Yes, in a way. We are aware who has it and who is likely to get it.

When did you first hear about AIDS? In Ethiopia?
The day I came back from the States my uncle sat me down and lectured me about.

You're in a different bracket from the average Ethiopian. How does your circle handle people with AIDS?
It might sound bad, really, really bad., but the women are usually shunned and with the guys no one talks about it. You just make sure you don't sleep with the same [women] he sleeps with. It's a small town so everyone knows what's going on, and some just bide their time.

Are you afraid you might get it?
Yes. It's not always easy to use protection.

What is the most frightening thing you've heard about AIDS? Do you think it's true?
I'll tell you the most interesting. I know people who think that if you have an affair with a married person that you won't get it. So everybody was having an affair with everybody's wife/husband. Imagine! The girls here also think that the [expats] and foreigners coming here are free of AIDS, so they have tendencies not to protect themselves.

Have you changed your own behavior to avoid getting AIDS? If so, how? If not, why not?
I have. I am less promiscuous. But it's a very highly charged sexualized society, and sometimes you just give in and hope for the best.

Have you ever been tested? Why or why not?
No. I don't think I am at risk.

Do you ask the women you sleep with if they are tested?
Yes. But they all say they don't have it. No one will say yes I have it.

Do you think you can avoid getting AIDS even if you are sexually active?
I hope so. But in reality, no.

Do you think people get AIDS because they have somehow been bad/sinful?
I can't say. You hear a lot that this is a curse, and sometimes when you see all the stuff around you, you can't help but wonder if God is on PMS.

Do you think you can live with AIDS? If so, for how long?
Personally, I couldn't. I would not want to. Not in Ethiopia. It's rough. It's depressing.