PEs work and reality on the ground: does it match?
- A view point -
Rajesh Khongbantabam *
In a unique case of twist and turn that blur the indomitable difference between a hotel owner which happen to be a migrant, and that of the hotel customer which again happens to be a local person. It is a clear case of stigmatization attitude that fuelled the extra-conventional norms of exercising full authority stemming from the protective covers that such hotel owner (a non local) brag or boast in using/misusing/abusing the police personnel hanging around the vicinity of the said hotel.
The hotel in question, in itself is a fast food & snack caterer whereby the proprietor seems to overlook the simple message of common saying, "a customer is your equal business partner – treat them with dignity" or rather in a deliberate manner stemming from the unequivocal power and conventional immunity that he enjoys by virtue of massaging the needs of uniformed and literary buying over such uniformed personnel that lacks integrity and above all the code of ethics that every police personnel avowed in their passing out parade for carrying out their duties & task in upholding the law of the land, and thereby protecting the citizen wherever and whenever required in a judicious manner, " when all are asleep, we remain awake to protect you" as claimed in advertisement hoarding in the roadside banner.
No doubt, a good and well intended advertisement from the perspective of commercial index but the numerical figures of takers buying the message is quite doubtful, taking into account the drastically records of the police departments Who wielded unbridle power in murdering innocent even in broad daylight.
It was around 7:30 a.m in the early morning, when a newly recruited peer volunteer (educators) named PAPPU of ISWAR (an NGO implementing targeted intervention for IDUs) pleaded with a drug injector to spare some of his precious times to interact with for a few minutes that happens to take place in a hotel named, "UMESH Hotel" located nearby the Khoyathong traffic point.
Logically, the two cannot sit down and take time without ordering something and as a matter of pleasing the hotel manager; it was obvious that the two have had to ordered snacks for 50 INR whether required or not albeit paying an amount of 10 INR for sitting charges.
Ironically, the most satirical part was that the two were ordered out of the hotel for consuming nearly 10 minutes in spite of the fact that an amount of 10 INR was paid for sitting charges albeit 50 INR for snacks.
Eventually, a heated argument ensued and it was unmistakably visible that such act of stigma & discrimination were fuelled from the appearances of the two customers who vehemently could be easily identified as from the People who use drug (PUD) community concluding from the topics of the talk and the typical looks of the two customers.
Although an outsider and with the ILP (inner line permit) not in place, which still is under due deliberation, it still is not a surprising attitude from such migrant to boast by using abusive language knowing for certain that there are protective layers around him with the uniformed personnel encircling him.
Eventually, the armed personnel around the vicinity were called in to boost the manager in the ensuing disputed altercation.
Surprisingly, what matters is not the issue of time being taken at the hotel but the manner at which the two customers were frisked by the paid uniformed personnel for no viable reason or rather in act of the manager favors.
The PEs after being frisked was again advised by the same police to keep the returned old syringes, which were sealed tightly in a container, inside their bag and not to keep it on the table as this could send a wrong message to other customer. Undoubtedly, a good suggestion on the part of the police wisdom.
But the police, out of ignorance or deliberately suggested that the ARV box, in possession of the PE could still be an illicit drugs and after much clarification were able to convince that it indeed is a life saving medication meant for HIV positive people.
Besides, in an act of gross violation of client confidentiality or of human rights privacy the listed documents containing the sensitive information pertaining to their HIV status were scanned through by the same personnel for what so ever reasons best known to them.
What fumbles one and all is the necessity of scanning through such list of confidentiality of which the said provider had committed to maintaining the secrecy at any cost. And for fear of the gun barrel and at whim of the hotel manager, all such confidentiality was compromised for no fault of the same provider. Who is to blame?
Perhaps the SACS needs a lot to do in bridging this gap between law enforcement & health authorities in promoting harm reduction activities.
* Rajesh Khongbantabam wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was posted on February 21, 2012
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