In a sense, it's the Holy Grail of the news business, get a first hand, and real life, up close account of the horrors of HIV from an infected person. It's always a gripping story because essentially - it's the account of someone living under the threat of a death sentence. Certainly not everyone who has HIV will die - infection can be well managed for healthy lifestyles - but an account from an infected person gives the public the chance to see into the eye of a pathological storm. The testimonies are invariable gripping - but what happens when the lights go off, and the camera's intrusive eye recedes?
Ideally, the person would be tributed for his or her bravery and welcomed back into the community as an example of public spiritedness. That's the ideal but the real is very, very different.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
25-year-old Alfredo Chuc sits at a park in San Ignacio town- a solitary and lonely man. But he doesn't choose to be alone; his community has shunned him.
In February of last year Chuc was diagnosed with HIV. Since then he's been active in awareness education volunteering his ill fortune as a lesson for others. While doing this for free, he was sill able to maintain gainful employment. Luis Garcia was one of very few people who reached out.
Luis Garcia
"Alfredo is not saying give me money. He is saying I want a job. I want to work for my money so I can buy my AIDS medication and also be able to make money for my family and myself. So we bought him a weed- eater so he could do yard clean-ups and make money for himself and family."
That was working out for Alfredo until an organization in San Ignacio prompted him to come out on the local television channel in his hometown and declare his status. Things then took a very bad turn.
Alfredo Chuc
"They put me on television and the whole of San Ignacio saw it. So when I tried to cut people's yard, nobody wanted me to cut their yard because they saw me on TV and everyone knew what my sickness was. People were scared of me and my sickness."
He ended up not having any means of earning a living and again turned to Garcia who was forced to purchase the weed eater from him.
Luis Garcia
"We bought the weed eater back from him and he used that money to buy used clothes which he resells. So he is now able to make money by selling used clothes. But we fear that people will stop buying his clothes once they find out he is HIV positive."
That kind of life is now taking an emotional toll on the 25 year old - who is an outcast in his very own hometown. This is something he can't even begin to understand.
It's a heavy burden resting on education and acceptance of a disease that is slowly taking a toll on our society leaving many to suffer without support and without recourse.
Alfredo Chuc has two children, both boys ages 4 and 2. He claims they along with his wife are HIV Negative.