|
|
China Exclusive: Jailed with HIV -- a struggle against despair |
 |
+ |
- |
20:27, July 09, 2007 |
Although he has been a prison warder for 18 years, Fan Zongyu remembers feeling nervous when he first fronted up to a row of HIV-positive inmates.
For two years, Fan and six of his colleagues have been running a special correctional division in Qingliu prison, where male inmates from all over the southeastern Fujian Province who have tested positive for HIV are held.
"Many people think the job is like ''skating on thin ice between life and death'', but we have learnt to get used to it," Fan said with a laugh as he directed the inmates out of their cells for morning exercises.
Lined up three rows deep on a basketball field, they jump and go through an exercise routine at the guard''s command, occasionally revealing their muscles beneath the blue-striped T shirts, the uniform of prisoners across the country.
After the exercises, some go to chat with guards and others just sit on the grass, enjoying the sunshine in front of a big blue sign on the ground that reads "cherish life, overcome illness."
"Though these inmates look and can live like ordinary people, we have nevertheless started up extra sport programs for them and we cook them nutrient-rich meals," Fan says, adding that the prison monitors the immune system of inmates living with HIV twice a year.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
|
|
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article