Village petition in banishing HIV-infected boy draws criticism

A woman puts her fingerprints on the petition letter with Kunkun standing beside her. [Photo/sc.people.cn]

An 8-year-old boy was banished from his home after more than 200 villagers in Xichong County, Sichuan Province, signed a joint petition to have the HIV-positive child removed.

Kun Kun (not his real name), received medical treatment in 2011 after his eye was injured.

"He had three blood tests and the doctor said the results were 'abnormal',"said his grandpa, 69-year-old Luo Sheng, who had been taking care of him.

Bad news travels fast and soon the entire village knew of Ken Ken test results.

While his exile is controversial, family members and villagers both insist the child's destructive behavior, was the driving force behind the petition.

"He set fire to the hill," said a neighbor surnamed Wang. "He torched our haystack last year, and even attempted to set fire to the oil well."

Kun Kun's grandfather,who signed the petition first, while in the company of the child, recalled an instance when Kun Kun set fire to their own home. "Fortunately the fire was put out quickly," he said. "Otherwise, we would have nowhere to live."

He also accused Kun Kun of "stealing money from him and his niece".

Villagers warned their children to stay away from him. "They don't play with me," Kun Kun said. "I play with myself."

In the eyes of other villagers, he was a wild child.

"Kun Kun is a time bomb," said He Jialing, who also signed. "Our kid is about the same age as him and now we have him live in the boarding school. Kun Kun is too dangerous. What if he bites our son."

Even Luo's elder son, who was with Kun Kun's mother at the time of his birth, seemed to have given up on the boy, ceasing to send money after he was found infected with HIV, Luo said.

Luo had no idea whom Kun Kun's actual father was. The mother was already three months pregnant when Luo's adopted eldest son met her.

After his birth, his mom went to work in Guangzhou together with Luo's son. It is not known whether they are still together.

His exile sparked an outcry in China on Thursday, with many protesting the move and urging people to stop discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS. Many internet users voiced understanding of the villagers' anxiety, but felt sorry for the boy.

Xu Wenqing, a specialist with the United Nations Children's Fund in HIV/AIDS and children welfare, noted that it was the bitter reality that some Chinese people lack knowledge about the epidemic.

"One will not be infected simply by playing with Kun Kun," she said. "And the chance of getting the disease was next to zero even if one got bitten by him."

There were 497,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China at the end of October, and 154,000 had died following infection.

Xu recalls the situation ten years ago when discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS was a big issue. At the time, people perceived it as a "disgraced" disease, and infected people faced isolation.

With more education, however, the situation has since improved across the country. "But Kun Kun's story reminds us that more work is to be done," she said.

"In this case," she continued, "the biggest concern should be the boy's health condition. He should be given necessary medical treatment."

Li Hui, party chief of Kun Kun's village, told Xinhua that the civil affairs bureau of the Xichong county offered the family 600 yuan (about 96.5 US dollars) a month from 2013 as living allowance. At the beginning of last month, the amount rose to 1,100 yuan.

"We also asked his family members to have screening each year," he said.

Wang Yishu, another village official, hoped that the boy would be accepted by a "special organization".

"We deeply sympathize with him," he said. "But it is scary to have such a boy in our village."

But Xu Wenqing said that the boy should grow up in his own home.

"We have had nursing homes for the HIV/AIDS orphans, but later we found problems," she said. "They have no social connection and feel lonely. When they reached the age for schooling, no school would accept such a large group altogether."

"If Kun Kun's grandpa insisted on expelling him," Xu said, "he needs to go through a legal procedure to terminate the guardianship, rather than simply signing this petition."