Samoa: the realities of living with HIV in Samoa

How does a Pacific country deal with someone who is HIV positive? What support can be expected from society and family if one is infected by HIV? How does the rhetoric of being a family-oriented and caring society fit with the realities of what happens to HIV positive people? This presentation talks about the experience of an HIV positive woman. Peati Maiava is from Samoa. She was married in June 1992 and subsequently had two sons. Her youngest son, Fiti, died after much suffering of an undiagnosed disease in January 1996. Her husband died, after being diagnosed with AIDS in April 1996. Before he died, he pleaded for forgiveness for the chaos he had brought to the family. Looking back, Peati strongly suspects that Fiti also died from an AIDS-related condition--although there was no medical confirmation at the time. Before he died, Peati's husband was plagued with influenza, diarrhea, fevers, boils on his face, throat, and body, immense pain and headaches, violent temper, and incredible loss of body weight. This man was once one of MANU Samoa's best flankers (footballers) ever. He died a skeleton in the wake of AIDS. In the aftermath of the two untimely deaths in the family, living with her only remaining son Natal was unbearable; Peati knew she was HIV-positive and that it was only a matter of time before she would face a similar death. Her life became intolerable--after the death of her husband she was forced from her employment when her employer learned of her positive status. Some of her so-called friends and relatives also turned their back on her. With no employment and HIV-positive status she considered suicide. But her love of God and the love of her son she could not forsake. Peati did forgive her husband before he died but the scars and bitter memories are hard to overcome at times. Peati thanked the conference for the sponsorship, which allowed her to attend the conference. The moral and financial support offered to by her friends, and to Andrew Peteru who was instrumental in helping her to participate in the conference.