| THAILAND
'I Want to Reach the Star of Hope'
by Sutthida Malikaew
BANGKOK — New (not her real name), a 15 year-old girl living with HIV, never knew she could draw, much less realise that she actually enjoys drawing. But these days, drawing is how New expresses herself. It soothes her volatile nerves and calms her inner fire.
"I like drawing an abstract picture, or at least using symbols in a picture,? says New, who got the infection from her mother. She was explaining one of the pictures she had drawn for exhibition at the People's AIDS Fairs in Bangkok last November.
Abstract drawings, says New, gives her new ideas every time, a different feeling each time she looks at the drawing. "Like life itself, it has many dimensions, and it depends on how or when you look at it."
One of her drawings consists of many eyes. New calls the picture "shadow in the eyes," explaining that she wants the eyes to represent "eyes of people who look with understanding that there are many people suffering from HIV, and that HIV positive children are same as them."
New was born HIV-positive. Her mother passed away when she was 8 years old. Her father now has a new family. New lives with her grandparents. She says that the most problematic time in her life was when she was in grades 3 to 5. She was mercilessly mocked by her schoolmates, and at Grade 5 her mom passed away.
The mocking and taunting turned New into a fighter. She says she used to solve her problems by fighting with the other children. She got angry so easily. But drawing has helped her control her temper. "Now I am quite soft, not so short- tempered. At least I can control my temper better after learning how to draw," she says.
And art has also helped her understand herself. "Today, if I want to draw a picture of myself or think of myself, I think of a bonfire. I think of that because I am very short-tempered, and like fire I am very hot and have lots of power inside of me," she says.
But New is determined to use this power in positive ways. Generating hope, for instance. She points to a brightly-coloured picture of a bird and star and explains: "I drew it in bright colour because it is a star of hope. I want to reach the star of hope."
Drawing is a fairly recent pursuit for New. When she was a child, she dreamt of becoming a teacher. Now New wants to combine her childhood ambition with her new-found skills and become an art teacher.
When asked what she wanted to tell other children living with HIV, she answers, "don't lose hope." But to all others who are not infected, her message is: "I want to tell you that we can be friends. We are similar to normal kids? (END/IPSAP)
|
