Chinese village dying of AIDS neglected and left to rot 爱滋病蹂躏河南农村 中共任其自生自灭 AFP 20 March 01 Chinese village dying of AIDS neglected and left to rot by Cindy Sui BEIJING, March 20 (AFP) - Farmers at a village in central China riddled by AIDS say the local authorities are deliberately leaving them to die and have made a heart-rending plea to the government for help. Five months after the terrible plight of the village of Wenlou became public, both Chinese and international non-government groups have been prevented from visiting, NGO sources told AFP. Research by a local doctor has estimated that at least 65 percent of the 800-strong village in Henan province are HIV positive or have contracted AIDS, yet locals complain they are being denied even basic healthcare. Up to 60 people in the village have died from AIDS since 1997 and at least 300 have tested positive for HIV. And sources have also told AFP that doctors at a top military hospital in Beijing where many senior leaders are treated knew about the crisis in Wenlou, linked to filthy blood banks in the early 1990s, three years ago. Villagers this month sent three pleas for help to China's ministry of health, cabinet and parliament. "We are also human, also a part of society. Please put out a little bit of love and give us some sunshine," said one of the letters, signed by an AIDS sufferer near death. The villagers contracted the disease after selling blood to blood stations that re-used needles and pooled blood in huge tubs. The plasma was then taken out and the contaminated blood was pumped back into the donors. The cash at first brought prosperity -- mud-brick homes, school fees and taxes revenue -- but later a more deadly harvest. Since an AFP reporter visited the village in mid-November, 10 more people have died from AIDS, according to residents. "There are several families where both parents have died and the children are left to fend for themselves," said a village woman who brought the letters to Beijing. "In some families, both father and son have died. In others, both brothers died or kids were found to have AIDS after the mom died," one of the letters said. "People are very scared and nervous." The letters, written by the village chief and two AIDS patients, were sent after three village leaders were detained for trying to meet with county government officials. Rather than facing up to the problem, local authorities are trying to keep a lid on the issue because they fear they will be held responsible, say Wenlou residents. The central government also has been slow to act, NGO sources said, asking to remain anonymous to protect their work in the country. The sources said China is worried that allowing volunteers into the village will damage the country's image abroad. Months after the story became public, nobody has been sent by the government to test people in Wenlou or neighboring villages in Henan where residents also sold blood to gauge the magnitude of the problem. Families are struggling to pay for medicine, pay off debts on the medicine and buy basic supplies such as baby powder for a three-year-old boy suffering from AIDS, the letters say. The county set up a clinic in the village after the story hit major Chinese papers and provided free medicine for a handful of patients near death, but since then the clinic has rarely been open and villagers are charged for medical care. The village chief was stonewalled each time he went to the county office to ask for help. Not only do they refuse to see him, they once threw him out for fear they would get the disease, the letters say. Local officials refused to comment. Beijing's health ministry acknowledged receiving questions from AFP but did not respond. In one of the letters to the government, village chief Kong Wenxuan said villagers were encouraged to sell blood because of a shortage of donations nationwide. "Our county's health department and People's Hospital each set up a blood station. On the walls were written, 'Donating blood is glorious.' Propaganda material was filled with information on how donating blood would not harm the body," the letter said. Many families sold blood because they were poor and it was the only way to supplement their meager income from farming. In a short time, nearly 10,000 people in the county sold blood, Kong wrote. The central government has also yet to do a study on how many people were paid for blood before the practice was banned in 1998, but estimates run into tens of millions. There are some indications the government is starting to address the situation. Vice Premier Li Lanqing, who was contacted by volunteer doctor Gui Xien, called a meeting of AIDS experts. The government has also decided to increase the budget for AIDS prevention and treatment tenfold -- from the current 15 million yuan (1.8 million dollars) per year to 500 million yuan -- a source at a Chinese NGO said. "They'll definitely increase the budget, but they haven't decided how to spend the money," said Zeng Yi, head of one of the two biggest Chinese non-governmental organisations devoted to AIDS prevention. An additional one-time allotment of 700 million yuan will be used to build proper blood donation stations throughout the country, the source said. China conservatively estimates it has around 500,000 HIV carriers but UN experts have warned of more than 10 million cases by 2010 if the disease remains unchecked. Many of the villagers, resigned to death, are baffled as to why they have been denied basic help from the government. Reflecting the frustration of other villagers, the woman who came up to Beijing said with tears in her eyes: "If they still don't do anything, I'm going to take some medicine and kill myself in front of their government office." 爱滋病蹂躏河南农村 中共任其自生自灭 据法新社报道，华中河南省文楼村被爱滋病肆虐得百孔千疮，村民指地方政府故意对患者见 死不救。他们已向北京发出哀痛欲绝的请愿，恳求当局救救他们。 非政府组织 (ＮＧＯ) 人士告诉法新社说，文楼村的悲惨困境公诸于世五个月以来，中国大陆和国际间的民间团体 都被排拒在文楼村外。 据河南省一名医生的研究估计，文楼的八百多村民中至少有百分之六十五的人ＨＩＶ呈阳 性，也就是感染了爱滋病毒。但村民抱怨说，他们连起码的医疗照顾都没有。 自一九九七年以来，文楼村已有多达六十人死于爱滋病，另有至少三百人测试ＨＩＶ呈阳性 反应。 ＮＧＯ人士说，北京一所经常为高官看病的顶尖军医院的医师，早在三年前就听说文楼危机， 而且知道它与一九九０年代初期的血库不洁有关。 这个月，文楼村民写了三份请愿信，分别送交卫生部、国务院和全国人大。 其中一封有生命垂危爱滋病患签名的请愿信说：「我们也是人，也是社会的一分子。请发出 一点爱心，给我们一些阳光吧！」 文楼村民感染爱滋病是因为卖血给抽血站。抽血站重复使用针头，而且把几个人的血液抽进 同一个大针筒里。血浆取走后再用这个大针筒抽血，造成污染血液回流到卖血人身上。 许多人家卖血是因为贫穷，贴补种田微薄收入的唯一办法就是卖血。卖血收入带来了较好的 生活─建砖房、缴学费及付税，但最后带来了致命的结果。 自从法新社记者去年十一月中访问文楼村以来，已有十多名村民丧生。 一位携带请愿信前往北京的村妇说：「村子里有几户人家父母双亡，留下孩子们自生自灭。」 一封请愿信说：「有些家庭父亲和儿子都死了；还有些家庭兄弟无一幸存，或是母亲病逝而 她的小孩也检查出感染爱滋病。人们非常害怕紧张。」 三位文楼村长老曾试图求见县政府官员，却被阻挡在外。所以由村长和两名爱滋病患写了请 愿信，再专人持往北京。 文楼村居民指出，县政府不但不面对问题，还企图捂盖问题，因为他们怕负责任。 但北京的中央政府也迟迟不见行动。ＮＧＯ人士说，中共担忧国家形象受到损害，不敢允许 自愿工作者进入文楼村。 尽管文楼村危机已经外传了几个月，但政府当局迄今没有派遣人员，前往当地和附近的村庄 进行体检。据了解，这些村庄的居民也一直在卖血，可知问题的严重性超乎想像。 地方政府对有关文楼的问题一律拒绝评论。北京的卫生部承认收到法新社的提问，但不作回 应。