Kabar duka datang malam tadi. Seorang teman kembali berpulang.
Moyong, teman di dunia HIV/AIDS dan adiksi, yang mengabarkannya lewat Facebook. “Selamat Jalan kawan, aku hanya bisa mengantarmu sampai disini.
Merasakan Beban Ganda Anak-anak ODHA
Rasanya pengen nangis lihat anak-anak itu.
Sebenarnya, mereka biasanya ceria. Setidaknya begitu kata teman-teman yang menemaniku liputan hari ini. Namun, pas aku ke sana, ternyata dua anak ini lagi sakit.
Anak pertama, sebut saja Putu Bagus, berusia 7 tahun. Bapaknya sudah meninggal. Murid kelas I ini tinggal dengan ibu dan kakek neneknya di Desa Kesiut, Kecamatan Kerambitan, Tabanan, sekitar 65 km utara Denpasar.
Dia baru pulang sekolah ketika aku dan kawan-kawan Yakeba tiba di rumahnya. Dia terlihat tanpa gairah. Tatapan matanya kosong. Wajahnya tanpa senyum sama sekali. Suhu tubuhnya lebih panas ketika aku meraba dahinya.
Remembering an innovative rights advocate
Published @ Asia Catalyst Blog
After three weeks of hospitalization, Bali and Indonesia’s best-known drug user rights advocate I Gusti Ngurah Wahyunda passed away in early March. Wahyu, 31 years old, was the founder of the Indonesian Drug User Solidarity Association (IDUSA) and coordinator of Ikatan Korban Napza (IKON), a network of drug victims in Bali.
I honor him as a friend, activist, and an innovative fighter who built a movement to defend the human rights of drug users.
Berbaringlah, Kawan. Berbaringlah dengan Tenang..
Seorang kawan telah berpulang. Ketika membaca SMS Gendo dan Moyong, Sabtu pagi lalu pukul 5.30an Wita, aku hanya bisa menyesali diri. Aku seharusnya di sana. Ikut mengantarkan akhir hidup seorang kawan itu, Wahyunda. Dia kembali menghadap Sang Hyang Widhi untuk entah kapan akan kembali bereinkarnasi.
Jumat malam sekitar pukul 8, aku mendapat SMS dari Gendo. Dia mengabarkan kondisi Wahyu yang kritis di Rumah Sakit Sanglah. Wahyu sudah dirawat di Sanglah sejak tiga minggu sebelumnya karena diare dan komplikasi lain-lain. Aku ingin ke Sanglah malam itu. Tapi niat ini aku batalkan karena kepalaku pusing bukan kepalang.
Perginya Satu Kaki Rehabilitasi
SMS dari Mercya Minggu kemarin mengejutkan. Bob telah pergi. Aku tidak terlalu akrab dengan Bob. Kami hanya sesekali ngobrol kalau ketemu. Namun, bagiku, Bob adalah paman bagi para pecandu ataupun mantan pecandu Napza di Bali. Aku tanya ke beberapa teman untuk kemudian aku yakin benar. Bob telah pergi..
Maka, yakinlah aku. Bali kehilangan paman para mantan pecandu narkotika, psikotropika, dan zat adiktif lain (Napza), Bob Monkhouse. Uncle Bob, demikian panggilan akrabnya, meninggal Minggu sore kemarin di Tabanan akibat serangan jantung.
Indonesian AIDS Policy: "On the ground" Isn't as Good as "On Paper"
by Anton Muhajir
Published at Asia Report
For Agus, fictitious name, the end of life was not the end of a journey. As a former injection drug user (IDU), he faced a new problem when he passed away. Two days ago, the IDU died from complications arising from AIDS. Often in Bali, a person who dies is the responsibility of not only their families, but also of the traditional local community, called banjar.
Normally, this care consists of bathing, burying, cremation, and a traditional farewell ceremony. But not for Agus. Agus’s body was rejected not only by his family, but by his community, as well.
Tak Sebagus Konsep di Atas Kertas
Laporan pertamaku untuk Asia Catalyst, organisasi pemantau masalah HAM dan HIV/AIDS di Asia yang berbasis di New York. Februari ini aku mulai kerja magang buat mereka setelah proses pendekatan, nglamar, dan kemudian urus tetek bengek kecil lainnya. Kerjanya secara online: riset, diskusi, dan mengirim laporan ke mereka.
Lumayan buat menambah jaringan dan pengalaman..
'Kafe' are HIV hotspots: Official
Anton Muhajir, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Sat, 01/03/2009 10:33 AM | Bali
The growing popularity of kafe (local bars) across Bali has made the island more vulnerable to the spread of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), as the outlets also serve as a front for prostitution, a senior health official warns.
“The kafe have became not only places to relax but also places to solicit sexual transactions,” Bali AIDS Commission (KPS) spokesperson Mangku Karmaya said at a year-end press briefing earlier this week.
Quiz commemorates efforts in harm reduction and founding of NGO
Anton Muhajir, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 12/18/2008 11:18 AM | Bali
I Made Suartama closed his eyes as he listened to a challenge posed by Yusuf Pribadi.
“Name one government institution that provides harm reduction services,” Pribadi asked.
A kentongan (bamboo drum) was sounded by Suartama’s friend, signaling his readiness to answer the question.
HIV, poverty add up to hardship
Anton Muhajir, Contributor, Karangasem | Mon, 12/01/2008 10:59 AM | Bali
Life for Ketut Sari (not her real name) is more than complicated. The 25-year-old has to struggle not only with poverty but also with the deadly HIV inside her body.
Living in one of the island’s poorest and most isolated hamlets does nothing to help her situation.
