By JILLO KADIDA
Each morning a 35-year-old Zimbabwean refugee wheels his young disabled sister to the city centre. He parks her wheelchair at a busy intersection and they start begging for money and food.
But Tapfuma* doesn’t only need food to keep him alive. He also needs antiretrovirals (ARVs).
Tapfuma discovered his HIV status early this year. He went to Médecins San Frontières (MSF) for help and doctors sent him to a clinic in Hillbrow, saying that he would be given treatment there. But it was not that simple.
“One of the health workers said: ‘You foreigners! We don’t have time for you. Go seek help elsewhere.'”
In despair Tapfuma returned to the one-room flat he shares with his sister and wondered what to do next. He didn’t know that the Hillbrow nurse was disobeying a government directive when she refused to treat him.
Under the directive, issued by the Department of Health in 2007, all refugees and asylum seekers — whether they have documentation or not — have the right to access primary and emergency healthcare. This includes ARVs.
Luckily for Tapfuma, a friend recommended another clinic that agreed to treat him. Now, at least, he is given ARVs. He also receives a monthly allowance of R200 from the Jesuit Refugee Service. It all helps, but only a little.
“Some days I am too weak even to wheel my sister, but I have no option. I don’t have a job and I am taking strong medication that can work only if I have a proper diet. That is why I need to beg to survive.”
Few people understand Tapfuma’s predicament. Sometimes he and his wheelchair-bound sister are harassed by the police. Once a motorist told them they were a “nuisance” and threatened to run them over.
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