SOMALIA-ETHIOPIA: Mamo Tukuye, "I would like to die at home with my family"
BOSASSO, 2 March 2010 (PLUSNEWS) - Mamo Tukuye, a migrant from Ethiopia, is one of thousands in Bosasso, commercial capital of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland. He came to Puntland hoping to reach Yemen and from there the Gulf States. He made it to Yemen once but was intercepted by Yemeni forces, who turned him away, and he returned to Somalia.
In December 2009, Tukuye fell ill and went to hospital for a routine check-up. During consultations with the medical staff, he agreed to be tested for HIV and the test came back positive, which shocked him. He spoke to IRIN about the psychological turmoil he experienced when he learnt of his HIV-positive status:
"When the doctor told me that I was HIV-positive I was so scared I could hardly say a word. I have no relatives here [in Somalia], I am all alone and I know you cannot go through this kind of thing alone. Even the friends I had are running away from me, scared that I may give them the disease.
"The first thing that came to my mind was killing myself. I have seen and heard the suffering people go through when they have this disease; I do not know what to do. Even if I can get the medication for it, I don't have anything to eat. I did not have dinner last night and I did not have breakfast this morning. There are days I don't eat anything.
"I sometimes find myself going to the beach and want to walk into the water and let the sea swallow me up. I came here to look for a better life and look what I got! It is as if someone is playing a cruel joke on me. I want to live but without help I don't see how. If I got some help to return to my country I would.
"I would like to die at home with my family."
ah/mw[END]
BOSASSO, 2 March 2010 (PLUSNEWS) - Mamo Tukuye, a migrant from Ethiopia, is one of thousands in Bosasso, commercial capital of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland. He came to Puntland hoping to reach Yemen and from there the Gulf States. He made it to Yemen once but was intercepted by Yemeni forces, who turned him away, and he returned to Somalia.
In December 2009, Tukuye fell ill and went to hospital for a routine check-up. During consultations with the medical staff, he agreed to be tested for HIV and the test came back positive, which shocked him. He spoke to IRIN about the psychological turmoil he experienced when he learnt of his HIV-positive status:
"When the doctor told me that I was HIV-positive I was so scared I could hardly say a word. I have no relatives here [in Somalia], I am all alone and I know you cannot go through this kind of thing alone. Even the friends I had are running away from me, scared that I may give them the disease.
"The first thing that came to my mind was killing myself. I have seen and heard the suffering people go through when they have this disease; I do not know what to do. Even if I can get the medication for it, I don't have anything to eat. I did not have dinner last night and I did not have breakfast this morning. There are days I don't eat anything.
"I sometimes find myself going to the beach and want to walk into the water and let the sea swallow me up. I came here to look for a better life and look what I got! It is as if someone is playing a cruel joke on me. I want to live but without help I don't see how. If I got some help to return to my country I would.
"I would like to die at home with my family."
ah/mw[END]
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