Min Mareerat's Story
Our family’s love and understanding are magic drugs that encourage us to fight our problems. I want to give moral support to people who have HIV like me so they can be strong and rely on themselves.
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I am a woman living with HIV for about nine years already. I am 30 years old and have two children. My first husband, whom I married at age 16, died and I did not know why. My second husband died from meningitis when I was 21, so I went for a blood test and found out I was positive. I think I got infected by my first husband because I always used condoms with the second one.
Since then, I have tried to stay alive for my family, whose love and support strengthens me. When I first knew I was infected, my father joined the self-help group and sent herbs to me. Since then, I have always taken these traditional Thai herbs: Pha Talai Jon and Mara Khee Nok. I painted them as capsules in my stomach, along with the good food I eat.
The messages of colours
I do have hope fuelling me to live and do everything for my children. When I am mentally down I usually turn to Dharma because I am a Buddhist. I step forward with Buddha’s teaching in all my soul and heart. Yellow is the colour I used for this, above me, in me, and where I take each step. My blue hands mean stability and hope. One purple foot shows that our lives are not always happy, there are obstacles. The blue foot shows that, even when we do wrong, we can fix it and get back on track.
I love nature. My home is in a valley surrounded by mountains, which always make me feel animated every time I look at them. This is the place where I can find herbs for my healthcare and treatment. This is what the green in my picture means.
My two arms are devoted to my children’s future. I wish to secure their future by giving them good educations so they can count on themselves, flying ahead like independent butterflies. When I first learned I was positive, I thought I would not live long. I was hoping then for just three more years to live, so I could save money for my children. Many years have passed since then and I am still fine.
A strong mind
I think I am now firm and tough, both physically and mentally. My two legs walk ahead with confidence to do what my heart says and do it with strong intention. HIV is giving me mental power and strength to work for social acceptance and equal rights, to walk together in peace without discrimination.
My face is a shining red sun, showing my work to guide other HIV-positive people. Under the sun, there are two hands holding each other. This means cooperation in every way. The many people in the circle on the right show togetherness among positive and negative people. The five star heart means harmony. The tablets under the heart mean that even though our bodies are weak and need medicines, we still have strong minds. The blue circle is the virus, the red and green are HIV cells dividing. The clock over my stomach means eating on time, getting enough sleep, and eating organic, healthy things, and taking time for life. The roads painted inside my legs show my life path moving ahead with hope to reach my goals.
Our family’s love and understanding are magic drugs that encourage us to fight our problems. I want to give moral support to people who have HIV like me so they can be strong and rely on themselves.