China's drug rehab center brings hope for HIV-infected drug addicts

HANGZHOU, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Accompanied by lively Chinese folk tunes, a group of men were playing the tambourine at a party on Saturday evening in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

Those watching could hardly have imagined that the energetic performers,all dressed in red and white costumes, were drug addicts who were also infected with HIV, even if the duplicate short crew cuts they wore somehow provided a hint of their unusual condition.

One of the performers, surnamed Yue, said the group had practiced for more than a month to stage the best possible performance at the annual party of the drug rehab center, which fell on June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

As China's first drug rehab agency to offer centralized treatment of HIV-infected addicts, the center has helped some 200 addicts beat their drug habits since 2003.

Among 2,200 drug users receiving compulsory treatment in the center, 65 have tested positive for HIV.

Now, they must obey a regular daily schedule, including three meals, physical exercise, entertainment and skill training that will enable them to earn a living after returning to their regular lives.

"I've adapted well to the regular life in the center. My physical and mental conditions are getting better,"said Yue, 34, who contracted HIV after sharing syringes with other drug users.

Yue began using drugs in his hometown in southwestern Guizhou Province. After seeking a job in Zhejiang, he tried to kick the habit, but failed.

"The infection of HIV doubled my misery. Fortunately, I've gone through the hardest time in my life following the one-year free treatment here. Now I just want to live," he said.

Unlike other drug addicts, many of those who are infected with HIV were forced into being admitted to the rehab center against their wills. Further, some even exhibited their intentions of taking revenge on society, said Ni Zhanwen, a police officer in charge of the center's management of HIV-infected inmates.

In November 2008, a newcomer scratched the face of Ni's predecessor, Wang Jianxin, causing him to bleed.

Wang was taken to the provincial center for disease control and prevention. He was asked to take medicine and be tested for HIV, which could be transmitted through blood.

But Wang came back to work three hours later. "If I quit the job, the inmates would've felt discriminated. That would have just added more difficulty to the center's work in the future," he said.

In the past, police in the center wore protective clothing, gloves and gauze masks to prevent infection, due to a poor understanding of HIV, thus losing the trust of some inmates.

"We took off the protective outfits immediately after realizing the problem. But I've been concerned that the management staff could contract the virus in a bleeding fight or other accidents. Luckily, it has never occurred," Ni said.

Besides potential health hazards, the center's police officers also suffered discrimination from others.

A 27-year-old police officer, surnamed Meng, said his girlfriend left him after the girl's parents learned he worked in the drug rehab center.

Last year, some 173,000 drug addicts were forced into treatment in China while 68,000 former addicts had stayed drug-free for more than three years, according to figures released in March in the 12th annual report on controlling drugs by the National Narcotics Control Commission.

Statistics from a national database showed the county had about 1.33 million registered drug addicts by the end of 2009.

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