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- Norberto Paredes
- BBC Spanish Correspondent
Image source,Christopher Klettermayer
The man under the alias Philipp Spiegel spoke about AIDS in an interview.
“As a straight white male from Western Europe, I never thought my HIV test would be positive.” Christopher Klettermayer, 38, an Austrian, found himself infected with HIV in 2014. He used the pseudonym Philipp Spiegel to speak about AIDS and give interviews.
This day seems to have happened yesterday, and you still remember it fresh.
At the time, he was not in Austria, but in India, working in photojournalism, and was about to enter a Hindu monastery.
As a condition of entering the temple, he was asked to take an AIDS test. “Of course I agreed. As a straight, white male, I thought it would be feminine,” Christopher told the BBC, “but it isn’t.”
Due to the prejudice that has existed in society for many years, a positive HIV test result associates it with gay men, intravenous drugs, or African countries. Christopher returned to Austria a few months before testing positive, he felt bad, but never thought about AIDS. “No doctor is willing to test me because I am not in any risk group. My diagnosis in India was purely accidental, which surprised me. In fact, I am very lucky because I may not be tested for several years. . “
“Extended challenge”
Image source,fake images
The United Nations believes that the impact of the new museum’s epidemic has increased the challenges of AIDS prevention and control work.
On the occasion of the commemoration of World AIDS Day, Christopher shared his story. In this year, the world’s attention focused on another epidemic. The United Nations warned that the new corona pandemic has exacerbated the inequality of existing treatment opportunities and further threatened the progress of AIDS prevention and treatment.
In 2019, 690,000 people worldwide died of AIDS-related diseases. UNAIDS said that due to the impact of the new corona epidemic on treatment, it may cause an additional 120,000 to 300,000 deaths from AIDS. Among the 38 million people estimated to be living with HIV, as of June 2020, there are still 12 million people who have not received high-throughput anti-HIV treatment opportunities (commonly known as “cocktail” therapy).
“Although we have made extraordinary progress in the last 40 years, we have to continue to invest. If we don’t, we will lose what we have achieved.” Birgit Poniatovs, Executive Director of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Dr Birgit Poniatowski told the BBC.
He said that HIV has a disproportionate impact on developing countries, and the belief that certain groups are unlikely to be infected is a “misunderstanding.” “One thing about the 40-year AIDS epidemic is very clear, and that is that this disease is not discriminatory. All countries have people living with HIV, their age group, race, ethnicity, gender, occupation, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Not the same. “
Unprotected heterosexual sex remains an important mode of AIDS transmission. This is the case in South Africa, the country most affected by AIDS. “Unprotected sexual contact is not the only way to get AIDS. Sharing or reusing needles also accounts for a large proportion of the world, accounting for 10% of all infected people worldwide,” said Dr. Poniatowski . .
Image source,fake images
Unprotected heterosexual sex remains an important mode of communication.
“because I”?
“At first I was scared and had a lot of questions about what AIDS is,” Christopher said. “‘Because I?’ I realized that I had to get rid of all the clichés from the 80s / 90s about the perception of the virus in my mind and bring them into the 21st century. “
Christopher believes that admitting that he is HIV positive is a big problem for heterosexual men, and has something to do with masculinity.
“Many heterosexual men do not disclose the results of their HIV antibody tests because they fear being considered homosexual or addicted to drugs,” he said. He was very afraid of being seen or treated differently, so he adopted the pseudonym Philipp Spiegel for interviews.
But over time, as it gradually became accepted, he gave up the practice of using pseudonyms. “The more I face myself, the more I challenge the view of sex and men, the less I value it,” Christopher said. “At this point, I said to myself: ‘Never mind, this is not the end of the world.’
“I feel toxic”
Although there is still no cure for AIDS, the current treatment to suppress the virus, antiretroviral therapy, allows most people with the virus to live long and healthy lives. Dr. Poniatowski said that the virus has, in fact, been suppressed so that people who cannot be tested cannot transmit HIV to another person, not even through sex.
Image source,fake images
People who have suppressed the virus so that they cannot be tested cannot transmit HIV to another person, not even through sex.
“If you are taking antiretroviral drugs and they work well, you will not infect other people,” he said.
As soon as Christopher received treatment, he noticed the positive effects on his body. However, it took him several years to change his mind. Things like dating become “almost impossible, because HIV will destroy your confidence.”
“For a while I felt that there was something strange in my body. I felt that it was poisonous, just like my blood and my sperm were poisonous. I felt that it was a risk for those I wanted to get close to, like my lover.”
In the end, Christopher decided that he should use “his privileges” to educate and inspire others. You live in a country where you have fewer problems after becoming infected with HIV.
“I realized that if I can’t say I have HIV, who can know?”
“Lottery” reaction
Christopher said the scariest thing people living with HIV face is that you never know how people will react when you tell them you are positive. He said, “It’s like buying a lottery.” He added that he has seen various reactions.
“A positive experience is when I ask a girl, ‘If I told you that I am HIV positive, how would you react?’ She just smiled and said, it makes things more interesting,” he said.
Image source,Christopher Klettermayer
For Christopher, love is the key to overcoming fear of stigma.
“But some people immediately asked me: ‘Will I be contagious if I kiss?'” HIV is transmitted through blood and cannot be transmitted from one person to another through spitting, sneezing, coughing, etc. can be transmitted through kissing or general spread of social contact.
For Christopher, love is the key to overcoming fear of stigma.
“I saw how he treated me, the virus problem does not exist. It is only one pill a day.”
He said a common “misunderstanding” is that HIV “rules” the lives of infected people.
“Sometimes my family and friends have completely forgotten that I have the virus, because it is not a problem at all.” He said, “I’m not like that. Carrying HIV is just part of me.”
“I am happier now than before I contracted HIV”
Christopher said the experience of the infection gave him the opportunity to reflect on life and see things from a bigger perspective. “I live longer in the present. I live happier than before I got HIV,” he said.
In art, this also gave him a goal, which is to write a book about the lives of people living with HIV. Christopher ignored the question of whether it is recommended that people who test positive for AIDS antibodies reveal their identity.
“Depending on the different countries or regions, and even the family environment in which they grew up, the recommendations will be different. I know that some people are excluded by their families because they are positive,” he said.
However, he said, “There is no point in feeling guilty or ashamed for being positive. Take your time. Be patient and accept its existence. Let AIDS take its place in your life, but don’t let it take over. You. The choice is yours “.
Christopher has one last suggestion: “Know all about this, knowledge can dispel fear.”
