LOVING AND LIVING WITH THE DISEASE Man infected with HIV wants to help community

When the family of Moses Saburo learned that he was infected with HIV, they were shocked and devastated. In the first place, older sister Faustina and Moses made them believe that he’s suffering from cancer after he returned from the mainland.

It was only during a family gathering two months ago that Faustina and Moses, who are the closest among the siblings, revealed to the whole clan that their younger brother was HIV positive.

After guarding his deepest secret for two years, Moses, 39, felt like a huge concrete slab was taken off his chest. His family rallied behind him and encouraged him to come forward to stir people’s awareness on the deadly disease.

“Their love and support gave me so much courage to go on and share my story,” said Moses, the first person on the island to admit publicly that he is HIV positive, finally giving a human face on the disease that is threatening the community.

Concerned about the increasing number of HIV cases in the CNMI, Moses broke his silence hoping that others would learn from his story. “I would like to share my experience with you in the hope that someone will listen, learn from this and live without HIV,” he said.

Moses is urging other people infected with the deadly virus to come out in the open and help in the fight against AIDS.

Unfair

Although Moses was not born in Saipan, he grew up on this island and has considered this his home. The Saburo family has migrated here in the late 1960s from Palau.

In 1987, Moses went to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher at the University of Berkeley in California where he lived with an American family who had adopted him.

And then, he fell in love. Moses had a relationship for four years, unsuspecting that the woman he loved was infected with the HIV virus. In 1996 his live-in partner died of AIDS, an incurable disease characterized by the weakening of the immune system.

“The only time I found out she was infected was when she died of AIDS. I learned from this experience that you can never tell when someone has HIV because they can look and feel better even when they are infected with the virus and by fully trusting someone does not give you immunity from this disease,” he added.

In January 1998, Moses decided to return to Saipan after his medical tests showed that he’s infected with HIV.

A lot of times, Moses said he was very angry because he could not believe that the disease would hit him. “I feel that it’s not fair since I was trying my best to do the right thing. No one really understands exactly how I am feeling,” he said.

Message

In his work as a volunteer at the Department of Public Health’s AIDS program, Moses became more aware of the extent of the problem in the CNMI.

His message: “If you want your dreams to come true, learn more about HIV and protect yourself. Don’t shatter your dream with one minute of pleasure.”

Moses said people infected with the virus should be honest and responsible enough to tell their partners that they’re afflicted with the disease. “This will not be easy but it will help them get the help they need and avoid spreading HIV to others. Be honest and loving and avoid spreading it to others,” he added.

“Avoid sharing needles, whether you inject drug or use them for tattoos or body piercing since it puts one at risk of becoming HIV-infected,” he said.

Family support

“I felt so bad, I cried when I learned about my brother’s condition. He was so full of life and has so many dreams,” said Kaled Dulai Saburo, older brother of Moses.

Kaled said he will be helping his brother in the information drive to prevent the spread of the disease. “We want the people to learn from Moses’s story. Just like many of them, he has a dream which was immediately cut off by his sickness,” he said.

At first, Kaled was scared about losing his friends if they found out that his brother is HIV positive. But the love for his family is much greater.

“Friends come and go, but my family comes first,” he said.