But, have you heard of the "Museum of Life"?No, it's not another song done by Avril Lavigne. In fact, it is not a song at all!
What I am talking about is Thailand's Life Museum.
Now what is so interesting about this museum is that, unlike the other museums that we go to, that has photos and antiques of the past, this museum actually has corpses of humans displayed there!
These are not normal humans, but actually of those who suffer from Aids. Working alongside this museum, is a temple called "Aids Temple". This temple was initially a Buddhist Temple, but was later converted "into a small hospice to care for fully blown AIDS patients".
If you want to read more about the temple, and would like to lend a helping hand, Click Here!
You can also watch a video of a documentary done with a few patients living in the temple.
Do read the website as it has many interesting facts about the reason as to why "Thailand is ranked as the Fourth in terms of most AIDS patients per head of population".
Simplified version:
- Rural area, education level is low, thus farmers have no idea as to how to protect themselves against Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
- "It has long been in the Thai culture for men to sleep with prostitutes". The females are mainly the wives who contracted the diseases from their husbands. In turn, the kids are affected.
- "Thailand is a society where conservative appearances are deceiving. Drug use is rampant and there is virtually no education towards the use of needles".
- "The support for AIDS patients is negligible". Families are basically afraid of catching AIDS by being around the AIDS infected ones.
Sad but true.
Read more of it here!
* The ones that are placed "like this" are quotes lifted off of the site.
Anyway, as we all know, AIDS is not a joking matter. And to end this post, I would like to "enlighten" you by displaying photographs of the life in the museum and temple. The bodies were donated to the Life Museum by AIDS patients that have passed away.
Here goes.
These are cremation ovens.
And these are the thousands and thousands of bags of ashes. These are the ashes of the HIV patients.
"9 Thais die from AIDS every hour. 500 Thais contract HIV every day. It is estimated that there are one million HIV positive people in Thailand", as said by Dr. Alongkot Dikkapanyo.
Speaking of innocent children who die, this is Panida Kumrat. She was one year, three months and 21 days old when she passed away. Her mother had infected her with the deadly virus.
This is also another child, James, who died at the age of five.
This is the corpse of Miraporn Chindatong. "She died of AIDS at the age of 24. She was infected by "providing sex" as it says on her vitreous coffin. Miraporn's last will had been to donate her body to science, for "educational means" to help others".
Now if you think that contracting AIDS is a joke, then see how this man suffer(ed) as he spend his last few days in struggle. There is in fact, 10 000 people who are on the waiting list to get care and a bed in the hospice.
Now on more photos. I'll let them to the talking, or at least the frightening.
*Credits: - http://www.aidstemple.th.org/Historytemple.html
- http://www.pbase.com/cyberholz/temple
AND TO SHARIFAH RAUDAH WHO EMAILED ME ABOUT THIS MUSEUM! (see?!!?!?!? Hahah)
Take care of yourself. Love not only yourself, but your family.
Loves.
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