ID 1075

Hello. I am Latina, Guatemalan. And what I want to share with you is an experience that is not mine, about HIV /AIDS, which yes, was caused by risks that a young girl took. I remember when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old, I had a cousin who was engaged in prostitution. She worked at a "night club." And well, as I spent my time working, she told me once, "Look, cousin, why do you sacrifice yourself so much? I work in a place where I earn money very easily, you see? And I don't break my back like you. Don't you want to join?" And I worked in an Igloo. And she was called "La Colorina." My cousin was very pretty, and said to me, "Don't you want to come?" She invited me. I said "No," since I was a girl of 13 or 14, right? She told me, "Don't be embarrassed, there you will make money very easily." "I have my things, look, and I do not need to break my back that much." But no, I did not listen to her. And we played together, because she was pretty young. And I dedicated myself to improving, working, and studying. Over the years, when she was 33 years old she began to get sick. She became very thin, no longer went out. Her life was over. And then, passed away. And now when I think about the way she died, had suffered, suffered, my cousin suffered for that, I wonder what if in that moment I would have listened to her as an ignorant, innocent young woman. If I had listened to my cousin, my fate would have been the same. I would have been sick, dead from a disordered life, would I not? Although one is not free from danger because with your husband, you can be exposed. No offense to men, but they live very sexually untidy lives and sometimes they don't use protection. I think it is because in a moment of pleasure, perhaps they do not think. And a wife at home can get HIV/AIDS without knowing it because of her husbands' unfaithfulness. But it's good to be careful and talk, communicate with your partner. And I share this story of my childhood because I would not be here telling you this, perhaps, if I had listened to my cousin, and would have had the same fate as she. And that's what I wanted to share. So everyone, take care of yourselves because it is something that can happen, contracting that deadly disease. Thank you very much.