What is your fourteen-year-old doing? No, I’m not on an anti-drug campaign, but I ask that question in light of how our fourteen-year-old friend, Abigail, spent her afternoon. The uncle that raped her is currently in jail for the offense, which alleviates only some of the stress of the situation.
Abigail has not gone to the clinic since she first found out she was pregnant, and she is more than seven months along. Given the stage of her pregnancy, her age, and the circumstances surrounding the conception, she would not be able to go to the clinic without receiving the third degree. So, Pastor Gift suggested we take her to the police station, and partner her with a social worker in order to get a waiver explaining there were special circumstances, and the police are already involved.
Unfortunately, the social worker was in another town tending to some of their cases. We sat there for close to an hour before our efforts were confirmed to be futile. Her case is already being handled by another social worker, so they were not allowed to get involved. The officer suggested we go to the clinic anyway, and just explain that we had just come from the police office.
So off we went to the Lubuli Clinic–the same clinic we took baby Moses to back in February ’08. Again, we hit a wall. The nurses said she was beyond the point of receiving any aid from a clinic, and would need to go to a hospital for scans. The problem today was that the nearest hospital with a scan machine is nearly an hour away. It was already too late in the afternoon to be able to go.
Additionally, the nurse said they have her HIV results, but she is not interested in seeing them. For many Swazis, the term “ignorance is bliss” seems the best approach when dealing with HIV testing. With Abigail pregnant as young as she is, there are so many variables regarding her future. Many girls in her situation choose to forfeit an honorable, yet difficult life after the birth, and instead, pursue prostitution as a means of survival. With HIV issues, many young girls are also high suicide risks. The decision to find out her status has to be completely up to her, and it is very dangerous to force her one way or another.
The risks of not knowing clearly out-weigh, in our western thinking, but that is not how many Swazis perceive it. For them, enlightenment with a positive status, is basically a death sentence–they feel like there is no hope. Without knowing, though, they can carry on as if they are fine–again, ignorance is bliss. What many of them don’t realize, is that with knowledge can also come a better way of life. They are able to get the proper treatment earlier on, and possibly prolong a healthier way of life.
So now, Abigail is faced with a lot of choices–far too many, and too mature for her tender age.
