Jobs and skills: more answers to your questions
Cities and PPPs: I’ve got Ulaanbaatar on my mind
World Bank opens largest set of development data --for free and in several languages
As HIV/AIDS cases increase in the Philippines, so does activism
 |
| Photo from Aktionsbündnis gegen Aids through a Creative Commons license |
It was Christmas dinner two years ago, in 2010, among my gay friends. I just came back from an expat assignment in the US, and was greatly enjoying the uniquely Filipino way of celebrating the cheery season. Towards the end of that dinner, one of my close friends came up to me saying he wanted to speak with me in private.
The two of us went outside the restaurant, and in a dark corner of the parking lot he told me he wanted me to be among the first to know. Early that month, he had himself tested for HIV, and found out he was positive. I was so shocked that no words came out of my mouth, I remember just giving him the tightest hug I could, my mind blank, my heart racing, not knowing what to say or do next. He was my first close friend who came out to me as HIV-positive.