Hepatitis and Stigmatisation

O brother! O sister! Listen to this story

The world of a patient could be foggy

People isolate them from gatherings and shed

Stigmatise them even though they are a whole indeed

This is stigmatization in this era of science

Stigma is ugly my dear! Think of wellness and compromise

They feel ill, weak, sore and injured

Heartbroken, hopeless and disgusted

O my dear! Be good with them like you are with others

They are heartbroken, shipwrecked deep in ocean for many years

O dear! What’s up? What we are saying?

Are we talking about a painful patient and worrying?

Listen and feel painful story for them

Patients are burning from root and stem

God forbid! If I got hepatitis one day

Jaundiced, yellow-eyed, headache and pain in the body

Hepatitis B in my liver and latent

Never get suspicious as I am no consultant

No shame! Going urgently to my doctor

My liver needs to get rid of this burden

Firstly, no one should isolate me because of hepatitis

No one should stigmatise me because of the status

I need soothing and your reassurance

To restore my health, your help and patience

Secondly, and thanks god! I am not sick now

Not useless, disabled and fed up, wow!

Let’s exercise together

Good for the body and liver

Take plenty of healthy food plus vegetables and fruits

Avoid alcohol, fast food and cigarettes

Good eating, good feeling, good thoughts are the key

Weak body, bad eating and addiction pose you on your knee

Hepatitis B and C or any other illness and calamity

May be away from our body to keep us healthy

A poem by Farhad Zahidi on hepatitis B and Stigmatisation in Hazaragi

Translated into English by Amir Ansari