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Elizabeth Shay 6B3

The Pain of Discrimination

Larissa crouched down under the window of the tiny country church,

straining to hear what the pastor was saying. She really wished she could

go inside. For as long as she could remember, she had been an outsider;

excluded from everything she wanted to be a part of, simply because she

had AIDS.

Larissa got up as the congregation began to sing the closing hymn. She

did not want the people of the town to know that she had been outside

listening. She quickly walked away. To her dismay, however, she realized

that three boys were following her. She tried her best to outrun them, butthe stones hurt her bare feet and her malnourished body would not allow

her to run quickly enough. As they surrounded her she covered her face

with her hands, resigning herself to the fate that awaited her.

Larissa, the AIDS girl! they jeered. They pushed and shoved her. She

felt sad that people only touched her in actions of hate. Finally, the boys

had had enough fun and they walked off laughing, leaving Larissa on the

ground hastily wiping away her tears. She heard footsteps behind her. It

was Mrs. Gayle, a deacons wife. Larissa looked up at her, hoping Mrs.Gayle would say the words of comfort she longed to hear. Instead, Mrs.

Gayle frowned at her and in a cold voice said, You dont belong here.

Leave and stop making trouble.

Larissa got up and walked quickly away under the watchful eye of Mrs.

Gayle. She walked towards the grocery store, wondering why people

could be so mean, and dreading the thought of going to the store.

As she walked through the door, all the chattering ceased. People who

had just been pushing and shoving in the line, so they could be served

first, quickly moved back, so they would be as far as possible from her.

Larissa hung her head in shame as the store proprietor served her with

gloves on, ensuring that his hands did not touch hers. She walked out of

the store, clutching a loaf of bread, relieved to be out of the

uncomfortable atmosphere.

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After a long walk Larissa finally reached the small shack she called home.

It was dilapidated. The wood was termite eaten and the sheets of zinc

were rusty. Her grandmother had told her that they had once lived in a

nicer home, but the people of the town had forced them to live on theoutskirts of town. Larissa had not been old enough to remember the

incident, but she did not have to ask why the people of the town wanted

them far away. She was not able to go to school either, the school board

had decided that it was too much of a risk; she might contaminate the

other children.

Larissa sighed as she opened the door. Her grandmother sat rocking in a

chair. Hello, Grandma, she said.

Chile, yuh home. Tank GOD! her grandmother exclaimed.

We ave bread to eat, Larissa said.

Good let us eat, her grandmother told her. Although they only had

bread to eat, Larissa was happy. There were many times when she had

had to go to bed hungry.

Grandma, mi stop by di church today.

Tell mi wa di pasta seh, her grandmother asked.

Im seh we nuh fi ate one anodda, an we nuh fi old anyting gainst

anybody, Larissa told her.

Wah di pasta seh a true, the old lady told her. Dats why mi nuh like.

Grandma, mi nuh want talk bout dat, begged Larissa.

But, Larissa, her grandmother pleaded.

Grandma, mi just cyah fogive di people o dis town, an mi modda, she

wept bitterly. Sometime mi nuh even understand di point o di people

dem a go a church. Dem go an listen to di message, den dem treat wi

bad. Ah no my fault mi have AIDS.

Larissa got up and ran outside. She ran, tears blurring her vision, until

she reached a grassy area behind the house, which was the family plot.She sank down into the grass next to a tombstone and began to pour her

heart out.

Roga, why yuh haffi leave mi? Yuh were mi only fren. Dats why mi cyah

fogive har, cause she gi it to both o we. Mi know seh mi a go join yuh

soon. Every day mi body get weaka. An Roga, me feel even worse when

di people say awful tings bout me. Oh Roga, Roga. Larissa wept

uncontrallably as she poured out her heart. Roger, her brother had died

two years earlier from AIDS.

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Shh, Larissa, dont cry, Larissas grandmother, said. Yuh modda did

love yuh an she did sorry seh she give yuh an yuh brodda AIDS.

Grandma, deep down mi know seh she neva mean it, but it hard to

fogive har, Larissa wept.Mi know chile, mi know. The old lady bent down and placed some

flowers on her daughters grave. Mrs. Brown looked down at her

granddaughter. She wondered how people could cause each other so

much pain. Larissa was so young and had to deal with this awful disease.

Many people treated her as if she were the disease; insensitive to the fact

that she was a normal child who just needed to be understood. Mrs.

Brown felt so overwhelmed by the fact that she could not shield Larissa

from the hurt and the pain. She began to cry. Nuh worry Larissa, di Lawd

will help us, di Lawd will help us. The two wept under the moonlit sky as

they embraced, for each other was all they had.

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10/11/2008 18:04:00

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10/11/2008 18:04:00