NEW DELHI: “At times, the first thought that crosses my mind after waking up is to commit suicide. I and my wife have been making the rounds of hospitals in vain. We want to be put out of our miseries now,” Liam Khan Mang told this correspondent with a heavy heart.
Mang and his wife, Nang Sian Vung, live in a ramshackle one-room flat, which hardly affords any space for movement, on Hastsal Road in Uttam Nagar.
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The refugee couple, belonging to the Chin community of Myanmar, has been battling Hepatitis C, but more than their struggle with the diseases, it is their vain bid to seek treatment at a government hospital in the city that has left them disillusioned.
“We were diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2014 and since 2015, we have been struggling to get ourselves treated at a government hospital. For five years and counting, we haven’t received even a drop of medicine for our ailment. Not one hospital was moved by our plight. We’ve no children and I don’t think our condition would ever allow us to plan one. I can’t help but wonder who’ll take care of us if, someday, our health takes a turn for the worse,” Mang said, choking between words.
After being diagnosed with the disease at a local clinic, Mang (44) and Vung (49) started treatment in 2015 at a super speciality hospital in Janakpuri. Mang said after visiting the hospital for some treatment sessions, they were referred to GTB Hospital.
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After some time, they were referred again to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and ILBS hospital, he said.
“They then referred us to GP Pant hospital. Earlier this month, the doctors transferred our cases, yet again, to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital. To be honest, we’re simply tired of this ordeal now. We’ve decided not to visit the LNJP anymore, as we fear they will refer us to another hospital,” Mang said.
In between, they did make an attempt to seek treatment at private clinics, but realised that the expenses were far beyond their humble means. While Mang’s medicine, at a single sitting at a clinic, costs in excess of `35,000, the one for his wife comes to around Rs 15,000.
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“We can’t spend so much money at a single sitting. We don’t have much to spare. Each of us get less than Rs 6,000 from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Forget medicines, we often wonder where our next meal is going to come from,” Mang said.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver damage. The virus spreads through contaminated blood. With barely any treatment so far, the couple are now battling other health problems as well.
“I have stomach ulcer and can’t even take medicines because of weakness,” Vung said.
Language is also a huge handicap for them. While Mang can utter some words, Vung doesn’t speak it at all. “Getting a job is, therefore, difficult. Some friends from Mizoram help us get daily wage work from time to time. We also find it hard to articulate our plight at hospitals,” Mang said.
The couple fled persecution in Myanmar in 2010 and arrived in India via Manipur. They knocked on the door of the UNHCR office in New Delhi and attained refugee status.