Leprosy: Fight Against Social Discrimination
FR VIJAYAKUMAR RAYARALA, PIME
Visitors who come to Swarga Dwar, a rehabilitation centre for leprosy patients, often ask the same question: “Father, are there still leprosy patients today?” Compared to the 1960s, the rate of leprosy contamination in the general populace has been reduced considerably. However, even today, in our Centre, we come across quite a few new leprosy cases. At our Skin OPDs recently, we found two new leprosy cases; sometimes, we also find some who are in advanced stages - even to the stage of gangrene (the part of the body affected with leprosy is dead and rotting, emitting a foul smell).
The fear of coming close to any patient of any category is of catching the disease. This is what happens with leprosy patients. The fear of meeting leprosy patients is mostly because of their deformities. Though the patients are cured of leprosy, if they have got deformities, generally it is difficult for them to be integrated into society or into their families. As the consequence of their disease, they lose their jobs and end up on the streets, spending their time begging. It was understood, at the time of Jesus, there was no medicine for leprosy, and lepers were segregated and looked down upon; they were thrown out of the villages or valleys. But today, in spite of effective medicines, leprosy patients are still found on the streets or the outskirts of villages in so-called “leprosy colonies”. Once upon a time, this incurable disease was the root cause of the segregation, but today, the segregation of a cured leprosy patient is the responsibility of each one of us.
Leprosy: painless disease but painful “rejection”
