Natasha Ivanova Natasha Ivanova is a firecracker, in a hurry to get on with living. She understands through experience, from watching her friends who have been sick before her, that her life expectancy is not long. Natasha has HIV--on the verge of AIDS. She acquired it years ago when injecting the liquid opium concoction popular in Odessa. She is now sober and speaks with out pause, in rapid- fire slang. I understand every other word until I am able to get her to slow down. It is like pulling the reigns of a highly-strung racing filly. According to UN-AIDS the HIV epidemic in Russia and Eastern Europe is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Over 85% of new HIV infections are drug related cases among sexually active young people. The antiviral drugs that could prolong Natasha's life for years might be available in Odessa but at a price many times her $30 a month income. Being poor brings it's own problems that arenąt helping her immune system. She drinks tap water, something Odessans don't do if they can afford not to. Her diet of black bread, cottage cheese, and potatoes is not much help either. Fruits, vegetables and sometimes meat are bought on special days, but only if there is extra money. On the days when she feels sick, she waits it out, hoping this time will pass quickly. Sometimes she buys out-of-date antibiotics on the black market, but her best defense, she says, is faith.   < back