Interview: Joshua Borja, Positive Asian Network Australia (PANA)

In the diverse tapestry of Australia’s HIV advocacy landscape, Positive Asian Network Australia (PANA) is a unique community network run by and for Asian people living with HIV in Australia. PANA offers a vital, dedicated space for connection, support and advocacy, provides information and referrals, and runs workshops and social events.

At the heart of the network is Joshua Borja, the convenor of PANA, whose passion for community empowerment has guided the organisation’s mission to address the distinct needs of Asian people living with HIV.

This interview delves into the story behind PANA, the significance of its work, and Joshua’s vision for a more inclusive and equitable future for people living with HIV.

Can you share the story behind PANA and tell us a bit about its mission? 

The Positive Asian Network Australia is a community and advocacy group for all Asian people living with HIV that live in Australia. It began primarily in response to the increase of HIV notifications among people living with HIV born in Asia. This group has been identified in national strategies as an expanding priority population whose specific needs need to be addressed, and that starts with a community response.

There are struggles at the intersections of being HIV positive Asian that affects our lives in Australia. One of the biggest is immigration, visas and permanent residency, which are key things that PANA members have interest in.

 Although we try to focus on people living in Australia, we do get that odd one or two people that are overseas wanting to migrate or want to travel to Australia on a student or work visa and that are HIV positive.

In a meeting, for example, if you talk about HIV, treatment, and prevention it is usually a conversation between those working in the sector and community members aren’t as interested. Once the word “migration” is mentioned, meetings become lively and passionate with discussions of experiences.  It’s clearly a core area that is at the intersection of HIV and being Asian.

PANA is about finding community as well, and finding a safe space where members can feel at home, as it is still very stigmatising to be living with HIV.

What is your role at PANA?

I am the first convenor of PANA. I’m the President or you could say the ‘guiding force’ of the ship.

There is an advisory group that informs PANA and who I consider my equals. The advisory group works within the community and almost all of them work within the community sector. They are much more in touch with Asian people living with HIV than I can be in my role at ASHM.

Our current goal in our first year as an auspiced organisation is to develop and build trust within the membership and ensure that our membership are comfortable with sharing their stories. I truly believe that stories are the way that we’re going to change the minds of those that have power. We can elevate people’s stories and say that these are things that need to be addressed because they’re affecting the quality of life of Asians living with HIV, and we need people to feel safe and willing to talk about their experiences.

What motivated you to start working with PANA, and what keeps you inspired in this work?

I have a Masters degree in Nonprofit Management and I have been a volunteer within the community sector. I understand how these types of organisations work. That is how I started. As time went on, I've gotten to know our membership. I realize there’s a brilliant group of people doing their best in the situation they've been placed in.

I have even found support for myself personally within this organisation, which I did not expect.

I also attribute inspiration to all the PANA advisory group members, because they are all on the frontline working in HIV organisations as well as working with Asians who live with HIV. Their work is inspiring. They are getting their hands dirty and getting things done. It’s inspiring to watch them work and come up with solutions to these really big problems, and to see how we all can work together and utilize our experience, it’s really exciting to me.

The next step for me would be thinking about members that want to become advisory group members. The issue is that there are still barriers, and some people may be too worried about their immigration status or their visa status to then think that they're going to be able to help progress PANA’s mission and goals.

However, there are certain people that I’ve seen even in the last two years who have gotten permanent residency visas and then they had the confidence and security to become leaders. It’s inspiring, whereas before, they were like, no, I can't talk about my story, because I don't know how the story ends.

When you think about the future, what are the most important changes you want to see for people living with HIV in Australia?

I was thinking about the [migration] health requirement, getting rid of it for people living with HIV. It causes a lot of the struggles and a lot of the anxiety we see in our work.

I think stigma is a big aspect. Some healthcare practitioners don't recognise that they're being stigmatising or discriminatory to the point where you hear some people say that they don't want to see doctors or nurses because they don’t trust them. The community doesn't need that from the people that are meant to keep us healthy.

I have lived with HIV for over 10 years, and I still experience this [stigma]. Two years ago, when I was getting a major surgery done, I had a nurse outright say ‘careful, he's HIV positive’ to another nurse when I was getting an IV put in. It’s these ‘little’ things – a throwaway comment that can have a giant impact on someone’s self-worth. I have the knowledge to be able to write a nicely worded email to say ‘that was stigmatising’. If it were someone else, they might not ever attend that service again.

I’ve lived in Australia all my life and have had the 34 years that I have been on this earth to work out the system, but some people might not have the resources to navigate that. Can you imagine if it were for someone who was newly diagnosed with HIV or had only been here for a little while on a visa?

What advice would you give to someone looking to get involved in HIV advocacy or community support?

I think your living experience matters and you should stand by it, and there’s worth in it. I am second generation Filipino-Australian. I am not the usual person who will be accessing PANA services because PANA is predominantly people born in Asia. However, I do know that there are skills that I possess that are of use to the community, and am willing to share and develop these skills in others.

There have been times where I’ve had to take a step back and say, this isn't your trauma. You can relate to it, sure. But it's not yours. People in community and advocacy roles can be affected by vicarious trauma. You need to ask how you look after yourself and ask: what are your self-care techniques? To care for other people, you must take care of yourself.

It’s not easy. You must want to be that leader that is willing to be vulnerable. I don’t want to scare people away from it, but it’s important people go in knowing that it’s not an easy road. But you will find friends and support along the way – so be open to that.

I want to reiterate that although PANA is a positive Asian network, we rarely talk about HIV. It is an intersection of experiences, and it affects us all in quite different ways. At the moment, the core concern is immigration and I feel that once we can deal with the immigration side of things, then we can start dealing with the other aspects of  quality of life for Asian people living with HIV. Immigration is such a big issue it stops people from dealing with an HIV diagnosis.

Find out more about PANA and watch recordings of previous PANA events here.

* This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.