Asia-Pacific youth share experiences on drugs

Asia-Pacific youth share experiences on drugs

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prevention, people say, is better than cure.
In most cases, this should be relatively straightforward. Not,
however, when it comes to preventing drug abuse.

But despite the difficulties, 14 young representatives from
non-governmental organizations in the Asia-Pacific region are
striving hard to continue the fight against drugs, and have come
together to share their experiences in the fight against drug
abuse among young people.

"In my country, it is really hard to make young people speak
up and express their opinions on drug abuse," said Fijian
representative Joy Kaloumaira, who has been working with the Fiji
Council of Social Services in its campaign against drugs.

She added that Fijian NGOs addressed the questions of
psychology and lack of confidence among young people during their
campaigns.

Difficulty in finding volunteers, resistance from the
community and lack of support from other institutions were
problems in a number of countries, the young antidrug campaigners
said.

"We have so few people willing to voluntarily participate in
antidrug campaigns," Pero Yin from Cambodia explained.

Cambodia, Laos and the border areas of Thailand are known as
the Golden Triangle -- the hub of the drug trade in Asia.

For Australian social worker Matt Stubbs, it was the
reluctance of teachers to help promote the antidrug message in
schools that hampered the mission.

"Teachers are supposed to be the most effective campaigners on
such issues," he told the audience.

In a bid to learn from each other and create a wider NGO
network in the region, Indonesian antidrug foundation, Yayasan
Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB), is hosting the first meeting of the
Asia-Pacific Global Youth Network, which is affiliated with the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The event
started on Wednesday and runs through Friday.

The UNODC's Global Youth Network was founded to encourage
international youth involvement so as to help develop drug abuse
prevention policies and programs, since the population of young
drug users is increasing.

In Indonesia alone, as of last year the Ministry of Health
reported that half of the between 124,000 and 169,000 intravenous
drug users (IDUs) were teenagers aged between 15 and 24 years
old. Of this figure, an estimated 80,000 to 130,000 are living
with HIV/AIDS.

"We will share experiences with other countries in the region
on drug abuse prevention campaigns and programs," YCAB chief
executive officer Veronica Colondam said at the opening of the
workshop on Wednesday.

"The forum will focus on prevention, because it is the key to
keeping the problem from spreading."

In its latest survey, YCAB reported that 60 percent of drug
users in Jakarta came from families earning monthly incomes of
below Rp 500,000 (US$59.52), while the rest belonged to families
whose incomes ranged between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million per
month. Meanwhile, it takes between US$700 and $1,200 to cure
a drug addict through a detoxification program.

Veronica said the delegates from Australia, Cambodia, Fiji,
Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand would later
implement campaign projects in their countries and report on the
success of these in November.(003)