Miao diocese fighting drug abuse among youth
Catholic youth association campaigns in Arunachal Pradesh schools to raise awareness of drugs’ negative effects. At least one youth in ten has tried drugs. The State is a point of transit and production for drugs.
Itanagar (AsiaNews) – The Diocese of Miao, in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, has decided to fight drug abuse among young people, a growing problem in this north-eastern corner of India.
To achieve this goal, local Church leaders have thought of getting students to speak to fellow students of the serious impact of drug use on their lives and the country’s future.
Last week the Inter-Collegiate Youth Association, a diocesan organisation, and the Women Welfare Society of Arunachal Pradesh organised a meeting at the Newman School in Neotan, a remote village in Changlang District.
The meeting is part of the drug abuse awareness campaign for school students. With this in mind, the two associations will visit every school in the state until 9 July.
“One in every ten youth in Arunachal Pradesh has either tasted drugs or become its addicts,” Newman School Principal Fr Felix Anthony told in Matters India.
“Even though there is no official data as to the exact number of addicts, most youth here are taking drugs, not just opium but stuff like brown sugar (heroin) and so on,” the priest added.
“What is very alarming that even young students as young as 16 are addicted and their parents have no control over them”.
Fr Anthony praised the diocese’ students for the meeting at his school, even though it is summer holiday.
“The sharp rise in the number of drug addicts among students is very disturbing. They not only destroy themselves but their families and their society at large,” the youth association president said.
“When I was a student, there was no one to guide any one. You must listen to the advice of your seniors today for a better tomorrow,” said Mossang, president of the Women Welfare Society of Arunachal Pradesh.
Narcotics enforcement and intelligence agencies that monitor illegal drug activities in the country’s north-eastern border areas warned in 2014 that the drug menace could threaten “the very existence” of the tribal population of Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh has a population of 1.4 million inhabitants and borders Myanmar and China.
Its geographical location makes it a privileged point of passage for drug trafficking, but according to recent surveys, the state is increasingly becoming a producer.
The state accounted for 40 per cent of the total 2,530 acres of poppy crop destroyed across the country by the Narcotics Control Bureau in 2014-2015.
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21/07/2005
