As I mentioned in my previous article, the drug epidemic is a global international problem affecting all communities and drug awareness campaigners will unfortunately be fighting a losing battle unless they receive the support of the government and the police force. Whilst speaking to a Pastor who resides in the Florida region; the angry young gentleman mentioned to me that President Zuma's Eldorado Park fiasco was simply a political ploy. Whilst he has shut down the lollipop lounges in that part of Johannesburg, the problem has simply diverted to other areas in the West Rand region, particularly the Florida and Maraisburg suburbs. The police presence in that area is no longer there. It was just a temporary "Hoohaa". The truth about South Africa is that the public have lost faith in the police force. It is a known fact among community members here in Florida that the police themselves are involved with drug syndicates and are an integral part of a drug supply chain. Residents have informed me that many off duty police officers frequent the lollipop lounges in the area.When members of the community report these shady activities to the police, a police vehicle is sent out to these houses where drugs are being sold and the entire premises is raided. The police confiscate the drugs and they in turn resell the drugs to the same people who frequent these lollipop lounges and thus this vicious cycle continues. An activist and an active member of the ICE (In Case of Emergency) committee in the area, captivated me with a few of his shocking experiences. This is what he said," The streets of Florida at night after eleven o'clock changes drastically. The warm, friendly and pleasant ambience we all experience during the day suddenly changes to shades of grey. Shady men gather in the dark alleyways, mostly Nigerian and other foreign nationals. Prostitutes dressed provocatively come out to sell themselves to any man that passes by.Many of these women are from broken homes with nowhere to go and so they have decided to sell themselves in order to earn a living. A few weeks ago, as we were patrolling the neighbourhood, we gave chase to a guy. He was the runner. The middle man between the supplier and the customer. The guy managed to escape. He simply opened up a manhole and ran underground through the sewage and drainage networks and landed up on the other side of Ontdekkers road according to eye witness reports. The Florida community and business owners are trying to join hands to eradicate the crime and drug problem in the area. However, if you have police officers that are corrupt and working in cahoots with the drug lords, the battle and task ahead is a virtually impossible one. One disgruntled business owner made mention of the fact that bribery and corruption within the police force is the order of the day. A staff member of his was badly injured after her face was slashed. The perpetrator told the victim not to go to the police station as he has already bribed the investigating officer. Up until today no case has been filed and the perpetrator is walking the streets scot free. The woman, fearing for her life and safety refuses to pursuit the case any further. In yet another shocking incident, a police officer in the Florida area asked a Zimbabwean to produce her Identification documents. She was here in South Africa illegally and hence could not produce any legitimate paperwork. The policeman than asked her to get into the vehicle for deportation. She was under the impression that she is going to be sent home. However, the policeman drove to a deserted part of town and raped the woman. The woman did not go to the police station to report the rape as she is illegal in the country. The police officers would probably prioritize her illegal status in the country over the rape. It doesn't help having the media and journalists boasting about how many drug lords and drug users have been apprehended. The bottom line is this: If the country does not have proper law enforcement policies in place, no strategy or awareness program can be a success. I don't care how many thousand drug peddlers get caught every day. What I am concerned about is, how many of these peddlers have been convicted? Why isn't there harsher sentences brought against them? In South Africa, bail is granted to murderers, rapists and drug traffickers. Where is the justice? As one Florida resident quite aptly mentioned. "It is about time that the government works for the people, not the other way round. We have put ZUMA into office and he should be working for us to better the lives of South Africans. He should not be at the top to soak in taxpayers money in order to facilitate his own lavish lifestyle but rather he should act as a leader who is concerned about his citizens. Safety and security should be at the top of his list. Thus far he has failed the people miserably. I pray that he sees the light and takes some kind of action to tighten the laws in this country. If the situation worsens, I then pray that he should be removed from office."
Drug trafficking in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a serious criminal offence whereby drug traffickers are punished by death. Despite this harsh sentence as per Islamic Shariah law, many individuals still take a chance with trafficking drugs into the country due to the high profits and money involved with drug trafficking. The sale of illegal drugs throughout the world is a very lucrative business and unfortunately drug awareness campaigns have failed miserably with alleviating the drug epidemic that has spread across the globe and is not only a problem that the South African government is currently facing. Earlier this year according to the Saudi Gazette, border guard security patrols detained six smugglers with 64 kilograms of hashish. Customs officers at the Hudaitha border checkpoint also thwarted an attempt to smuggle 51,293 narcotic pills into the country. The pills were hidden inside oranges and lemons in two plastic boxes in a passenger’s luggage. Many drug traffickers would actually go through great lengths in order to smuggle the drugs into the country. In quite a bizarre incident reported by the Alriyadh newspaper earlier this year, customs officers at Prince Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Airport in Yanbu Governorate foiled an attempt to smuggle 2,440 narcotic pills of type TEDOLX-225 into the country.The Governorate's Customs Director General Saad Al-Baqmi pointed out that a female passenger hid the narcotic pills in her handbag and inside 4 frozen ducks. In an even more bizarre story that made headlines two days ago, a Russian surgeon who helped himself to a bag of drugs he removed from a patient's stomach faces up to 15 years in prison for theft and possession.The doctor, who was high when police arrested him, had been asked to remove containers of heroin from the stomach of a suspected drug mule in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. A spokesman for Ministry of the Interior said the 32-year-old who worked in the small city of Bogotol had helped himself to capsules of the drug after removing it from the man's stomach in a bid to save his life. Whilst the sentences for drug smuggling is harsh in other countries, I personally believe that South Africa is way behind in terms of imposing stringent laws and regulations with regards to drug trafficking as well as being in the possession of illegal banned drugs as a user. Whilst doing a locum at a pharmacy a few weeks ago I was quite astonished at the fact that almost everyday the police were arresting individuals found to be in the possession of drugs. The pharmacists on duty were asked to identify and weigh out the drugs so that the suspect could be charged appropriately. However, what really perturbed me was the fact that I found repeat offenders getting arrested. In other words, these individuals get arrested, go to jail for a night or two and then come out scot free after being granted bail. In many instances the police have also been involved with stealing the drugs and then either utilizing it themselves or selling it on the street in order to make more money. When we look at the drug issue globally, the focus should not only be on hardcore drugs such as heroin or ecstasy but there is also an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs. I was under the impression that prescription drug abuse was only prevalent within the rich affluent Saudi societies, but returning to South Africa I found that almost every second prescription I dispensed was for a tranquilizer type drug, a narcotic analgesic or a sleeping tablet. In part two I will discuss in detail some of my own experiences I encountered during my career....On a more lighter side to this topic whilst doing a locum at a pharmacy here in Johannesburg I encountered a Malay Afrikaans speaking patient. I found it strange that she kept on staring at me whilst I was dispensing her medication. Obviously it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was thinking to myself, is there something on my face..is there a pimple on my nose. After a considerable amount of time passed, she simply said, " Ooooo yarre...maar jy het groot oë." .. You have big eyes. I am sure that you abusing the drugs from the counter behind you." I simply started laughing and replied. "Madam, all the better to see you my dear."
By Maha Sami Aboulola
JEDDAH – When looking for a bride for their son, one of the most important considerations for Saudi families is the reputation of the bride’s family, which is based on centuries-old Saudi tradition. Reema Abdulhadi, 31, a private sector employee, has been forced to join the ranks of the Kingdom’s spinsters despite her beautiful face. A large number of suitors come to ask for her hand, but they never come back after the first visit. “I am a well educated girl from a good family but, unfortunately, my father is a drug addict who steals and is in and out of jail because of his addiction,” she said.Abdulhadi and many other girls have been suffering in silence because of the addiction of a member of their family, being unable to start a normal family of their own. “It is really very frustrating. The behavior of your father or mother is affecting your life negatively, but there is nothing you can do about it,” added Abdulhadi.Sari Arafat, 12, has also been affected by his father’s drug addiction, which led to his parents’ divorce following which both of them rejected him. “Being the son of a non-Saudi father who has a criminal record as a result of his addiction ruins any chance I had of getting the Saudi nationality from my mother,” said Arafat. Studies show that addicted parents often lack the ability to provide structure or discipline in family life, but at the same time they expect their children to be competent at a wide variety of tasks earlier than do non-substance-abusing parents.“Children of addicted parents are faced with emotional difficulties caused by their parents situation and the rejection of society,” said Azza Abubakur, a sociologist at King Abdulaziz University. “It is well known that drug addiction is not accepted in Saudi society. And this is especially true when it comes to marriage. Parents refuse to allow their children to marry the children of drug addicts so as to prevent any future problems,” she added.Esra Abdullah, 23, the daughter of a man addicted to alcohol, said that in her neighborhood no one wants to communicate with her or her family.“Everyone can see that my drunk father sleeps all day, has no job or money, and forces my mother to ask for money from her relatives,” she said. “We lost our lives, our reputation and our ability to have a normal family just because of drink,” she added. The statistics for drug and alcohol abuse in the Kingdom is as much as 40-50% amongst young saudi men. Islamic scholars think that despite all the difficulties that children of addicted parents face, they should still try to treat and help their parents.“Drugs and alcohol can negatively affect all members of the family, but parents have the right to help and treatment instead of being hated. Muslims should keep in mind that in at least four places, the Qur’an puts kindness to parents immediately after worship of Allah, which is why Muslims should be gentle and kind to their parents and treat them with respect,” said Sheikh Taha Hassan. –
