DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE

The malaise is a threat to development

Dhiraj Kumar Nath

The number of drug addicts in the country is huge. The Director General of the Narcotic Control Department in a press conference on 25th June 2008 has released an alarming information about the existence of 46 lakh drug addicts. What is more, over Tk 46 crore is spent on drugs every day indicating a total of Tk.16, 790 crore per year, almost close to our Annual Development Budget.
   
   Inefficient vigilance
   The question naturally arises as to how this large quantity of drugs gets routes to market in this country. How do the traffickers get the safe passage? Obviously, law enforcing agencies are either inefficient or they are in connivance with traffickers. An alarming way of corruption is destroying the very fabric of the society.
   Death penalty proved futile.
   This trend of drug abuse has increased frighteningly in spite of enough investments made to eradicate the malaise from this soil. After the promulgation of Narcotic Control Act 1990 it was expected that the nation would get rid of the scourge of drug abuse and its illicit trafficking. Alas, there has been no improvement in reducing the number of drug abusers and drug trafficking even after incorporating the death penalty provision in the Act. Malaysia has successfully controlled the drug trafficking with few death sentences in strict compliance of the law.
   
   International commitment
   The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on 26th June with a number of commitments to combat the drug abuse. Like every year, all pledges might be evaporated in the air after the functions and processions come to an end.
   The cultivation of cannabis has been stopped in Bangladesh especially in the district of Noagaon in 1987 after restriction imposed on the import of opium in 1984. Besides, Narcotic Control Rules of 1999 was framed to introduce the licensing system to regulate the production and import of illicit drugs and precursors of chemicals required for processing of spurious drugs. Narcotic Control Act was further amended in 2004 redefining the 'alcohol'.
   
   Geographical location
   In reality, Bangladesh is situated near the Golden Triangle areas of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos and also connected with the poppy producing golden crescent areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. It was therefore, felt imperative to conclude bilateral treaties with Myanmar in 1994, Iran in 1995, and India in 2006 to ensure that Bangladesh should in no way be used as routes of drug trafficking. Information, as released by the concerned department, indicates no improvement in trafficking and trans-border security safeguards.
   As a transshipment point for Asian Heroin destined for international market, Bangladesh is in attractive location. It has a long and porous border with international air and sea links, combined with modest detection and exclusion capability.
   The problem of drug abuse is not a simple a matter of law and order or policing. It is a great challenge to restore discipline in the society, protect the youth from degeneration and eliminate terrorism from the country.
   The enforcement of law was mere routine task consistent with the provisions of the rules with no visible improvement in reducing the demand or trafficking. All these initiatives could not yield significant improvements in the reduction of drug abuse or control its trafficking.
   
   Passengers, pedestrians under attack
   The people's security is being threatened with the rapid increase of abusers roaming in the cities to snatch the belongings of passengers aboard CNG three-wheelers and taxicabs and pedestrians. The aggression of addicts of heroine, morphine, marijuana, cannabis, cocaine or Yaba is very often visible in the society and increased manifold significantly. The parents or families of drug addicts understand the gravity of this scourge with their unbearable sufferings, which they can not even share with others.
   
   Drug is a threat to society
   According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, no individual, family, or community is safe where illicit drug trafficking takes place. Drug controls the body and mind of individual consumers, it controls the creativity, brain and the body. Most of the time, drug cartels control the farmers, encourage illicit traffickers and motivate communities.
   Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of United Nations, once observed, "Too many people in the world are badly informed about the devastating effects of drugs. That is why we need to work more for better education and greater awareness to prevent drug abuse. We need more consistent leadership from governments."
   
   Need for social awareness
   Really, many people are not aware of effects of drug abuse as main reason for corruption. Drug addicts need enough money and drug traffickers take the advantage to utilise them to indulge in grand corruption. Human trafficking is one of the major offences that originate from drug trafficking. According to UNDOC, the transactions of about US$ 32 billions took place in 127 countries for human trafficking in last two years. The drug trafficking is the root of terrorism and closely related with money laundering.
   Injecting drug users exchange needles having no regard for safe blood transfusion and become vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, a deadly disease that destroys the very fabric of the society. The global fund is available to propagate against the HIV/AIDS but no such support could yet be made available for the prevention of drug abuse.
   
   Demand reduction
   Different measures taken so far could not make any headway in controlling the trafficking and reducing the numbers of abusers. The more the demand, the larger the supply and greater is the chance of trafficking. Therefore, the best answer to control trafficking is to reduce domestic demand of narcotic drugs.
   There could be a comprehensive policy indicating guidelines for education, motivation and disseminating the messages about the devastating effects of drug abuse. The participation of civil society organizations, community leaders, parents and electronic and print media might help generate awareness for the prevention of the abuse of drugs and rehabilitation by detoxification.
   There are no options or alternatives but to combat the drug abuse with massive drive to reduce the domestic demand of drugs by any means. For this purpose, there is an absolute need of mass awareness about the ill effects of drugs by developing a social resistance against the traffickers and generating a movement against the abuse of drugs. In this drive, government, civil society organisations, private enterprises and philanthropic associations must fight jointly under a common banner to save country from this scourge.
   
   Nation can't afford it
   A poor country like ours can not afford to allow this luxury of drug abuse at the cost of poverty stricken families. If drastic measures are not taken urgently to combat the increased trend of drug addiction, it would surely threaten socio-economic development of the country.

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Alice A. Islam

These days a lot is being written about the rights for women. Important people speak about this right and that right. The most important women speak about the number of seats in the parliament. But today I am writing about a right, which is very much neglected by women and the whole of society too. Some may push it out and some may just laugh at it. But if you think seriously about it, you will agree with me hundred percent. The right is very innocent - it is the right to keep a woman's maiden name even after marriage.
   I know it is not a right in the real sense of the word. It has been brought down by social culture, that no sooner a girl gets married, she has to change her name to that of her husbands. But may I ask why? Will the man agree to change his name to hers? Many women today have not changed their names and retained the one they were born with. Laily Choudhury (not her real name) was engaged to be married to Sohail Khan. As she told me in details of what was going on, I relate it to my reader's to try and understand how she put her ideas in front of all those who matter.
   Laily told me that on one meeting with Sohail she told him that she doesn't want to change her name from Choudhury to Khan. Sohail was taken aback and asked her if she wants to break the engagement. 'Oh, no! 'retorted Laily, "That is not true. I am eager to be your wife. I am proud of you and nothing can change it. But, Sohail, I have my identity to take care of, I am an individual who has her rights and as an educated man you will agree - won't you?"
   Sohail sat with hands on his face and thought of it. Then he said, "What about my parents? They will not like it. What explanation shall I give them?"
   At that Laily burst out. "The marriage is between you and me and why should they interfere?"
   Sohail: - My mother changed her name after marriage and so did yours.
   Laily: - That was in the past when women were just toys in the hands of men. Your mother and my mother had no ambition except to stay in the kitchen, cook good food to satisfy their husbands and to have a child every year. But I don't want to do that. Both of them sat in silence for a long time each thinking what they should do. Laily broke the silence by telling him to search his heart and to find out if he really loved her. Sohail did not find anything to say and just let her go. Laily was heart broken but was determined to keep her name as it was and not change it.
   "What's in a name?" said Shakespeare. "A rose by any other name would smell as Sweet" Shakespeare was absolutely right and yet Romeo and Juliet had to die because of their names. Had Romeo and Juliet changed their names and disowned their families the story might have ended in a different way. They were too young to understand the implication of the matter.
   However, women today are different and realise that they are individuals and have a separate identity." It is you and I am me."
   Nowadays women want to decide for themselves what name they should keep and I feel that there is nothing wrong in this. I don't say that this should be a written law, but it should be a social law where objections should not stand on this way.
   While I was writing this, Laily called to inform me that Sohail has agreed to maintain her name as it is and all was well as it is with them. A good ending. His parents had objected it at first but after some discussion and explanation, it was agreed and now they will get married each maintaining his and her own name. By the way Laily is a teacher and quite well known, and Sohail is a journalist. So
   both are happy that they didn't have to change their names.
   When young men and women intend to get married, they should be allowed to sit together and discuss their future plans. Some men think that if his wife doesn't take his name, then that it is an insult to his manhood. But I think it is a wrong way of thinking. It is just that feeling of being independent and of being someone and not a tail of someone else. It will give her strength of mind. And the man will ot have to throw it on her that she is his wife and will have to obey orders.
   "You are you and I am I" will always be between them.

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Nehal Adil

Another monarchy fell in Asia. This time, it is the Shah Dynasty of Nepal. Though it is comparable to the fall of the Shah of Iran, but to our personal attachment it is significant. To me, it is also shocking that Ranada - Rana Choudhury - whom I use to call the only Nepalese Prince in Bangladesh for his Gorkha guards in his Baghabari mansion which was in fact a feed production factory, passed away nearly at the same time. The title Rana belonged to one of the ruling families of Nepal.
   Ranada told me that like him, I too belonged to Dogra Rajput clan like the Shahs and Ranas of Nepal. Rana was actually Ranada's nick name. Mr Sadeq Khan, the political commentator and a good friend of Rana Choudhury encouraged him to nurture this myth to tease me. I know that before conversion to Islam, my family was Chaki and the Chakis lived in North Bengal and are mostly farmers. To Ranada, they were Chakri, like the royal family of Thailand. He also believed that the royal family of Thailand was also Dogra Rajput like the kings of Kashmir and Nepal.
   Ranada's personal library in Baghabari was full of books about Indian royalty, many of whose members he came across in his school days in Darjeeling. Ranada, after his schooling left for England, like many aristocrats of those days. He married an English lady and had children. He was a secular nationalist and could not tolerate Pakistani communalism. However, he came back to Bangladesh after independence when his first cousin Kamalda became President of the country. Ranada called it the accident of history.
   But return to Bangladesh did not do him good. His first marriage broke up. He fell in love with a Dutch girl, thirty years younger to him. The girl's father had a ranch in South Africa and he married her. Unfortunately, that marriage too broke up after a child was born. Ranada spent some time in Kathmandu with his Dutch wife.
   But my own story of Nepal is independent of Ranada. I first went there in the stormy sixties passing the Santhal areas between East Pakistan and India. There was no formal border you; you just pay twenty takas (a good sum at that time) and get into India. There was formal border between India and Nepal. For the traditional families of North Bengal, border practically did not exist. The idea of a frontier-less regional body cropped up in my head then.
   The great 1968 uprising had taken place in Europe. The angry European youth were then marching to Asia to declare their solidarity with Asia'a poor. They would end up in Kathmandu and talk of social revolution. They brought with them the idea of free sex which mixed with drugs. King Mahendra, father of late king Birendra was a conservative and nationalist. He was a descent person and kind enough to tolerate the hippies.
   I returned home, and became involved with short film-making firm Lubdhak of Gerhard Bousquet, a Frenchman. I worked with Alamgir Kabir, the famous film director and later went to Germany from the then West Pakistan with a Franco-German team which was making a film on Asian highway. I returned before the liberation war.
   The post-liberation Bangladesh disillusioned me and I made my second trip to Nepal. At that time, the Cultural Revolution in China was on. The Nepalese king wanted to make his own revolution, the peoples kingdom Jana Raj. I had met Mr Tiwari, editor of the weekly mirror. He worked in Radio Peking and met Mr Jamil Akhtar who was from Dhaka. Tiwari's was a small paper, but I began writing for it. I also wrote for La Matin Tribune, a newspaper in Switzerland. In the centralised kingdom every file went to the king's Palace. The Nepalese intelligence found out that I was a Dogra Rajput. It was the duty of the king to help a Khatryo in distress.
   At that time I had met Sarah Yongen, a journalist in the Radio Programme of Radio Nepal. She was a friend of the Royal family and the children. Because of her, I had a royal family audience. Soon after I left Nepal and went to Europe via Delhi. I do not know what happened to Sarah. Somebody told me in London that she had married Mr Tulsi Gin, the then king's prime minister, twenty years senior to her.
   I met Ranada much later when Ershad was out of office. He took me to Baghabari.
   In the nineties in London, someone grabbed me near the Kensington Palace and cried Patrakar Kaka - journalist uncle. When he took me to Nepalese Embassy in London for Dushera festival, only then I realised that he was none but Prince Dipendra.
   Few years later I read the news about the massacre of the Nepalese Royal family in a Swedish newspaper. I could not believe Prince Dipendra could do it. I had never any chance to talk with Ranada about it. Nepal has become a republic and Ranada is in eternal rest in Jal Dhaka.
   Fahmida Manju, Ranada's third and the last wife told me that the oldest of Ranada's Gurkha guards is dead. But the memory lasts. My salute to that memory.

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