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PARADIGM - On the Road to Recovery
Contributed by Kunal Kishore, Drug Demand Reduction Officer
From left to right Bodey, Bappu, Nabo, Seebe
"Recovery is very easy and simple…it's the choice we make". Nabo one of the founder members of the recovery group Paradigm says so. The word "Paradigm" first appeared in English in the 15th century, and means "an example or pattern".
Nabo, Bappu, Seebe and Bodey are the proud members of this young recovering group of drug users who have completed just over 2 years of "sobriety".
Most drug users in Maldives like the members of Paradigm do not know the dangers of experimenting with drugs until the day they realize they were full-blown addicts.
There is high unemployment among the youth in the Maldives, and the increasing number of unemployed or underemployed youth is a causal factor contributing to drug abuse. A Rapid Situation Assessment (RSA) done in 2003 also indicated that drug abuse generally starts at around the age of 16 and that the majority of drug users are males between the ages of 16-30. The main reasons for drug abuse as indicated in the available studies include: the desire to experiment, peer pressure, easy availability, lack of awareness, lack of educational and employment opportunities, psychological problems, boredom and stress.
Nabo
Life was never in control for any of the Paradigm members during their using days. Drug relapses, psychological/physical health problems, damaging relationships were a way of life for a long time until the day they decided that the only way to live, and to live healthy was to help each other,… who have been through the same pain and experiences as theirs. There are other socio-economic costs of drug abuse which include the imposition of additional burdens on family members, including financial, emotional, health and psycho-social burdens.
Drug abuse has become a serious problem in Maldives, where almost three quarters of the prison inmates are serving sentences for drug offences. Unemployed young people are the group most vulnerable to drug abuse.
Bodey
In the lines of Bodey, "Recovery is never possible if the drug addict is himself/herself not willing to give up drugs". We are passionate people and we can do a lot, however we did not know how/where to make a start…until one day it so happened.
Members of Paradigm meet regularly at a coffee house in Male' for over two years to do what they all think is a mission for their lives, and that is to stay clean and help other young peers do the same.
Seebe and Bodey say we are actually planning to open an NGO. Ask them why, and they say that's probably a better way to raise our voices to the masses and to people who need help and don't know where to go.
Bappu
This to members of PARADIGM would be a pragmatic approach considering the recent increase in police crackdowns which has led to increase in the street prices of drugs and is also an influencing factor for drug users shifting to more economical methods of taking drugs, such as injecting. There have been suggestions that injecting starts early and cases are known of children starting as early as 9-12 years old.
The government of Maldives through its National Narcotics Control Board has undertaken a number of initiatives to strengthen its services for demand reduction, awareness building, treatment and rehabilitation. However available estimates and studies indicate the number of drug users in Maldives to be around 10,000. As a result, in Maldives persons arrested for drug use are sent to the drug rehabilitation centre on a space available basis. The rehabilitation centres consequently are unable to keep pace with the number of people ordered to undergo rehabilitation. Hence, at times there are as many people under house arrest awaiting a position in the centre as there are individuals undergoing treatment.
Peer-led support group initiatives like the PARADIGM is an effort towards complementing the efforts of the Government in order to respond to the need of the hour.
Seebe
The concept of Peer-led support group formation is becoming increasingly popular in Maldives since the recovering drug users through the support group network are working with young drug users by providing basic knowledge on the harms of illicit drugs and skills to support their recovery. Due to the access to current drug users who may be hidden in the community, platforms like PARADIGM are very effective as they facilitate positive role modelling, provide the right information and link the drug users with the right services to prevent drug abuse.
As this story which is about the beginning of Paradigm concludes Seebe says:
"The mistakes we have made in our lives have all contributed to who we are and we do not regret them for ourselves - only for the worry what they have caused our friends and families………"
All of the persons featured in this section have given their consent to the use of their photograph.
From left to right Bodey, Bappu, Nabo, Seebe
Nabo
Bodey
Bappu
Seebe
