Caring for the Youth in Chitral

Chitral News has reported that drug addiction among youths in Chitral town is reaching an alarming proportion. This is a nerve wrecking news and disturbing to the core of our conscience. If Chitrali leadership, both government and civil society institutions, treats it just an ordinary symptom of the teenage behavior, it will be underestimating the destructive power of this menace, to say the least. Chitral News also reports that a meeting of volunteers was held to reflect on the issue as what could be done to curb this self destructive behavior among our youths, our very precious asset. This is an excellent first step.

I also read about a three day interfaith seminar and workshop held in Chitral recently where representatives of various faiths and interpretations from across the KP province participated. The presenters highlighted a number of critical areas which will help create a society where human life, property, dignity and places of religious significance are protected and people have respect for one another regardless of their beliefs and interpretations. What better society one can think of than the one in which mutual respect, peace and tolerance of difference, and living in harmony is a civic culture. This can be possible only if our youths are healthy physically, creative intellectually, competitive in goodness, and ethical in behavior. It is equally important and integral to the faith communities’ responsibilities to do everything possible to protect youths from the peril of drug addiction; this must be added to the themes that their representatives highlighted in their speeches.

Let me explain why this is alarming as the Chitral News so aptly noted. I live in Canada, a land full of vast lush green forests. A year ago a documentary report was aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation channel about the destruction of hundreds of kilometers long forest. The trees shown had been standing there for decades; some may be as old as five hundred years so majestic in their upright position. All of them were shown drying and their green leaves turning brown and ready to fall while many other trees were standing as mere bare trunks. The cause for this unbelievable destruction may surprise the readers. It is a very tiny antlike insect with immense destructive power. It is called termite, once it gets into the bark of the tree and begins to feed on it and multiply itself. It destroys these huge trees in such a way that they cannot even reproduce themselves in the form of seeds. Like termite, drug has the destructive power, initially its addiction looks simple teenage behavior and then it acts in human body like termite. Once it enters the human body, it not only destroys one person, it destroys the entire family and community as well. Society is made of individuals and families, when they are destroyed society cannot be saved. As Chitral News suggests, those youths who have been affected must be helped to relieve them of the disease and all at risk youths must be protected through vigorous awareness campaign and other means necessary.

To the youths, let me say that there is nothing positive in consumption of drug except destruction of personality and family. It was in the month of August some five years ago I was traveling from Faizabad to Baharek in Badakhshan of Afghanistan. My driver and his assistant were young men in their twenties. Every now and then the driver would stop and get off to smoke, naturally to my discomfort. Then, I observed on the way fields where stems of poppy crops were standing without their drug producing empty bulbs. I also saw animals grazing on the green patches of grass or fallen dry leaves except those on the poppy stems. Playing ignorance, I asked my driver and his assistant: “what crops are there pointing to the poppy fields?” “taryak (opium)” they responded. Then I asked them: “do animals eat its leaves?” they responded in the negative. I asked yet another question: “do animals eat tobacco leaves?” Their response was again in the negative. Then, I posed a rather awkward question: who is more intelligent when it comes to looking after one’s health, animals like donkeys who refuse to eat the leaves of tobacco and poppy or men who use them in multiple byproducts? The two young men were dumbfounded for a moment and then promised me on God’s name that they would clean themselves of the smoking habit. I hope that they were able to keep their promise. For young people, there is nothing positive in this damaging behavior.
Please treat the matter seriously. -- Dr. Mir Baiz Khan,Toronto, Canada, 02 June 2011.