In the age we live in, the lives of many youth are being ruined in myriad ways and the global situation is taking a turn for the worse day by day. It is up to us to figure out how we can reach out and help those youth, under an unstable military regime and also deal with inadequacies in the fields of Education, Health, Economics, and Politics.
In Kachin State, year after year there has been an increase in the number of drug-addicted youth. Some of their parents are of the opinion that one of the reasons which lead them to the wrong path is unemployment among young people. It is very difficult to find a job and a few young men from rich families would rather spend money on drugs than sitting at home and doing nothing.
We must take note of how serious this drug-addiction problem is and whether it has spread inside the territory of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC).
"There is already some serious impact and this kind of drug abuse has been taking place not only in the present day but also in the past," Nhkum Tang Gun, Youth Leader from KBC has said.
He continued that in the past it only affected youth in Phakant (Jade Land) and on the China-Myanmar Border. However, the impact has spread even to the Church community and especially in the university life. People must be alert and it is going to pose as a serious problem in our Kachin Society.
According to a resident, the drug addicts among the girls and boys are about equal and nowadays it has become a fashion for them.
The four main drugs such as heroin, Yama also called methamphetamine; a modified opium called Formula and opium are in abundance in Kachin State. However, the majority of drug takers are addicted to heroin, according to local sources.
Heroin came into Kachin State from Shan State with the help of corrupt officials of the military junta's agencies including the police, special narcotic police, military and military affairs security unit (Sa-Ya-Pha), a local source added.
"Recently, according to the survey of KBC youth, there are many young people, who are addicted to drugs and especially it is said that most of the university students are very much addicted and indulge in drug abuse. Moreover, it is said that AIDS victims are found in almost every quarter of Church's own territories," Nhkum Tang Gun added.
On the other hand, most of the young women are satisfied spending their time in the night clubs for their livelihood.
There are a number of women, especially ethnic Kachin women, who frequent the 'Northern Star Night Club' in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in northern Burma, to find clients and earn money every night, a resident in Myitkyina said.
"Fees are earmarked for the women by the club. Almost all the women drink whisky to enjoy themselves," a resident told KNG. "Women, who do not get clients in the club, go to the night shops and wait for prospective customers. This is how they earn money," a resident added.
"To initiate the rescue program for these young people, a lot of support is needed in terms of money, volunteering and understanding from our society. Only after that all these simultaneous activities can be done in the near future," Nhkum Tang Gun told KNG.
He continued, "Actually it has been our Church community's primary concern to help out those who are in need of help, however, when there comes a time or an event there has always been financial problems and on the other hand the technicalities are not sufficient and ineffective."
Moreover, we have been trying to work together with different NGOs and have tried to find proper solutions; however, there have been also very hard times to work in under the unstable condition in Kachin State. One thing is for sure that we both are trying out best so that we could reach out far and help them out, added Nhkum Tang Gun.
The problem has already occurred and if there is no cure or solutions to that, it would lead to death of these youth. Population is a very important factor from the point of view of politics as well. It is good to notice how important the power of population is and how it can strengthen our society in the real world, a local Kachin leader said.
He continued that, now our capabilities are very limited and very weak in every field compared to other societies, and if there is no improvement or development in the near future, we would be left behind. The negative impact on the youth has had a great impact on our small community as well, he added.
Ring Aung is a staff reporter of Kachin News Group (KNG).
