Mayur had a racer bike. He sold it because he wanted money for drugs. Fifteen days later his friends learnt that he had committed suicide. He was a drug addict. He was 19. He was a teen when first initiated into drugs at school. His school was a village school in the coastal belt of North Goa.
For years the headmaster of a Higher Secondary School has been calling us asking for support as many teenage students were addicted to drugs. He confided that many students did not listen to their parents and parents were unaware of what the child was up to, beyond studies and plummeting grades.
Arun is a teen from Panjim, who goes to one of the city schools that is extremely strict. He started smoking at 13. He was caught vaping at 16 in the school premises. His teacher says that the other students who watched him ‘wape’ were completely traumatised. He was caught with a pen-like electronic device filled with ‘substances’ that he was ‘sucking’. Long term vaping also causes cancer and is a huge problem in many countries where teenagers are addicted to this modern drug called ‘happiness’. Arun’s parents feel helpless. Counselling has not worked but has further drained their pockets. They are aghast. They say he is not given any pocket money and wonder what is the source that is feeding him, where he has borrowed a bike and phone from. His eyes are often glazed; he is in a daze and becomes violent and aggressive when questioned. His grades have plummeted. The school wants nothing to do with him. Another teen down. Who cares!
Yunus and Aggie are such shining boys from Panjim city. Both are 15 and as parents state, go to the best of schools in Goa. They are intelligent, knowledgeable, enterprising, with great leadership skills and potential. One started smoking at 13. Both are taking drugs. Their friends claim that they are helping them to stop. Can teenagers help other teenagers curb this menace? Parents divulge that they are aware, but that the children are not listening. They leave the house on the pretext of meeting other friends. One has a bike given by a ‘friend’. A cell phone too had been supplied by a ‘friend’. Parents are distraught that the child is not listening and regularly steps out of the house riding the bike, without a helmet. Other parents claim that Yunus picks up his friends and are found all across the city returning late in the night or crashing at a ‘friend’s’ place. One day the parents had to go to each of the ‘friend’s’ houses to locate their child. The routine had become typical. Wake up late, leave home without breakfast, return home late in the night, mostly after 10pm and many times not at all. Phones are always switched off. No reply to messages.
Aggie at 15, looks like an adult. Tall and muscular. Friends say he is addicted to smoking. 15 cigarettes a day is the current count. He is also smoking ‘weed’. He spends days in Porvorim. He gets picked up and dropped off by a ‘friend’ in a black car. He does not listen to his parents. When Yonus went missing, Aggie admitted he knew where Yunus was but refused to help. He also refused to give numbers of their special ‘friend’, On a hunch, they were both found at the popular adda behind the famous ‘Mc Donald’s. Was picked up by the police and taken to the Station. The action was reported to the Police by a social activist friend of the parents. As has become typical, the police did nothing. In fact, the officer asked the social activist why he was risking his life for these teens. ‘Tuka kiteak podlam?’ You want to get beaten up and knifed by the drug mafia? Tum hea burgeak kiteak trassan ghalta? The teenager is in serious trouble already. He is an underage to ride a bike and taking drugs and smoking are serious violations. You may be shocked to read this but this is the state of our law enforcement department. Isn’t it appalling that nobody cares about these teens?
Suraj is in the 11th. He is also a teen from Panjim. He rides a bike, he rides very fast. Other teens that accompany him claim he has a cousin’s licence, so it is ok to ride. His parents are helpless. He has also got addicted to smoking and chasing ‘happiness’.
Rajesh and Harold have just turned 18. They both drive cars. They are available to all such teens for a pick up and drop off. They are also available to have such teens for a sleepover. They are also available to invite and take such teens to pubs and private parties where alcohol, cigarettes and ‘happiness’ is made available freely. They assure such teens that nothing can happen to them, no police will catch them. Nirbhaya becomes an easy reference for the underage to be assured that it is ok to break laws and commit violations. They will go scot free. And while parents are feeling violated themselves and completely isolated and helpless, institutions, society and the law enforcement departments are turning a blind eye to these precious teenagers who have been sucked in by the drug mafia into the deep hollows of the drug called ‘happiness.
If you are a parent, take courage. Join the collective supported by social activists, educators and other parents. You must first report to the police if your teenage child leaves without informing you where he or she is going, with whom and what time he or she will return. If the child is not contactable, this is enough to report. If your child is using a bike that requires a licence, report that too. If your child is leaving the house with others using bikes without a licence, please report. If your child is smoking, drinking, vaping or doing drugs you must report. It is a question of life and death.
Imagine a world where we lose our precious teens, teens that are such gems. Young leaders that can be positively disruptive to bring effective change the world so urgently needs today. These are the powerful Ninjas who can shake the corrupt politicians of today. They can lead in climate action. They are the future of a new and better world. They have the potential to be super change-makers, successful entrepreneurs, climate change leaders, conscientious and righteous citizens. And that is why they are a threat to those that want more money, more corruption and more power. Let’s save our teens! It’s time to join forces, help parents in distress and take action.
(Tallulah D’Silva is an Architect and silver awardee of the Golden Door Award 2020 for truth and integrity)
