In the war on drugs, it is perhaps most important to rope in the target victims first: the youth.
Easily convinced by peers, swayed by stress, heartbreak and low self esteem, the most valuable of Goa’s many assets, our youth, are the bracket the drug lords go after.
Learning from older friends, kids pick up and adopt the seemingly magical drug culture, answering the rebel yell that youthful disobedience ignites. I wonder if there is a dedicated programme to educate kids about drinking, drugs, gambling and road accidents; Goa being loaded with these scourges, it should have been the prime focus of any decent govt (sic) but as this is probably not on their RADAR, it falls on every member of the village to keep each child on the straight and narrow.
This point has to be yelled from the rooftops, churches and tintos; we are Goans! Mario Miranda, Alfred Rose, Shenoy Goembab, Subodh Kerkar, Lorna, Orlande De Noronha, Nephie Rod are not just exceptions; they are the standards that show us the heights each Goan youngster is called to rise to! Dusted with meteor spray, filled with sweet water that has been blended beyond perfection for these beloved children, crowned with sights and sounds that seem more fitting in Paradise, Goa is truly twice blessed. Alcohol, though loved and near deified by many, corrupts young minds; I see college kids drop change and buy their first beers on a nearly daily basis. What begins as fun, snowballs into binges when heartbreak and stress storm in, leading to addictions that kill any creative spark in adulthood.
Drugs when indulged in, are first tried under duress with peer pressure or depression being prime triggers; a quote here by Sly Stallone would have saved me years of addiction had I heard it then, “Life ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. Nothing hits harder than Life, but you got to take the hits and keep moving forward, that’s how winning is done; and you can’t blame him or her, nobody; quitters do that and you’re not one of them!”
Parents, starve your kids of cash! Give them debit cards or better yet, make them do chores for extra funds, the harder the better. Check for blood shot eyes, stinky smoky fingers at the door and abnormally wolfish appetites. Ban friends with overt links to the drug world (weed emblem t-shirts, rainbow splashed tops, trademark man-purses for smoking paper and weed baggies) and make time for a family meal every day. Splurge on athletic goods, push for mind-developing sports like jogging, and buy them musical instruments, give them music lessons.
Patrons of Anjuna’s own Ven.Fr. Agnel, think of your once village’s fall from grace. He is weeping as you would, if EDM festivals were set up in the gulf between Se Cathedral and the Basilica of Bom Jesus. It is up to you to ensure that Goa’s babies are alive to headline a concert for 20,000 like our very own maestro Remo, or are coding and frothing at the mouth after licking a stamp with a few thousand microns too many because of our lack of concern.
