From busts to solutions

THE revelation that a survey by the Fiji Police Narcotics Bureau of sewerage treatment plants in Fiji and the region has revealed most users of hard drugs in Fiji are from Nadi will attract attention.

It is a great concern, and it is good that we know what is happening now.

Assistant Police Commissioner Livai Driu said these statistics should be a wake-up call for Fijians considering the dangerous impact of drug usage on people’s health and social lives.

“We had tests done on sewers from South Auckland, Nukualofa, Kinoya and Navakai,” ACP Driu said. “After analysing, it was discovered that Nadi is where the highest number of users are from.” The tests were carried out last year, he said, to help the police gauge the movement of drugs and users.

Given the fact that Nadi is a like the hub for tourism activity in the country, this revelation is like a kick in the stomach.

It raises many other associated risks and questions. Given the recent police drug raids that raked in tonnes of methamphetamine in the Jetset Town, we wonder whether we should even be shocked at all.

We are now stuck deep in a moment in time that requires action. In fact we need immediate action!

We can’t escape the fact that we are facing a drug crisis.

Somehow we allowed this to happen. We allowed the meth challenge to creep in and establish a footing in society.

There is a sense of despair and frustration now evident. We have a challenge to overcome something that appears to have taken hold in communities.

So it is good to see the police pulling out all stops to re-engage with the community.

That’s the way to go. In fact it has to happen. We need people taking ownership of what’s happening around them.

The recent community engagement efforts by the police are a ray of hope, a long-overdue step towards mending the broken bridge between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

We need to deal with root causes.

Nadi’s tag now of high drug usage certainly isn’t something great. But it is a wakeup call for us all.

It’s a reminder that we have a lot of work to do to strengthen our communities.

We acknowledge the complexities surrounding the drug trade, and the impact on society and our nation, and we say we all must roll up our sleeves and be engaged. This should not just be the job of the police to address. We need a whole of society approach.

■ FRED WESLEY