SAVE YOUTHS
THE arrest of 25 pupils by police in Kitwe this week after being found out of bounds – in a place notorious for dagga smoking and drinking – when they should have been in class should be a matter of concern.
The nation should indeed be concerned as the only explanation for the pupils being found in such an area during daylight is that it is where they get their supplies.
It is shocking that so many pupils, in their school uniforms could have the courage to frequent such areas without fear of even being spotted. Obviously they must have done this countless of times – it was the norm.
What is even frightening is that the arrests coincid ed with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicitly Trafficking on Tuesday which was observed in the country.
President Hakainde Hichilema underscored the importance of the day with his presence at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka interacting with the various stakeholders, get ting first hand information on drug abuse apart from delivering a keynote speech.
What came out clearly though at Mulungushi International Conference Centre was the need for the nation to deal with drug abuse among young people as well as parenting
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) should in this vein be commended for its role in creating awareness among adolescents on the dangers of drug abuse. Amidst its limited budget, it has been pro-active in engaging youths particularly in schools to sensitise them on the dangers associated with drug abuse and its efforts to rehabilitate those addicted as opposed to criminal prosecution.
In the Kitwe incident, Riverside Police Station Officer-in-Charge Thomas Swala, said the 25 pu pils - from Kitwe Boys Secondary School, Mukuba Secondary School and Parklands Secondary School - with one school leaver were arrested during a com bined operation by the Zambia Police Service and the DEC.
The arrests should help the law enforcement agen cies to get to the suppliers and bring them to book.
If anything, the country should draw lessons from the tragic weekend incident in South Africa in which 21 teenagers died at a tavern in Scenery Park, a resi dential compound in East London.
Sources close to the investigation believe the chil dren - aged 13 to 17 - were killed by toxic fumes that emanated from a petrol generator that was suspected to have been used inside the tavern.
Zambians ask themselves why youngsters resort to drugs, as is being asked in South Africa and elsewhere.
We agree with what a civil society official said about the tragic event in South Africa that one of the rea sons teenagers in the area go to taverns is because the municipality does not build recreational facilities for them in the area.
“These children of this area are bored because there are no facilities, so they turn to drinking to pass time. The municipality must build parks (and) invest in sport, starting by refurbishing the local stadium so that our children can play sport and stay away from taverns.”
This, in a nutshell, aptly applies to the Zambian sit uation where youths lack recreational facilities where they could spend quality time through sports activi ties, as opposed to seeking solace in drugs and oth er anti-social behaviour. The tragedy in South Africa could easily replicate itself in Zambia.
The fight against drug abuse by adolescents must start from family level through proper parenting to lo cal authorities building recreational and sports facili ties for communities.