We need more will
22 November, 2008 – If people outside the country logged on to our discussions today they might get the impression that our society has suddenly developed a problem of drug and alcohol abuse. Even some Bhutanese tend to forget that it has been brewing for a long time.
Alcohol has always been one of the main killers of Bhutanese people. Drug abuse began soon after Bhutan opened up to planned development and has deteriorated in recent years with more out-of-work youth living in the larger urban centres.
We also know that the problem will continue to grow.
All this was – and is – inevitable. There are no societies that are free of alcohol and drug problems. It is a question of how serious the problem is and, more important, what is being done about it. Bhutan’s problem is smaller than most countries as far as the numbers are concerned. In terms of implications it may be far more precarious.
Theoretically we know what needs to be done. We know that, in the long run, education is the only real solution. But we need a series of parallel measures to be taken: treatment, rehabilitation, and counselling, for example. We also know that such services require trained professionals.
Pragmatic wisdom says that it is more important to give youth choices than advice. It is important to tell youth not to do drugs but it is more important to give them something else to do. This is perhaps the most important issue in the long term.
This is not a new revelation. The discussion on the need for healthy distractions for youth has been going on for more than a decade. We know that we suffer a severe shortage of facilities for sports and games, arts and entertainment, and other avenues where youth can be creatively occupied.
Our problem is that we are short of both professionals and funds. More serious, we might be short of the will to tackle the problem. For example, the Bhutan Narcotics Control Agency, established specifically to deal with substance abuse, was given a budget of Nu 150,000 to deal with the problem. Considering that senior officials use cars, that cost more than 10 times this amount, just to drive between their homes and offices, this may indicate wrong priorities.
But, for a generation in transition, this is the right time to act. As we begin the 10th development Plan, youth could be raised as a specific priority, starting with the budget allocation.
“We can never solve our significant problems from the same level of thinking we were at when we created the problems”
Source: Kuenselonline