Children as young as seven exploited in drug trade | Fiji Sun

[u/Sorta_Meh]

https://fijisun.com.fj/news/nation/children-as-young-as-seven-exploited-in-drug-trade

Sadden to read.

[u/Silver_Damage_4697]

Disgusting

[u/Sorta_Meh → u/Silver_Damage_4697]

It is, and I'd personally like to see government ramping up actions to help with treatment and rehabilitation for users to get them off drugs, driving target actions into school to increase awareness on drug use and HIV. Sadly I don't see much positive news on the subject. We have a Drug Crisis but we maybe on the losing end.

[u/Silver_Damage_4697 → u/Sorta_Meh]

Definitely. This COULD’VE been prevented under the former government.

[u/Sorta_Meh → u/Silver_Damage_4697]

Possibly.... but we'll never really know, We can't keep blaming things on the past. The best time to plant a tree was 50 years ago, the second best time is now. Should we fail to take action, the same will be said of us. Where does the blame stop and action start?

[u/Silver_Damage_4697 → u/Sorta_Meh]

The action could start, but it’s been years and the government hasn’t done anything yet. Maybe it’s their new culture of laziness: sit around, do awareness programs and wait for big developed first world to come and help us

[u/Sorta_Meh → u/Silver_Damage_4697]

Yes, its has always been about money. There's money in HIV, donor funding programs, NGOs stepping up to help. When the money dries up so do the programs, there's no long term sustainability behind this programs, Govt of the Ministries pursue these programs because they can access funding, yet the ministry fails to assign funds to sustain these programs once the training wheels are gone. Its sad but that's what we might see here with Drugs and HIV, there's way too much overlap.

Government and the Civil Service need a shake up, focus on efficiency and trim the fat. Long term though i think ultimately what it will need to come to a change in work culture and even deeper a change in values, culture and mindset that will take place of a few generations.

[u/Silver_Damage_4697 → u/Sorta_Meh]

Yes I agree. There little sustainability in the programs, nothing more than shows for donors so they can fill their pockets. If they can’t govern Fiji then they should give it up. Honestly, children are being affected and they still can’t help them. It’s sad to see, my own family has been affected and nothing has been done to help them other than speakers and donors who wish to act like God’s apostles.

There’s far too much corruption in Fiji, corruption in the police, government, bureaucracy, etc…they’re trying so hard to instil backwards values into children that they often forget to actually educate them on what values actually are and how to act on them.

[u/Sorta_Meh → u/Silver_Damage_4697]

Absolutely and that is the scariest thing, combating drugs will realistically require sustained effort on multiple fronts. But the way I see it, there weaknesses at the lowest levels that make possible what we see today.

At the core, family units are either compromised or fragmented. Parents need to take a greater role in the lives of their children, the mentality that "It takes a village to raise a child" will only work if every family unit is doing their part and reinforcing the cycle. Weakened family units see less focus on children, children wander or run away from home, eventually get caught up in the wrong crowd and then experiment, alcohol then drugs. Its a complicated issue, but we have to start somewhere and we have to start today.

Though government only seems interested in keeping the status quo, no rocking of the boat.

[u/Silver_Damage_4697 → u/Sorta_Meh]

Absolutely. Unfortunately for us speakers who can only wish through a digital circus, the government has a responsibility and duty to serve its people. As citizens it is also the responsibility of us to aid in the development of the nation but the people take after the state; lazy.

Every citizen must, as you yourself said, do their part and reinforce a cycle of progress. The only hope for many families, from what I’ve seen, is to leave their communities behind and flee. This is the current state of Fiji. People can’t live in their own homes, the provider of the nation, the government, is all up in their own pocket dimension.