Drugs lose in people's war
By Su Qiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-11 06:01

Like other rural areas in Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, Heha, a hamlet, lies quietly in the green mountains.

Most Heha villagers are Dai minority, a Chinese ethnic group famed for its rich culture and close knit society.

It is hard to imagine this beautiful place could ever be subject to the harsh realities of drug abuse, heroin and HIV/AIDS.

But years ago, Heha was living a nightmare 16 villagers were addicted to heroin.

In a country of 1.3 billion, 16 people hardly seem significant, but in a hamlet of 415 the effect this small number can have is devastating .

Sharing a 503-kilometre border with Myanmar, one of the world's biggest growers of opium poppies, Dehong Prefecture's history is shot through with problems caused by the drug trade.

Seventy kilometres from the border, Heha in Yingjiang County, one of the four counties of the prefecture, is on the frontline.

To tackle the problem, Heha villagers set up a scheme called "Three Groups Against Drugs," under which men in the village were divided according to their ages an elder group, for men over 50, a middle-aged group, for married men under 50, and a youth group for all unmarried men.

"They are organized like this because it is easier for people to communicate with drug addicts if they are around their own ages," Yu Tianping, a local government official of Yingjiang County, told China Daily.

"It is the people's war against the drug problem, and it works.

"Of course, the government has not sat idle. We offer financial help and expert support to eradicate the cancer of drug addiction," he said.

Supported by the local government, Heha villagers drafted a two-page regulatory document, which was fingerprinted by all the adults in the hamlet.

The passage of the "Three Groups Against Drugs" policy came after a village meeting in which the regulation was explained to all the villagers, many of whom cannot read.

"We explained, explained and explained in different ways, until the last villager nodded his head and put his fingerprint on the paper," Yu said proudly.

"Without support from the villagers, the policy could never have been implemented."

Punishment and love

According to the scheme, the treatment for drug users is simple but effective: Addicts are excluded from community life.

In other cultures and communities the penalty might not be seen as much of a deterrent, but amongst Heha's close-knit Dai minority it is overwhelmingly effective.

"If you are a drug addict and refuse to give up, nobody splashes a single drop of water on you," said Yu, referring to the Dai people's Water-Splashing Festival.

In Dai culture, water means all good wishes, and the more water is poured on you, the luckier you will be. During the mid-April festival everybody wants to get soaked, but Heha's drug users remain bone dry.

Addicts are also barred from attending activities such as wedding parties, birthday celebrations and even funerals.

But as well as punishment, there is love.

If any one is spotted using drugs, group members counsel them about the consequences of their actions, sometimes day and night, until they agree to quit.

Villagers promise every drug user who agrees to quit that they will care for them and their families during rehabilitation.

Rejoining community

Shi Xiaoxu, 39, used to be one of those "excluded" by his community.

"During the time I was shut out I felt like I was nobody in the village where I had been living for more than 30 years," said Shi, whose family used to be one of the richest in the village before he became hooked on drugs in 1993.

"At first, I hated people in the village, but now I just want to thank them for helping me and saving my life and my family," he said, exchanging a quick smile with a villager sitting next to him as he recalled his horrible experiences.

"One day, my younger daughter came back from school and burst into tears. She said her schoolmates wouldn't be friends with her because I was a drug addict."

The following morning Shi got up early, packed some clothes and headed for the drug treatment centre. He knew it would be painful, but he was ready to start addressing his addiction.

His efforts paid off.

Shi has been drug-free since returning home from the treatment centre four years ago.

"I haven't even lit a cigarette in the past four years," Shi said.

Welcomed like a prodigal son, his role in the village changed from castaway to hero.

In 2002, Shi was elected leader of the anti-drug scheme's middle-aged group, winning 68 of 82 votes.

"As I have been a drug addict myself, I understand how addicts think and feel. I can show them with my own experience how addiction destroys your willpower, but also how it is possible to give up and start a new, decent life," Shi said.

He and his group have even staged plays, warning of the dangers of drugs.

"I portrayed a man who started smoking marijuana as a social thing, and then moved on to injecting heroin, and finally died of AIDS," he said.

"It was a nightmare, but now we are living a normal life."

Thanks to "the Three Groups Against Drugs" campaign, drug abuse in Heha has been brought to a complete halt this year.

Although three addicts died of drug-related causes during the village's battle, all other drug users have cut off their dependence and are recovering well, villagers say.

Local officials declined to say if the three have died of AIDS.

And Heha's solution has been so effective that the scheme has been exported to neighbouring hamlets, helping to make Dehong's rural communities as peaceful as the surrounding countryside.

(China Daily 10/11/2005 page5)