We are the drug addicts. They call us the “Paateys,[1]” but that’s not all we are or what we want to be. We are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. There are people who love us and who we love too. We don’t want to be labeled as “Faiy-boa [2]” or by any other name. We don’t want to be stigmatised, isolated or punished. We want to be treated like normal people, we want to be like you and we are part of you. The difference is that we are the addicts.
Why did we become addicts? And why did we start abusing drugs? This is a question everybody needs to answer. We want to know the answer too and we are working on it now. But we wonder if the community is ready to face reality.
We often ask ourselves why this happened to us. Why not to our brothers and sisters? They say that at least one member of every family in the Maldives is addicted to drugs. We wonder why we suffered through addiction. But the reality is that our families suffer along with us. Now, as recovering addicts we no longer ask why we became addicts? Instead, we ask how we became the lucky ones, why are we able to work successfully at our recovery when there are so many others who are trying as well.
We ask you now to look at us as normal people, not as your enemies. We accept the mistakes we have made and we realise the pain and anger we have put you through. We have been to hell and back and most of the time we have dragged you along with us. We are now trying to make you understand and give you a glimpse of our world.
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