NGO Kalegium, Pinsk Belarus

Seminar on Secondary Drug Prevention and Early Intervention in Pinsk

Only strict drug politics and mass preventive work can become the real barrier on the way of spreading of illicit drugs. The participants of international seminar on secondary drug prevention and early intervention, held in Pinsk on October 15-16 2002 and organized by NGO Kalegium and the Swedish National Union RNS (For Drugfree Society), came to this conclusion.

Pavel Kunitsky. Foto: Tanya Honzhurova

The drug problem in Pinsk for the moment is more urgent than ever – all the participants of seminar understood that. The following people took part in the seminar: Aleksey Andrievich, the public prosecutor of the city of Pinsk, and also his deputy Svetlana Maslo; Sergey Bogdanovich, the Head of Pinsk department, controlling illicit drugs turnover; Vadim Verenich, the Chief physician of Pinsk narcological dispensary; Stanislav Kibak, the Head of juvenile police; social pedagogues, psychologists, journalists. Constructive dialogue lasted during two days, and members of seminar shared their opinions without being afraid of the real situation both in Sweden and Belarus, and in Pinsk in particular. Jan Dahlman, the representative of social authorities of the Swedish city Uppsala, characterized that meeting to be the most productive of all the previous ones, which shows the growing interest of Belarusian society for international cooperation in fighting drugs - great evil everywhere and also in Belarus.

Sweden faced the problem of drugs in 1960s and now has a certain experience in cooping the problem. Today this Scandinavian country is ready to share its experience with us. However, this cannot be regarded as just philanthropy - it is rather an attempt to find a reliable ally which can offer European Union a joint conception of fighting illicit drugs, based on strict drug politics and preventive work. Many countries of Western Europe, considered to be an example of freedom and democracy for the East, promote legalization of soft drugs. One should not be a great specialist in this sphere to imagine what could happen if we follow such example. But the specialists must speak out far and wide, as Swedes do at present, making their strict drug politics simultaneously in the West and in the East.
Kennet Olsson, the coordinator of drug police department of Uppsala city says at present there are approximately 26 thousand drug addicts in Sweden, the country with the population of 9,8 million people. It is the official statistics. To be close to reality one should multiply this number 4 times. We cannot boast about having a better situation in our country.
Sergey Bogdanovich, the Head of Pinsk department, controlling illicit drugs turnover, said that 370 drug addicts are registered at the local narcological dispensary. If we take into consideration the hidden information, the number of drug addicts will reach a thousand - too much for a city with the population of about 130 thousand. It is necessary to take into account that drug addicts are mostly youngsters – and they involve their peers in addiction. We should remember that young people are the future of every nation. The participants of the seminar paid special attention to this fact.
How to intervene the young addict career on an early stage? Moreover – how to help teen-agers to form negative attitude towards drugs before youngsters try them? Unfortunately, we face so many difficulties while dealing with this problem, mentioned the participants of the seminar. Firstly, social pedagogues get very low salary. The suggestion to try drug coming from a peer is sometimes a strong temptation for a youngster, though both boring teachers’ and always busy parent’ monologues about the harm of drugs don’t reach a teenager’ ears.
Belarusian schools, having major brining up functions, have a lack of educational materials for teen-agers such as books, films and posters. All the teachers, who do not always have necessary training and information, can do is to persuade students not to try drugs verbally. Therefore, the video about symptoms of being high on drugs, shown by the Swedes, was watched with a great interest. The Swedish police picked up this experience from United States, where they went to have a special training. Sometimes, it is useful to learn from mistakes of someone else, and it is necessary to do it as soon as possible.
At present synthetic drugs are about to appear at discos in Belarus, notified Kennet Olsson. Irina Zheleznova, the Head of local methodical Union of social pedagogues, said that synthetic drugs have already appeared there. And the most horrible thing is that children like to try it. They regard it to be pleasant and harmless. Pinsk department of education conducted a poll in one of the local schools. According to it, 14 of 334 students (aged 13-17) have already tried drugs. To the opinion of the students, participated in the pole, 3% of students aged 13-14; 9% of students aged 15-16; 15% of students aged 16-17 breathe narcotic substances in.It is quite difficult to persuade children not to do things they like to do.Repressive measures from the side of parents, teachers and the militia are not always effective.According to Belarusian laws, drug addict cannot be subjected even to administrative punishment for consuming drugs.

Aleksej Andrievich, Svetlana Maslo, Gennadij Buryj

Sergej Bogdanovich

Moreover, there is a free syringe exchange service at Pinsk narcological dispensary. United Nations Organization finances this project in the frame of fighting AIDS program. In Pinsk, the city taking a leading place in AIDS in Brest region, the project had a positive effect on the first stage. No new HIV-carriers were registered among drug addicts for the last 3 years. Though, the Swedish participants do not approve of the idea of exchanging syringes for drug addicts. The same kind of project was carried on in Sweden, but the public opinion regarded it to be harmful and therefore it was stopped. Scandinavian specialists think we should fight drugs using strict measures. There is no need creating friendly atmosphere for drug addicts, who continue to take drugs.
We were given an example - a Swedish citizen was sentenced for 5 years imprisonment just for holding drugs, belonging to his friend, in his hands. An example from Pinsk life was given as a contradiction: a local citizen was sentenced for 3 months arrest for letting drug addicts consume drugs in his apartment. By the way drug addicts were the witness of the case in the court. Such paradoxes do occur in our life. However the Belarusians participating in the seminar considered that necessary changes must be introduced into Belarusian law on drugs as soon as possible.
The approaches to preventive work must be changed radically. There are some national programs in Belarus, but they cannot work without financial support. The authorities still are not likely to consider drug addiction to be disaster in Belarus. For example, Vadim Verenich, the Chief physician of the narcological dispensary, said there is no doctor specialised on drug addiction treatment at this medical establishment. What to say about secondary prevention then?
Today is high time to discuss the problem of opening a rehabilitation centre, where recovering drug addicts would be able to work and gradually adapt to life in the society. In Belarus, where there is no money for treatment of children and war veterans, this project is perhaps something unreal, taking also into account the negative attitude of the population to drug addicts – able even to commit a crime in order to get a desired dosage of drugs.
Per Johansson, the Secretary general of Swedish National Union For Drugfree Society said that in Sweden the attitude to drug addicts is quite negative, they are considered to be dregs of society, which cause many problems. But at the same time problems should be solved otherwise they grow like a snowball. If we help people to get rid of drug dependence, they become our allies in fighting drugs. Nobody is able to describe horrors of drug addiction better than a former drug addict. Many recovered drug addicts even made a good carrier on lecturing. Though, not every drug addict will have such future, but to the opinion of our Swedish friends we must attract drug addicts to preventive work. How can we do it? We should find an answer together with legislators.
In future it will be possible to build a rehabilitation centre for former drug addicts with Swedish sponsorship, because there are people, who are interested in this project in Sweden. But everything depends on Belarusians’ will to cooperate closely with their Scandinavian colleagues. First steps have been already made. The cooperation work of Pinsk NGO Kalegium and the Swedish National Union For Drugree Society was highly appreciated. Partners are going to continue their cooperation.
On the second day of fruitful work at the seminar, the participants made a list of questions, which will help to make secondary drug prevention more effective.