IN PICS: Youngsters reel in chains of addiction
Chasing a hopeless high is a never-ending cycle in the shackles of drug abuse
BOPHELONG – Every day, youngsters on the outskirts of Joko Tea – a small squatter camp – smoke their lives away as they chase a hopeless high.
Despite the bustling passersby crossing the old dilapidated building lining the last row of shacks winding up the settlement, nothing seems to disturb them as they reel in their chain smoking.
The heartwrenching sight of the teens “skeifing” their way into numbness made the mission feel painfully urgent.
A sextet demonstrated how a R50 skeif quickly perished in seconds, leaving them zombied out.
Speaking to the paper before their conversation trailed off, heads drooping, and their bodies slumping as the high took hold, some explained why they found themselves trapped in this street drug.
“I’ve been smoking different drugs since 2007, but nyaope takes the cup. When I started getting into drugs, the thought of finding a stronger fix led me to this ‘monster’,” explained the youngster while some of his acquaintances held a needle to his neck.
Locking in the air to bring out the jugular vein for a proper injection during the interview, the young man continued to explain: “It’s been too many years, even when one wants to stop, it just gets harder by the day.”
While some of the youngsters talked about quitting while they still can, others told the paper that they are afraid of the withdrawals also known as ‘Didown’.
“More than law enforcement, or our parents, the biggest fear we have when we contemplate to stop using these drugs ‘ke di down’. The pain is so unbearable that it sends you back to the drug as soon as you get the chance. There is no way out unless you are dead,” said another.
