Everyday we hear news about the drug problem uprooting Seychelles society. We are told so and so was caught with heroin at the International Airport, or so and so is trafficking hard drugs and he is being protected by the powers that be since he is one of them.
On SBC we hear reports now almost on a weekly basis of 30 adults arrested for drugs or 41 arrests last night, or Police are detaining 12 men for a drug den bust. After we hear through “radyo bambou” of the names of the persons involved it sends shivers down our spines. What is happening to our Seychelles? We are being over run by hard drugs that are destroying our tiny islander population.
Why has the Government not been able to do anything? They have been in power for 32 years; did they not see this problem coming? Did they “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” for far too long because it was their own people cultivating the hard drug industry through State protection? Because SPPF has remained in denial for such a long time now, our mothers cry when the drug problem hits home and ravages their children and destroys their homes, which they have struggled to build mostly, on their own. The promises on the one hand, by SPPF, of our children being “Our Treasures and Our Future”, have been compromised by SPPF’s other hand, of Corruption and Gaff as they allow drug Escobar associated closely with their party to freely ruin our Country at their leisure.
What Happened To Those “Escobar”
In his Presidential Election campaign, Mr. President said that he was going to deal with the “Escobar” and stop drug trafficking in Seychelles. Mr. President is now two (2) years well into a mandate. He was in power even before that, as Rene handed the reigns to him in mid term of his mandate. In total, Mr. President has been in power for almost five years.
It’s been a while since we heard the promise and the big talk about ending drug trafficking in Seychelles once and for all. In the beginning of the Year 2008, Mr. President again “declared war on drugs”. After arresting hundreds of our children and young men and women, SPPF, how many Escobar have you arrested Mr. President? NONE! NONE! NONE! NONE! NONE! NONE! NONE!
Put Seychellois In Jail
If this trend continues, the whole Country will be in jail, with only the Army, Ministers and Escobar around to do circles around the Clock Tower, all looking for the next victim, our children and our young men-women in the prime of their lives. In a word, Mr. President’s battle on drugs has been a failure to date, because his agenda through Irish hounds and a dubious drug enforcement force has been targeting soft targets, mainly users and young men hanging around on the streets after 7:00 pm. The Escobar, whose key to success lies in SPPF contacts, sit comfortably behind iron gates and 2.0 meter walls with security men and CCTV cameras to protect them. Escobar run legitimate businesses whose financing comes from drugs. Drugs get into the Country through power based contacts. The businesses they run can be anything from car hire, restaurants, bars, boat charters, helicopter services, to hotels, imports and so on. Some may even be aspiring to becoming judges soon. Watch who the CAA appoints and we will tell you if he is linked to Escobar. The Truth behind the drug trade in Seychelles today is damning on the current administration.
Come on SPPF, let’s get beyond the fancy words and move into action. When drugs hit home in our living room SPPF, it is hard to face; but it is even harder on society, when you do not face it. While drugs have no political color, when SPPF ignores the Escobar in our society and let them ply their evil trade on our youth, it is because of political colors, that they remain free. Now try to get out of that little box Mr. President!
Face Reality First On Drugs
When a society is faced with a drug problem that threatens to destroy the very fabric of its existence as in our situation today, the powers that are and be, must take one first big step: Face Reality!
Minister Marie Pierre Lloyd has gone on SBC two weeks ago and told us to face reality. For a moment in time, she sounded like she was in Opposition to Government, saying we do not have enough money to handle the problems we face, resources are limited. I salute the Minister; she is courageous at a moment when courage is lacking among her colleagues. In line with the Minister’s assertion that we have no money, I have one question for Mr. President. Where’s the money? Did you not tell us Mr. President in the last Election that we were rich, rich, rich? Now today, your Minister tells the People of Seychelles we are poor, poor, poor? Explain this Double Speak coming from your Administration, Sir. Highlight this little detail, so we the voters do not think we are on drugs!
Build Banking College Not Treatment Centers
While Mr. President tells us he wants a “Banking College”, the Minister of Social Affairs tells us we have no money to treat drug addicts or to control and eradicate it. While Mr. President inspects SIBA and all the ware houses full of every kind of food for his rich Arab, Russians, South African friends, the youth detention reorientation center in Praslin lies in ruins after years of being closed down and not having a replacement facility or pro gramme. Mr. President is acquiring the reputation of putting cart before cow in no uncertain terms. You can forget about a horse with this guy. Using a car to get around will not be cost effective.
To Mr. President’s credit this year, he has made an effort at the International Airport to arrest a few “drug mules”, which carry drugs into the Country. But the real issue for a Country of 85,000 populations is not whether there are a few arrests made at the Airport. The real issue we must face is who is causing drugs to be imported into Seychelles? If “radyo bambou” knows the handful of culprits, why is it that the Government of Seychelles does not know them? What’s the hold up SPPF? How many people can be considered to be the major players in this illicit trade that is destroying our children and our future as a Nation? Seychelles has only so many potential kingpin drug traffickers. After all, we are not talking about 1000 people, or even 100. The number is not even 50 or 25. We are really talking about a dirty dozen (about 12) people that are destroying our children’s future and our mother’s can only cry as SPPF fails to face this reality and blame the victims instead.
Where There is Drugs There is Corruption
Behind the Drug Culture is the Corruption Culture. Drugs do not enter the Country without Corruption being the tool to allow it to evade detection and find its way to market. Corruption comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. But it always starts from the top down, especially in a Country that is micro managed from the top as in the case of the Seychelles. We are not talking about USA or China here. Corrupt practices come when the phone rings; the son of so and so has been arrested and detained for drugs. The order comes immediately to release the culprit and silence the incident in the Press.
Corruption comes from the top, when a brother trafficking in drugs and sells to wholesalers across the Country, and he is afforded protection because he forms part of the royal family, kind of. Left undeterred, our children become victims, our mother’s cry! The Double Speak just goes on and on to the point we start talking about making changes in our hearts and souls instead of our Government offices, Police units, and the streets. All the pretty poetic words on fighting drugs will not win the battle against Drugs until this Country tackles Corruption. That unfortunately for some, translates in to removing SPPF from political power in Seychelles. For the river of Corruption flows from their underworld streams.
Talk all they want or can, the Speaking Pots cannot hide... from where the river flows. One day soon, the speaking pots will be silenced; our mothers will stop crying!
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!