THERE is not enough being told about the real impact of drugs on families, says head of the Catholic Church in Fiji Archbishop Peter Loy Chong.
He said he had recently seen a case of two young men in Suva who lost their lives using drugs.
“There are cases of unreported deaths because of this, but all we are seeing is drug raid being done here or an arrest over there,” said Archbishop Loy Chong.
“We need to know the reality of what is happening, and that is people are dying from this too.”
Archbishop Peter Loy Chong said police are not doing their job well as there have been a number of unreported deaths caused by hard drugs, and people are not aware of them.
Archbishop Chong said he has been approached by members of the church who have lost loved ones through drug overdose.
“There was one young man who had been injecting himself, bluetoothing and dealing drugs,” said Archbishop Chong.
“He had not eaten for three days.
“He was rushed to hospital, put on a drip but his condition got worse until he passed away.”
Archbishop Chong said the real impact of drugs on families was yet to be told.
“We need to put the correct information that will motivate people. Most of the stories we hear and see are about drug raids that’s been happening.
“Is that type of information going to change the hearts of many?
“We need information that will cause parents to have some sort of fear where they will start questioning themselves about their children’s wellbeing.”
He added the communication between family members has been disconnected because people spend more time on mobile devices than with each other.
He said this resulted in youths seeking alternatives to relieve their pain, such as taking drugs.
“People might just be looking to their mobile phones for everything but not turning to the relationship which is talking and listening, the natural way of communication and how we deal with issues.
“If you have a problem, the way to deal with it is that we have to talk about it.
“We need to bring it out to another person who can listen, and listen with their heart.
“The mobile phones can’t do that for you if you’re trying to find solutions. You need a human heart to understand another human heart if you are addressing a problem.
“Only then, the stress can be taken out when you know that someone is listening.”
