The past five weeks have been an amazing opportunity to work with students, local leaders, rehabilitation centers, and government officials. Jasleen and I have been blessed to meet and listen to the stories of several people who are recovering from addiction. Their experiences certainly highlight addiction as a terrible disease and provide insight on how we, as a community, can address the problem of addiction in Punjab. The most important advice that we have received from community leaders, recovering people who suffer from addiction, and officials is that it is crucial to support, not punish, people who are addicted. Only through support will they be able to recover from this disease.
Upon meeting with the DC of Amritsar, we were amazed by the amount of work he has done and is currently doing to address the affordability and availability of rehabilitation centers. Moreover, he had met with hundreds of people who are addicted and provided valuable advice on the importance of including their voices to understand the roots of the problem.
We also had the opportunity to meet both the SSP and SD of Moga, both of whom were also well-researched on the topic of drug addiction. The SSP, Gurpreet Singh Toor, focused on root causes of addiction and how the current environment of Punjab had allowed such a problem to surface. From the increase in social media devices, unemployment, and to the separation of families via emigration, several factors have influenced the current culture in Punjab—one that contrasts starkly to the Punjab of our parents’ generations. Adding to this, the SD informed us about how unemployment and an increase in “free time” coupled with an environment that doesn’t offer opportunities (such as sports and other forms of entertainment and arts) have also contributed to extending the problem of drug addiction within Punjab.
Most importantly, we have decided that there is no way to understand the problem of drug addiction in Punjab without first understanding its complex history. This history reveals generations of oppression and troubles, all of which undoubtedly affect Punjab’s present state.
In our research, we are finally getting a glimpse at the extent of the problem of drug addiction in Punjab. However, the more research we conduct, the more we find that we are studying a small problem that is deeply intertwined with the complex realities of present-day Punjab. We are hopeful that our further research will provide insight on how we can begin to help solve this smaller problem and work together to “Uplift Punjab” and make it better for the current and next generations.
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