Habits … A Drama About Youth and Drugs

Youths who are using or experimenting with tobacco, alcohol or drugs

MUSIC (Program theme…Run 30 seconds…).

Youth can be a time of experimentation and taking risks. Many young people today experiment with illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and solvents, such as glue and gasoline. These substances can cause bad feelings, and make people lose control of their actions. In the drama that follows, we hear from a number of young people about why they use these substances. Stay tuned at the end of our program to hear about substance abuse from several young members of our listening audience.

SOUND EFFECTS (Sound of sewing machines being operated).

My name is Selena. I come from a village not too far from the capital city. Every morning I get up early and help with chores at home, sweeping the front yard and putting out feed for the animals. Then I catch the first bus into town. Sometimes it can take two hours to get there. I wish I could sleep on the bus, but there are too many things to keep me awake. The bus is always overcrowded. The roads are very bad and we feel every bump because the driver goes too quickly and makes turns so fast that my heart pounds.

My shift starts at 7 AM. We get only two 15 minute breaks, one at midday and the other at 4 PM. By afternoon, I am very tired. That is why I take these pills one of the other girls from work gave me. They make me a little jumpy, but they keep me awake until my shift ends. At 7:15 PM I get the last bus back to my village.

I wish I didn’t have to work. I would rather be in school, but my mother needs the money. She is trying to feed seven of us. Things have been difficult since my daddy left. Mummy says some day I won’t have to come to the factory to work any more. Meanwhile, I keep taking these pills. They keep me awake. They keep me up. I don’t like it when I feel down. Only trouble is, I feel awful when the pills wear off, so then I want to take some more to stop the bad feelings. I hate this.

SOUND EFFECTS (Sounds of sewing machines. Run 6 seconds and fade to market sounds.).

The best days are the big market days in the middle of the week. There are so many people it is easier to slip in and out, to move about without being seen or to snatch and run. With the crowds, we can make a run for it and get lost in the confusion. If one of us gets caught, the others don’t look back. We just hold on to what we’ve got and run.

Why do we steal? Well, we’ve got to eat, right? And we have to buy our drugs. The drugs get us through a lot of hard times. You feel high and you know that anything is possible. Then reality kicks in again and you feel bad. If I could, I’d stay high all the time.

I left home a long time ago. I’ve been living on the streets since I was seven years old. Life on the street is tough, but it sure beats what was going on at home. I could never go back there. The streets — they are my home now. I hang out in a gang. We look out for each other as much as we can. It’s too tough trying to make it on your own on the streets. That’s how I got into the drugs. At first I didn’t want to try them, but the other kids wouldn’t have accepted me as much. I wanted to fit in.

Yeah, life on the streets is tough. It is stinky and filthy and you feel like dirt all of the time because you’re living in dirt. But the drugs sure help. Someday I’m going to stop though. I’m going to get out of this. Maybe I’ll even get a job and a girl and we can get married and have kids. I don’t know. I think about that sometimes, but I don’t know how. I don’t know how to get out from under. Anyway, right now I gotta run. I gotta go get some stuff.

SOUND EFFECTS (Market sounds … run 5 seconds, then fade into the sound of late night in a village (crickets, etc.).

It was always in the middle of the night when he would come to me. The first time it happened he just came to my corner of the compound, put his hand over my mouth and held tight. I was so shocked and frightened I didn’t move.

After he had his way with me, I lay in the dark crying silently. I could hear my mother breathing in her corner, but she did not shift or move. The next day I felt so ashamed I could hardly look at her. But momma didn’t seem to notice. She had that same broken down, worn out look she always wears. She is too busy and worried about the younger ones to even notice me.

The next time he forced himself on me I did not cry. I just shut down a part of myself and did not allow myself to feel. It was as though it was happening to someone else. Sometimes though I do feel intense shame. I can’t stand it. And that’s when I drink. It keeps me numb and I feel good.

When I am high on booze I can laugh. I like to laugh. I need to laugh. Lately, my friends are telling me I drink too much. Sometimes I wake up and I don’t remember what has happened. My friend says I let some boys do things to me one night. She tells me to be careful. I could get pregnant. Or I could get infected with HIV, the virus that causes the AIDS disease. I know she’s right. It’s just so hard. It’s late now. I wonder whether he will come tonight.

SOUND EFFECTS (Night noise…run 5 seconds and fade to school yard sounds.).

Hey! Marissa! Got a smoke? Hey, what are you looking at?

I know. I know. They say you shouldn’t smoke. That it’s bad for you. But the white girls in the magazines and on the billboards? They smoke and life is good for them.

Everyone knows life is better if you have white skin. So? What are you looking at? I know my skin is brown. But if I smoke, I feel cool. Even if I’m not white. Hey! Marissa! Where’s that cigarette? You owe me a smoke. Remember?

SOUND EFFECTS (School yard sounds. Run for a few seconds then fade into sound of water being pumped.).

Hello, Thandi.

Hello, Leah. Where have you been?

I’m sorry I’m late. I had to stay after school.

Of all days to be late! You know if we don’t get this water pumped and home on time we won’t be allowed to go out tonight.

Thandi. I’ve been thinking. I don’t know whether we should go.

Are you kidding? Why not?

You’ve heard the rumours about what happens at those parties the kids hold in the gorge. The drinking and the drugs.

Leah, don’t be stupid. Sulu and his brother want to take us to this party. It means they don’t think of us as little girls any more.

Only the popular girls get invited down to the gorge.

One of my friends at school says only loose girls go down there. What if they want us to do things we don’t want to do? How will we get home? It will be hard to say no.

Leah, I can’t believe you’re doing this on the biggest night of our lives. This village is so boring. There is never anything to do. At least the people who go out to the gorge are having a good time. And if we say no, Sulu and Tewvik won’t have anything to do with us.

We don’t have to go down to the gorge to have a good time. Why don’t we try to organize some activities for young people around here. We could have parties without having a lot of drugs and alcohol. We could perform dramas or make music or something. And if Sulu and Tewvik really like us, they won’t mind. They might want to help.

Oh, Leah. Sometimes you give me a headache.

SOUND EFFECTS (Sound of water being pumped).

Come on. Let’s get this water pumped and back home so we can try to find Sulu and Tewvik. Maybe they would be willing to just get together and talk about forming a youth club to organize some fun activities for ourselves instead of going down to the gorge. You just want to see them, right? It doesn’t have to be down at the gorge.

I don’t know. And why didn’t you think of this before?

Well, I didn’t want to disappoint you. But the more I think about it, if I do things I know aren’t good for me, I’ll be disappointing myself. What that girl told me today about what happens to some of the girls who go down to the gorge made me change my mind. Come on Thandi, why don’t we at least ask Sulu and Tewvik if we can do something different tonight?

Oh, alright. I was a little bit nervous about going out to the gorge myself actually. I just hope they won’t think we’re scared.

Alright! If they really like us they won’t mind. Come on. Let’s hurry up and finish.

SOUND EFFECTS (Sounds of water being pumped).

[

If possible, follow this broadcast with a discussion about substance abuse. Invite several young people from your listening audience to come to your radio station to participate. Be sure to focus on solutions, for example, how the young people in the discussion group overcame their substance abuse problems, and give local organizations or groups that youth may contact for further information.]

In the studio today to talk about some of the issues raised in the drama and what can be done to prevent substance abuse are three young people: [give names]

Following panel discussion:

We’d like to hear from you. Your feedback on our drama is important. We also welcome your ideas on how to prevent substance abuse. Contact us here at radio station [ _______________ ].

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