Drugs are killing Malawi youths, but why are we silent?
Area 47 in Lilongwe, Malawi, is slowly becoming another Tembisa, a location in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In Tembisa, you have fiercely and dark corners that you can’t just peep your nose into.
In these corners, you find fairly young people—mostly aged between 10 and 25—sit in ecstasy, injecting themselves and some sniffing a strong intoxicating drug called ‘Nyaope’.
Nyaope is a cocktail of all serious drugs—from hemp, cocaine, heroin, termik, ARVs and all that. It’s cheap, you can get it at an average MK100. With a MK100 dose, you are assured to remain high, really high, for about 24 hours.
It’s addictive and as I write, mostly in South Africa, almost 80 percent of youths in townships and locations are, as early as 8 am, already drowsy and committing heinous crimes.
I don’t know how many Malawians know Nyaope but I can tell you this drug is, slowly, becoming prevalent in our locations and townships.
I have Area 47 in Lilongwe as my case in point.
Just like in Tembisa, I have seen striking contrasts of ‘cartel-like’ corners in Area 47, run mostly by Nigerian brothers, where our youths are buying drugs and, judging by its price and effect, I can’t help but conclude its Nyaope. These youths, I tell you, can easily be spotted around Bwandilo. As early as 8 am, these youths are already drowsy, violent and stuttering insults at passersby. Women can testify to this: they are always the target, being insulted, abused, called names and, even, chasing them. It’s there, yes, at Bwandiro.
I bet authorities need to wake up to this reality.
I speak of Area 47 because that is what I only know. But what about other locations? Think of Zolozolo, Bangwe, Ndirande, Mbayani, Kawale—where our loafing and unemployed youths are always captured by the bliss of these cheap cocktails?
The tragedy of Nyaope, as I have said earlier, is that it’s a cocktail of several drugs. That is why when you are intoxicated, or let’s say, dead with it—those who examine dead bodies can find any of the ingredients in your bloodstream. Even termik.
I think it’s time we started a big conversation regarding drugs, the people behind these cartels; we need to arrest this problem. Or else we are building a drunk and drowsy generation.
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They are preoccupied with looting. Nothing else.
The most dangerous, thing is that , the country is giving a blind eye to the boy child than a girl child, all fort are given to one side and forget the boy child for, example how chamba is being smoked by our boys every where in the stages, market, etc Now the danger is these girls who are being protected will want to marry one day and they will find the very same boys on the market and readily available, the government and organizations should do something on a boy child in order to balance up the protection of… Read more »
M’Malawi weniweni, HRDC is doing a great job, but instead of commending their efforts, amangotukwanidwa and labelled as terrorists. That time pamakhala patalowa mbewa. Now that palowa njoka ndiye afune HRDC ithandize kukumba? If we could closely look, we could see DPP Cadets in underground operation at work during demos, as is usually the case, with the aim of making it look like the demonstraters are violent and destructive. Government is busy looting, looting and looting kuti amalizemo zonse now that they know things are falling apart. They don’t care, as long as they have their way and get what… Read more »
Thank God someone is talking. Please someone in authority read this article – am a parent in grief. Alcohol is another nightmare. So God help us all
Good job, our youths are perishing whilst the Nigerians get rich from this.
Thanks very much for writing about this topic. For those with family members on these drugs, they know the pain of losing loved ones to the streets. Indeed people are dying and we need to put an end to it. unfortunately people in power including lawyers police and politicians are very involved. we need to revisit the sentences given to these distributors and users in order to deter people.
Awareness is to one side good and the other side bad………….. the more you get people aware of such things is when you try to tell people that such things exists, “what one does not know, does not exists” when sins are preached in the churches, mosques and other religious places that’s where folks learn that there are such things, and mostly in an attempt to avoid the sins, the sins are vigorously done or practiced by the mass as now they know, you may think you are warning people and you are just inviting them at long last. mmene… Read more »
“My people are perishing because they lack knowledge “. People need to know about it and it’s dangers
This story has touched me. I live in Chinsapo, the Chipwaila area. The youth, as young as 11 years are openly using drugs including chamba and these others. Parenting has become a very big issue. These are the kids who are serious trouble makers in primary and secondary schools. Everyone knows what is going on, the places where these things happen called shabins are not hard to find here. But nothing is happening. I know I cannot take it as an individual. The so called ‘block leaders’ are doing nothing although they know the cartels and damage already done to… Read more »
Nyaope is a fast and dangerous drug, extremely
Rnport them to responsible authorities!!
Where can we find sensible authorities around here