By: Bara Winatha*)
The government continues to strengthen its drug eradication strategy with a collaborative approach involving all elements of society. This effort is based on the awareness that the threat of drugs not only damages individuals, but also erodes the joints of the nation’s social, moral, and economic life. Therefore, active involvement of the community in various layers and sectors is an important key in preventing and eradicating drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Indonesia.
Head of the National Narcotics Agency, Commissioner General of Police. Marthinus Hukom, said that drug trafficking has now reached remote villages, even to island areas such as in the Madura region. He considered that drug crimes are crimes against humanity that destroy the future of the nation’s generation. Therefore, he encouraged the community to build collective awareness in hating and rejecting all forms of drug abuse.
The destruction of evidence of crystal methamphetamine and marijuana by the East Java Province BNN in Pamekasan is a symbol of the state’s commitment to eradicating narcotics networks down to the grassroots. This destruction shows that the BNN does not work in silence, but rather actively mobilizes public awareness. Marthinus emphasized the importance of synergy between the authorities, local governments, religious leaders, students, and all elements of society to jointly stem the threat of drugs that are increasingly spreading to various social levels.
On a different occasion, the Chief Secretary of the National Narcotics Agency, Inspector General of Police Tantan Sulistyana, said that the world of education, especially universities, is the vanguard in building the character of a young generation free from drugs. He explained that students are a productive age group who are in the phase of searching for their identity, so they are vulnerable to various negative influences including substance abuse.
He said that the collaboration between BNN and MH Thamrin University in the Prevention and Eradication of Abuse and Illicit Trafficking of Narcotics and Narcotics Precursors (P4GN) program is a real form of involvement of academics. The program involves elements of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, namely education, research, and community service as the basis of activities. This collaboration is expected to create long-term effects that strengthen social immunization against drug abuse in the campus environment and its surroundings.
Meanwhile, the General Chairperson of the Family Empowerment and Welfare Movement Team (TP PKK), Tri Tito Karnavian, said that the role of the family, especially mothers, is very crucial in protecting family members from the bad influence of drugs. The family approach is the most effective and sustainable strategy in prevention efforts, because the family is the smallest unit that directly forms the values, behavior, and moral resilience of individuals.
Tito appreciated the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the BNN and TP PKK which he said was very important in strengthening community-based prevention programs. With a network of PKK cadres reaching around four million people throughout Indonesia, education and counseling programs about the dangers of drugs can reach down to the village and hamlet levels. The “Healthy Indonesian Family Without Drugs” program initiated by TP PKK is an effective means of socialization to increase public awareness from within the family environment.
This collaboration is a moral call to participate in maintaining family resilience from the threat of drugs. PKK cadres are expected to be pioneers and main drivers in family-based drug prevention efforts, starting from counseling to mentoring vulnerable community groups. This effort is also a form of social concern for the future of the nation which is currently facing a drug emergency situation.
BNN data states that there are more than 300 thousand teenagers who are recorded as drug users, mostly due to curiosity and peer influence. Concern over the phenomenon of female couriers acting as controllers of cross-country drug networks, as well as drug smuggling cases involving children, adds to the complexity of the drug problem, requiring a more holistic social and cultural approach.
Collaborative efforts with women’s organizations such as TP PKK are strategic steps to build family resilience as the main bulwark against drug abuse. BNN has also begun to develop a feminist approach as part of its eradication strategy, considering that women are not only victims, but also perpetrators who are exploited by international drug networks.
The government realizes that law enforcement cannot work alone, so synergy with various components of the nation is the only way to overcome drug crimes that are cross-sectoral and cross-generational. Through the involvement of educational institutions, women’s organizations, community leaders, and grassroots communities, the government wants to form a strong social protection network to prevent the spread of drugs. The community must be the main subject that is empowered to reject, fight, and educate the closest environment about the dangers of drug abuse.
Amidst the challenges of globalization and rapid flow of information, the threat of drugs is increasingly complex and adaptive. Therefore, collaboration is an important element in the national strategy for eradicating drugs. The government hopes that with the synergy of all elements of society, Indonesia can realize its great ideal of becoming a country that is free from drugs and is able to protect the future of its young generation from the destruction caused by these illegal substances.
*)The author is a social and community observer.
