Now when we say drug related crimes, we refer to those who are busy with house breaking, car theft, robbery and other related crimes. Hulle wag vir die mense by die stasie, by die taxi rank to rob people. They are attacking more and more people and the bad news is because they are our children, when they are caught by the police, parents tend to be so in denial although their children have been caught and the evidence is there.
That is also why the problem does not stop and why we are bringing the anti-tik campaign out at Good Hope Centre, on the radio through Good Hope FM, through the newspaper and throughout the things that I've mentioned here. We want to take it to the Imam and the Priest, to the Principals and the Teachers to call the community leaders because they must break the silence and they must break the denial because for as long as parents are saying my child did not do that, my child is not on drugs and they deny it, this problem will persist in the Western Cape, and this is the week in which we must break the silence.
We have decided that this campaign is based on three things. The first one is to cut the supply of drugs. Minister Ramatlakane, Commissioner Petros and the police force have been able to track down more and more tik factories in the Western Cape. These tik factories are not in an industrial area. We find these factories in the most up market places such as Sea Point, in Camp's Bay, Bishop's Court and so forth. We've got to be able to find the factories and close them down.
In the process of cutting the supplier we will also catch the high flyers. We have had quite a bit of success on that issue, we all know that Mr Capdie is in jail for drugs and is fighting for bail but if we have our way we'll make him sit in jail, the same with Ougat Peterson of Kensington, the same with Mr. Been. We didn't catch him with drugs, but his lifestyle is high and his income declared is low, so there is a problem, meaning he is making money in some way that we don't know, and more than that, we are saying that there are range of high flyers that we are trying to put in jail.
The second aspect is that we must cut the addiction amongst young people so that we can go on closing the factories. This generation that is addicted to drugs must begin to say Tik off. We need more rehabilitation facilities in the Western Cape and everyone of the areas that we are speaking about will not be able to pay the high prices at Rehabilitation centers. If the government doesn't subsidize in the Western Cape then the majority of people who need rehab will not be able to break free from drugs.
We have to build our rehabilitation centers throughout Western Cape and that is why we are saying there is hope. We are not winning the battle yet, however we are saying we have hope. We are saying there's hope because the facilities and rehab centers will be built for the public in addition to what I have already mentioned.
The third thing we want to do is to cut the demand. We don't want our children to experiment with drugs. That means that we want every parent to see the first signs of drug abuse. We want the teachers not only to teach Maths and Science, English and Xhosa etc. We want them to also focus on drugs for the first time. We want the truth in order to be able to help us to reduce this problem. Parents must help their children. They must spend a little bit more time with their children.
The medical research unit says that: Tik use in the Western Cape is most high where gangsterism is mostly a deep rooted part of comunities. Secondly tik use is also high when the community is depressed, especially in areas where there is high unemployment and people don't see a future. Thirdly when parents are neglectful and don't seem to show interest. When children are bored and there are no facilities or sports facilities or sports grounds or productive activities to keep them busy, they end up experimenting with Tik.
That is the reason why have decided to look at certain areas and not do the entire Western Cape. We have taken the worst areas having considered all the other factors. We will see whether through World Cup 2010 we can't get the sport facility or the sports field in every area and use culture, music or drama or whatever the case may be to shift the focus of children to other areas of their lives.
But we wont be able to turn the situation around on our own and that is why we are saying today is a very important day. It is a day when the nation has decided to come together for an important purpose. From NGO's, to government, parents, teachers and all members of or communities must unite against Tik. Priests and community leaders must also look after the interest of children against Tik. When a child suddenly lost weight and loses their appetite we must become suspicious. We must look for aggression. When your child starts fighting and the child is so disrespectful, look at Tik, don't look at your child. It is not your child, it is Tik taking over.
Hallucinations and delusions, headaches, overconfidence, these are the signs. You've got to understand that you are dealing with Tik. When your child suddenly changes dress style to fit in with the friends you must pay attention. The point that I'm raising is that we have to know and understand these things in order to help our children. There is hope and that is what we are trying to say with the Tik off campaign. We can beat it. I want to say to our children, when someone comes to you at school to sell you drugs, don't fight with him, tell them to tik off, when your friends says try it, don't get angry, tell them to tik off, when the drug dealer comes to you, don't get into trouble with them, tell them to Tik off.
I would like to thank everybody for coming together to the launch of the Tik off campaign. It is about progressing. It is about getting the information and signs out and we are depending on our radio stations, news papers, in the churches, in the schools to help us rehabilitate our children and ensure that Tik is stopped and not experimented with. Lets stop it before it goes anywhere else.
Before we go I'll make a reading of 3 or 4 verses of a poem that was written by a sick patient while she was rehabilitating. I've seen a before and after picture. If you would've seen that picture, you would not try Tik. This is what it says:
"I am Tik. I destroy homes, I tear families apart, take your children, and that's just the start. I'm more costly than diamonds, more precious than gold. The sorrow I bring is a sight to behold. Just try me once and I might let you go, But try me twice, and I'll own your soul. When I possess you, you'll steal and you'll lie, You will do what you have to -- just to get high. The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms, (your lungs, and your nose).You'll lie to your mother; you'll steal from your dad, When you see their tears, you should feel sad. But you'll forget your morals and how you were raised, I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways. I take kids from parents, and parents from kids, I turn people from God, and separate friends".
Those were a few verses describing what this child went through and led her to write this poem. I want to say that we must remember that Tik can be beaten, there is hope.
Before we go I want you to remember those 3 things: REDUCE SUPPLIERS, REDUCE DEMAND and REDUCE ADDICTION then I think that Western Cape would have a good future for all our children. So I want to thank you very much for this very important partnership.
Thank you very much.
