?21 years of fight against drug addiction.? The somewhat ceremonious atmosphere at the Port-Louis Municipality last Monday, which was the anniversary of the Goomany Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction founded in 1986, did not fool anyone. And though the open debate targeted the victims of drug addiction, the real focus was on illicit trafficking.

As explain the director of the Goomany Centre, Imran Dhannoo, the centre was born in a context of widespread of brown sugar in the Port-Louis periphery; among the generation of social workers who did a lot of consciousness raising at that time, notably with ?Group A?, were some of the present speakers : ex-President Cassam Uteem and Ally Lazer? This initial team, who was involved in the centre?s first footsteps thought the drug problem was to be quickly addressed in a small island like Mauritius?

?We thought one day we would even have to close the centre,? remembers Cassam Uteem. However, it was not to be. In two decades, the country developed exponentially and tangibly. Some buildings and businesses began to be erected more and more quickly. And though the development was visible, the drug network spread more and more like an insidious poison.

To counter it, means became more and more pressing. For fieldwork to be effective. ?The real and most important issue is still the fieldwork,? according to Audrey d?Hotman, psychotherapist and director of Pils, a NGO involved in the prevention and fight against Aids.

Now some facts and figures. ?The Goomany Centre employs nine full-time staff, helped by five voluntary workers. There are some 60 persons who are following our detoxification programme and who receive medical treatment every 10 days. About 100 persons are being supported by us,? adds Imran Dhannoo.

Then some more feedback from the ?base?. ?There is a true unease being felt by fieldworkers among the people touched by this scourge. We are there to prevent effectively social instability. But we don?t really feel recognized as a profession?, deplores Audrey d?Hotman.

As it appears, social workers don?t really enjoy a status. ?We can?t expect so many vocations when those willing will not be properly paid.? Then the facts again: ?The Goomany centre grosso modo runs with only Rs 120 000 a month,? Imran Dhannoo reveals.

There are other known facts. ?Each heroin dose costs some Rs 200. An addict will take three daily doses. Just figure how much it makes per month.?

Any sensible person can figure the huge discrepancy between these illicit earnings for a drug that is not even being produced in Mauritius, the human cost, the tragedy for the families involved and the means to address the problem. ?Now, as it has been pointed out in the press, the traffic is more and more present in villages,? points out Imran Dhannoo.

And then, how to counter the dealers? The former commissioner against drug trafficking, Ajay Daby, has a clear idea of how to stop the traffickers. ?We have to settle the legal and infrastructural framework to sue people for assets forfeiture . We have also to introduce a law to control the funding of political parties. It?s absurd that a small enterprise has to give evidence of each cent gained before the Mauritius Revenue Authority when a political campaign can remain unquestioned on the origins of its fundraising.? Other legal aspects underlined by Ajay Daby include the amendment of the Proceeds of crime Act? ?Not less than 53 passes in the open sea make a privileged path used by heroin dealers. It?s not too late to settle a tight control between midnight and 4 am.?

Can we really use our development against drug trafficking. ?The drug trade affects our economy in the way that it introduces a cancer in the labour force. Black money is reinvested in façade trades that are just façades. We are a small island. We should be able to get rid of the narcodealers?, concludes Audrey d?Hotman.