Written on July 16th
Today I interviewed Thomas. I met him in a mall in Payar Lebar and the interview took about 40 minutes. I thought it was a really good experience for me. Thomas was involved in drug trafficking when he was younger. Now, for the past 5 years he has been a social worker.
Here are my key takeaways:
1. He started taking drugs at 13. He started with glue-sniffing and sleeping pills and as he grew older it eventually progressed into hard drugs such as ecstasy and cannabis. He feels peer pressure played a big role. Also he was influenced by his family who also took drugs. Also, he thinks its natural for teenagers to have a lot of curiosity which can lead them to take drugs. To pay for his drugs, he started selling some as well. When he was 20 he go caught for drug trafficking by an under cover cop. He was sentenced to 5.5 years but got out when he was 24.
2. In prison he attended school and did some classes. He knew he wanted to do a “helping profession” when he got out. Because his grades weren’t good he had limited options. He decided to become a social worker.
3. He feels that there is some relation to drugs and income levels.
4. He feels that canning is not effective. It will not change a person as the fear is only instantaneous, and the pain is temporary. He said that prison isn’t effective in itself, it’s about the rehabilitation and breaking the cycle. Also, his time in prison helped him get an education which later helped him find a job and earn a living.
5. He feels that the strengths of Singapores system to prevent substance abuse is their focus on rehabilitation and education. He also felt that religious groups are effective in changing people and giving them a community to belong to. Also the financial support is very helpful.
6. NGOs are also very helpful he said. Maybe I can talk about the role of non-state actors and state actors in this issue.
7. Globalisation has facilitated the movement of drugs from countries like Thailand and Malaysia, into Singapore.
8. Singapore is controlled but not drug free
9. He feels that capital punishment is unfair.
10. Social media is responsible for creating false ideas and misconceptions around drugs.
Verification of Engagement Activity: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T47h7d7eHKa8UABeX-RkG6Ld1W4HerVK3CkvAhe-GZg/edit