Burmese Refugee Youth Prevent Addiction & Violence

Being young. On the doorstep to adulthood. The early stages in a person’s life are some of the most formative and vulnerable ones. This is the time when we develop and grow into habits that will follow us for the rest of our lives. We as human beings have no say in where, when and how we get to be born. Some are born into time and place of conflict, violence and instability, whilst others emerge into a life of stability, access to resources and a wide array of possibilities at their feet. The arbitrary event of coming into existence is one widely regarded as luck; good or bad. For children and adolescents being born in, or growing up in a refugee camp, their existence must indeed be regarded as a case of bad luck, and a hard start to life. Existence in a refugee camp can be monotonous and uniform, and these external factors might lead one to fall into self-destructive behaviour such as substance abuse. Luckily persons and organisations work hard to break down these harmful social conditions, and empower young people in the refugee camps.

DARE Network is present in five refugee camps in Thailand, housing refugees from adjacent Burma. The refugees who reside in the camps are ultimately left with three choices; seek asylum in Thailand, repatriate to a third-party nation state or voluntarily return to Burma. The camp perceived as an intermediary station where people sit and wait before they are able to make a choice, is an easy analogy to grasp at. The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees prognoses indicate that due to the somewhat stable situation in Burma, a large number of refugees residing in refugee camps inside Thailand, will be able to return back to Burma during 2016. However for the youth population who still reside in the camps, DARE's Burmese Youth Program represent a possibility for them to break with the monotonous waiting and become important members of the camp community.

The Burmese Youth Program educates adolescents in the social consequences of drug use; both on personal and community levels, and help them develop capacity to advise other members of the community in the consequences of substance abuse. Education is just one part of this two-part project; the initial allure for many youths being the game of Ultimate Frisbee. Once a year DARE's Youth Program called Teens for Kids organises an Ultimate Frisbee tournament across the five refugee camps, where teams get to compete against each other. Before the tournament begins, participants are quizzed on their knowledge on substance abuse and related consequences, and are awarded prizes for correct answers. After the tournament, participants who are not yet a part of the program, are encouraged to participate in DARE activities.. The Teens for Kids Program also invites participants to engage in prevention education sessions in their schools, working with their teachers and other students to help young people understand the consequences of substance abuse and to explore alternatives with them.

The feeling of contribution to the community, the chance to participate in the big Ultimate Frisbee tournament and important substance education are the three legs that make the program work. By the end of 2015 the program had 250 participants in the ages between 16-25 years, in five refugee camps; Mae La Oo, Mae Ra Moe, Mae La, Umpieum and Nu Poe, situated in the border region between Burma and Thailand. Respondents among the youths in the program rank drug education and the chance to reinvest themselves into the community, chief amongst the things they took away from the program.

The program enables young people who are already in a difficult situation to start with, to help their community by teaching and participating in substance education and by practicing in a sport that supports gender equality and conflict resolution.

The Burmese Youth Prevent Substance Abuse Project is thankful to its donors, who make it possible for DARE to create opportunities for the Burmese youths in the refugee camps, and help them create a positive impact on their own communities.

Links:

• DARE Website