John Baimba Sesay
Growing up, seeing a corpse was something sacred. When someone died in the community, everything stopped, as it was a solemn moment. Children were kept away; even catching a glimpse of the body was unthinkable.
Today, in my country, that sense of sanctity is gone. Death has been normalised due to number of factors but primarily and suspiciously drugs use. Corpses lying on our streets have become a disturbing new normal.
This is not right. It strips away the dignity of the dead. Regardless of the circumstances leading to one’s death, there must be some semblance of respect — a proper resting place, not an open street.
The ongoing debate over data on deaths suspected to be linked to kush is deeply unfortunate. As a matter of fact, it’s demeaning.
For a minister to even suggest that the images of dead bodies circulating online are the work of bots shows how callous some in leadership have become. No remorse, no empathy, no humanity. To even demand evidence when an institution reports the number of bodies collected is a slap in the face of our collective humanity especially when we see corpses on our streets almost every day.
Let’s be clear: in one way or another, we are all affected by this epidemic. I have personally seen two relatives fall victim to kush. This is real, not hearsay.
And while the public focuses on kush, let’s not forget the other dangerous drugs including cocaine that continue to find their way into our country.
Need an example? A government envoy to Conakry was recently caught red-handed with cocaine. If not for the foreign minister’s diplomatic intervention, that envoy would be in a Guinean jail today.
At the central government level, we must turn our words into real action. I appreciate the ongoing efforts, but this is the time to go deeper, to trace the sources, expose the networks, and confront this crisis head-on.
Our commitment to human capital development is being severely undermined by the growing number of young people consumed by drug addiction.
No matter what achievements this government may wish to highlight, the persistent failure to decisively address the drug crisis will continue to overshadow and discredit those gains.
This issue goes beyond the present moment or the image of our country; it strikes at the heart of our collective future. If we keep losing our young people to drugs, we are eroding the very foundation of tomorrow’s progress.
A stitch in time, they say, saves nine. The time to act is now.
