The central province of Nghe An’s Cha Lum Village is notorious for its large number of drug addicts.
Dilapidated houses in Cha Lum
Luong Van Dong, a local official said, “Even though Cha Lum has only 195 households, it has over 100 recognised drug addicts. However, the real figure may be much higher as several families have not declared their family members as addicts.”
Infamous
Cha Lum is a remote and underprivileged locality in Tuong Duong District. In the past, life for villagers was good, and people were busy tilling their fields and raising animals, Dong said.
“Everything changed once some of the young started taking heroin. It changed strong young men into derelicts,” he said, noting that the addicted were willing to do any thing to earn money to pay for their addiction.
Cha Lum is now a gloomy place full of dilapidated houses, skinny children and deathly-pale faced women.
According to Second Lieutenant Nguyen Thanh Son, of the District Police Department, "Cha Lum is a stopping point for drug traffickers travelling from Luong Minh Commune and Que Phong District. Even though we have smashed some trafficking rings, the number of heroin addicts has yet to fall.”
“In order to get money for their drugs, local people are acting as drug mules in order to pay off their suppliers.” Son noted.
Bankrupted
Drugs have wrecked havoc in Cha Lum, forcing a number of local families into misery, bankruptcy, family break-ups, and HIV/AIDS.
Lo Van Hoan has sold all of his assets to pay for his drugs, driving his wife and five children to live in a make-shift tent.
Hoan does nothing now other than hanker for drugs. Neighbours have taken pity on his children, providing them with food.
Hoan admitted, “I still love my wife and children very much. I want to take a drug rehabilitation programme, but find it hard to do.”
Pay Van Thuan is also seriously addicted to heroin, leaving his ailing wife to struggle to earn enough to take care of their seven children.
Preschool Teacher Dinh Thu Trang said, “Drug addiction has been worsening the lives of already destitute locals, wiping out any chance of an education for underprivileged children and driving up illiteracy. Schools can often be left empty as parents fail to pay attention to their kids’ education.”
Due to difficult conditions, those who want to pursue junior secondary education have to travel a 20-kilometre jungle path to school.
Finding no better means to earn a living, locals in Cha Lum have destroyed forests and sifted for gold. A large number of children join their parents in this work, earning just VND30,000 (USD1.4) a day panning.
Lo Van Vuoc, who skipped school after finishing primary education, said, “I still want to continue my education, but my parents can’t afford it as I have several brothers and sisters.
A drug-stricken family
A make-shift tent of Lo Van Hoan’s family
Poor children deprived of an education
Locals are heavily dependant on forest resources
