Emerging from the shadow of drugs
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E-mail Xinhua, February 10, 2016
Li Tiantian and Huang Mimi were thrilled to be on stage, singing in a gala performance for Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, on Monday. "It was the debut performance of our band!" said Li.
So far, so typical. But Li and Huang were inmates performing at No.1 Compulsory Drug Rehabilitation Center in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.
Li, 21, and Huang, 22, have spent a year and half in the center, aiming to turn their lives around after getting addicted to crystal meth in their teens.
They have called their band "Tiantian Mimi," which literally means "sweet" or "happiness" in Chinese.
In another six months, Li and Huang will have served their terms in the center and they are hoping for a sweet and happy future. "I have taken the cooking and hotel management courses that the center offers us. I may try to get a job in restaurants or hotels after I get out," said Huang.
However, Li and Huang should be under no illusions that this new start in the new year will be an easy one.
Psychological dependence
Huo Xiaokang, a 40-year-old former drug addict, "graduated" from No.1 Compulsory Drug Rehabilitation Center three years ago. Since then, he has continued receiving treatment at a specialist clinic in Huaxi District of Guiyang.
After making some money in the garment business in the 1990s, he started taking heroin -- the beginning of a long nightmare.
"I began drug treatment 12 years ago and I have been sent to compulsory rehabilitation centers three times. But each time I got out, I turned back to drugs to numb myself," said Huo.
In many such cases, treatment for psychological dependence on drugs may need to last for life though physical treatment has finished.
Hence, many Chinese cities have established community facilities like the one Huo goes to. Staffed with professional psychologists and social workers, they not only offer methadone treatment but also provide drug addicts with psychotherapy and practical assistance.
Li Meng is Huo's consultant. After treating more than 100 drug addicts, Li concluded that these patients are often fragile and any turbulence in their life can trigger a mental breakdown and relapse.
"At the clinic, we consultants and social workers regard them as friends, trying to get to know them and take care of them through regular interviews and other activities," said Li.
Huo and his fellow patients appreciate it.
"Now I know there's someone for me when I fall into despair. I can turn to them, not drugs, for help," said Huo, who runs a breakfast business with help from the clinic.
There are 62 such facilities in Guizhou, dealing with nearly 60,000 addicts.
Get back on their feet
Treatment is never the last battle in the war against drug addiction. Chen Hong, 36, is trying to secure a final victory in a small clothing factory in Guiyang's Qingzhen County, where she has worked for five years.
Getting addicted to heroin in 1997, Chen found the hardest part of her recovery was the scornful looks she got when people found out about her past.
After finishing compulsory drug habilitation in 2007, Chen realized it was time to turn the page. However, like many former addicts, she found it tough to secure a job with employers distrustful of former addicts.
"I was desperate. I thought I could never get a decent job and start a new life unless there was a miracle," Chen, a mother of two children, recalled.
For Chen and her over 100 colleagues in the factory, a miracle did happen.
In 2011, Guizhou launched the Sunshine Initiative, under which the local government, communities, voluntary organizations and enterprises work together to offer addicts occupational training and job opportunities.
The factory was opened as part of the initiative and recruited dozens of former drug addicts including Chen.
"Now I work seven and a half hours a day with a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan (US$304.4). I feel good when I use the money I've earned with my hands to take care of my parents and feed my kids," said Chen.
Over the past five years, more than 400 drug addicts have worked in the factory. Many of them found other jobs after learning skills there.
In Guizhou, 140 companies have joined the Sunshine Initiative. Enjoying favorable tax policies and receiving purchase orders from the government, they provide more than 2,000 job opportunities for people recovering from drug addiction.
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