Home Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue visits drug reduction rehabilitation centre on Coëtivy |18 November 2016

14 males express wish to return home early

Fourteen of the 31 young males enrolled on the drug reduction rehabilitation programme on Coëtivy have expressed the wish to return to Mahé one month before the end of their six-month contract.

This follows a meeting they had with new Home Affairs Minister Mitcy Larue who visited the facility on Coetivy yesterday accompanied by the Secretary of State Responsible for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation, Dr Patrick Herminie, superintendent of prisons Vic Tirant, special advisor for police Sheryl Vangadasamy, advisor to the superintendent of prisons, Maxime Tirant, drug reduction rehabilitation programme director Antoine Duprès and Islands Development Company deputy chief executive Ronny Renaud.

Most of the young men said they are happy to be following the programme as they are now able to stay away from drugs, but complained that they have been able to see the doctor only once since they were transferred to the island in July.

The minister said she will make provision for a doctor to visit the island soon, but Seychellois counsellor Gerry Uranie explained that one of young men who complains the most refused the opportunity to be flown to Mahé for a medical check-up.

The young man then replied that he was not feeling pain when he was given the opportunity to go to hospital on Mahé.

Some of the men also complained about the water quality which they say cause skin rashes, not getting a revenue for the work they do on the island and the fact that they will be without a job until probably January 2017 if they wait until December 15 when they are supposed to finish the programme and return home.

Minister Larue told the 14 men who want to go home early that necessary arrangements will be made for them to be brought to Mahé and explained to them that they won’t benefit from the R2,000 monthly allowance for three months promised to them after they have completed the programme.

She told them that they cannot expect to have all what they want when they are following the programme as they have to follow certain rules and be disciplined so that when they go back to their families they are reformed citizens.

The young men are enrolled on the programme free of charge and they each get a monthly R2,000 to buy whatever they want from the island’s shop.

The drug reduction rehabilitation programme started exactly a year ago and its objective is to get the drug users away from the temptations of modern life in a bid to get clean and start a new life free of drugs.

No medication is used in the therapy which involves physical exercises, manual work including gardening and fishing, and counselling.

At the moment, there are three Mauritian counsellors – Hervé Marianne, Miko René and Martial Bazerque – themselves former drug users, working with the 31 Seychellois.

A 21-year-old who has been following the programme said he is happy with what he is learning as he is now able to live without drugs.

“When I leave Coёtivy, I would like to have my job back. I resigned from my job because I did not want to get into trouble at work as I had to visit the ghettos every morning to get my dose of heroine. I am no longer on drugs and I would like to have my job back when I return to Mahé,” the 21-year-old told the media on Coёtivy.

As for a 34-year-old, he said God answered his prayers when he was accepted to follow the programme.

“I wanted to get off drugs but failed each time. God answered my prayers when I was allowed to follow the programme. I am off drugs now and I want to go back into society and make my contributions,” he said.

Minister Larue said the familiarisation visit has allowed her to see the situation on the island first hand and noted that the “programme must be revisited”.

“There are some very good things and some young men have been able to get off drugs, but there are some issues we need to fix. This is mostly because not all the young men following the programme are doing it on a voluntary basis. Some are there because their families are pressuring them to get off drugs and it is not always easy for them to accept the idea and this is why they lack motivation at times,” said Minister Larue.

She added that together with Secretary of State Responsible for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation, Dr Patrick Herminie, they will work on improving the programme.

Minister Larue also visited the Coëtivy island open prison and talked to 16 prisoners who are on the prisoner rehabilitation programme.

The programme is run by the Prison Service in collaboration with the Islands Development Company (IDC). Prisoners are involved in coconut oil production (copra), the IDC fire service, clearing and landscaping of land, carpentry work, farming, fishing and production of brooms.

The Coëtivy island open prison was set up in August 2010 and after serving their time, prisoners who were on the programme have been employed by IDC.

Prisoners in the open prison are remunerated for the work they do for the IDC, which they are able to access once they finish their sentence. But some of them have complained to Minister Larue that they are earning too little for the daily jobs they do.

Coëtivy island is found 270km from Mahé and more than half of the island is not developed and remains forested.