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DAILY UPDATE
DAY THREE
Wednesday 22 April 2009
'The government has spent millions on
drug rehabilitation – and people like me
become guinea pigs,' Shaharudin bin Ali
Umar told the conference. 'They break you
down to build you up.
'
Describing experiences that spanned 30
years in Malaysian drug dependence treatment
centres, he showed photographs of weapons
used to discipline him and the scars he had
suffered from repeated beatings.
'If you are suspected as a drug user you are
given compulsory treatment and kept under
observation. If you relapse you get more jail
sentences and lashes,' he explained. 'But the
result is not effective – there is a 70 to 90 per
cent rate of return to drug use.'
The military style discipline and abuse included
beatings with baseball bats and bricks and being
burned on his private parts with a lighter. 'The
scars may finally have healed, but the bad
memories remain forever,' he said. 'I was
humiliated and beaten until I forgot what pain is.'
Interrogation began at the admission
process. Then detoxification took between two
weeks and a month, during which 'when the
guard changed they started torturing us –
humiliating torture I feel too shy to tell you'. A
medical check-up and 'orientation process'
were followed by a phasing system, which
involved 'being beaten by a religious teacher
and treated as animals'.
While hopeful that changes were on the
horizon, he said progress was hampered by the
impossibly large size of the rehab centres, lack
of methadone for detox and constant beatings.
'Harm reduction in Malaysia is like a
sandcastle – built up by community organisa-
tions and then torn down by enforcement
activities,' he said.
Srey Mao from Cambodia – whose colleague
took over her presentation when she became too
traumatised to speak about her experiences in a
detention centre – told of 'a place where living
conditions are not for humans'. Packed into one
room 'where they don't care what age or sex you
are', and where there was no toilet, food, water,
nor mosquito nets, she had seen her friend die
from a beating, another drown trying to escape,
and a fellow inmate electrocuted. The backdrop
to her presentation showed Srey Mao reaching
through bars of a crowded cage. 'Srey Mao
would like this facility closed,' said her colleague.
'She would like the Cambodian government or
anyone who can help, to close this down.'
Harm reduction ‘built by communities,
torn down by enforcement’
HIGHLIGHTS
Wednesday 22 April
Major Session:
Evidence in harm reduction
This session brings together some of
the leading research papers that were
submitted this year – including some
from Thailand.
Queens Park 3 (2nd Floor)
09:00 – 10:30
Major Session:
Parliamentary panel discussion
The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on
Population and Development has
coordinated a panel of politicians from
across Asia to discuss the topic of
decriminalising drug use.
Queens Park 2 (2nd Floor)
11:00 – 12:30
Lunchtime Lecture
Dr. Ethan Nadelmann – the executive
director of the US Drug Policy Alliance
– is giving a lecture entitled ‘Barack
Obama on Drugs: Don’t Give Up on
the USA!’.
Queens Park 3 (2nd Floor)
12:45 – 13:45
Film Festival
There will be another packed
programme of screenings today –
including films from Vietnam, Iran,
Canada and the Caribbean.
Panorama 1 (3rd Floor)
13:00 – 18:00
Conference Party and IHRA Awards
All delegates are invited to attend this
year’s conference party, which will
include the presentation of the 2009
IHRA Awards and a performance from
Kormix – a hip hop group made up of
drug users from Cambodia.
Pool Terrace (9th Floor)
18:30 – 21:00
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