VILINGILI ISLAND (Maldives): The Maldives, known as a holiday haven for the rich and famous, is grappling with a growing drug abuse problem among its young people including pre-teens.

Around 20 per cent of the island nation’s residents under the age of 15 are using banned substances, according to the National Narcotics Control Bureau.

Bored and restless, youngsters, who comprise more than 40 per cent of the population of 300,000, are increasingly turning to drugs, health workers say.

“It’s a tragic social crisis,” said Aminath Hamzoon, a trainee peer educator who works with youngsters trying to kick drug habits.

“The problem has escalated due to boredom, peer pressure, poor employment prospects and overcrowding on the islands,” she said at this after-care peer support training camp on Vilingili Island close to the capital Male.

There are an estimated 5,000 users in densely crowded Male, with the island’s narcotics bureau reporting cases of children as young as nine experimenting with heroin.

The UN Children’s Fund, Unicef, estimates the average age is 12 for first time drug users in the Maldives.“Unlike most countries coping with a drug problem, heroin is the drug of first use for many young Maldivians here, which leaves the country uniquely vulnerable to widespread addiction,” Ken Maskall, Unicef chief in the Maldives, told the news agency.

“The problem is so acute that every Maldivian family has at least one member who is a drug addict. Drugs have wiped off about two generations from our country,” said human rights activist Jennifer Latheef.

She said the government’s harsh approach to drugs has filled Maldives’ jails, but failed to curb the number of addicts.

The opposition Islamic Democratic Party is now calling for tougher sentences for dealers and users and is pushing the government to execute drug smugglers.

But recovering addict Ahamed Shah, 28, who has spent time in a state-run rehabilitation clinic, said authorities need to take a compassionate approach.—AFP