METH. Syabu. Ice. Crystal: call it what you will, but prices on streets of Manila have fallen. A sachet split three ways that used to cost up to PHP500 (USD10) now goes for only PHP200 (USD4).
Often “cooked”, Breaking Bad-like, in makeshift, temporary laboratories, the drug is made from a combination of harsh chemicals typically obtained from toxic waste. This includes acetone – the main ingredient in paint thinner – and lithium – a highly corrosive and explosive metal found in batteries.
How is it consumed? The crystals are placed on a piece of foil and then heated from below, melting the drug and giving off smoke which is inhaled directly by the user. According to Rey (not his real name) a former meth user from Santa Ana, a municipality within the Metro Manila area, it leads to an intense high as the dopamine kicks in. Of course, the drawbacks of prolonged abuse are immense, including horrible dental problems, psychosis and even strokes.
Rey is a nineteen-year-old pedicab driver. He earns PHP300 a day working from noon till 7:00 in the evening. Up until a few months ago he also had a side-job. He was a “runner” - delivering meth to customers and getting a portion to use in exchange.
READ: Ceritalah ASEAN - Duterte's Davao
READ: Ceritalah ASEAN - Jakarta and the Javanese
READ: Ceritalah ASEAN: For Eka Kurniawan, 'Beauty Is a Wound'
READ: Ceritalah ASEAN - The King is Dead
READ: Ceritalah ASEAN - Pak Tukin's Jepara dreaming
Back then the meth was sold very openly (have a look at the Cannes Festival winning film, Ma Rosa from the celebrated Filipino director, Brillante Mendoza) with transactions happening even at the local grocery store.
Like many others, Rey relied on the drug to escape the harsh poverty surrounding him. But even this “consolation” has been denied to him.
"I stopped taking meth when (Rodrigo) Duterte became President. I was too scared. I knew he meant business and I didn't want to die young.”
Rey wasn’t the only one who got scared. The drug dealers that were once ubiquitous on the streets of his barangay (or ward) were suddenly nowhere to be found. Most of the users in his neighbourhood surrendered themselves to go to rehab out of fear from being executed by unknown parties.
“One of my friends – he was still a user – got killed last week. They burst into his home at two o'clock in the morning and shot him. They were wearing balaclavas and normal clothes. Everyone thinks it's the police but we don't know. We're all too scared to find out. Imagine these people will break into our homes and execute whoever they want."
When asked whether he agreed with Duterte’s support for such punitive measures, Rey said “No, this is too cruel. We should be sending people to rehab instead. It is better for people to be jailed than killed. It's only us, the little people that are being targeted: not the big fish."
Visiting Rey's neighbourhood one evening is a slightly surreal experience as we pass the many CCTV cameras set up at each intersection. Along with scores of informants and plainclothes cops, Metro Manila's streets have become a terrain full of uncertainty, mutual distrust and death.
Indeed, latest figures from local NGOs monitoring the spate of killings estimate that up to 4000 people have been summarily executed in this way. The actual number is difficult to say. Police have claimed that there have been just over 2000 deaths, while local media reports claim more than 3800 vigilante-style killings which bring the death toll to over 5800 as of 3 December.
When I first met Rey two months earlier, he seemed skinny and listless – tell-tale signs of meth addiction. This time around, he seems tanned and healthier.
"It's my genes, I'm naturally small-built but now that I have a five-month-old baby (he and the mother are unmarried) I am determined to clean up my act. I have no dreams for my life – I just want to make sure she has a better future than I do."
Despite having dropped out of high school, Rey understands the value of a stable household, having grown up with three other siblings and parents who continue to care for him even now.
"My mother works very hard at a local beauty salon. Still she makes me breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and is always giving me money. I owe everything to my parents."
He says his parents don't know about his former addiction even though they share a tiny one hundred-foot square slum home. He is clearly very afraid of his father and is ashamed at the thought of them finding out.
Supporters of Duterte’s war on drugs often have a very black-and-white view of the situation. Drugs are evil and stopping it—by all means necessary—is right. But looking into Rey’s wan eyes, I begin to realize that there are many shades of grey in this very thorny issue.
Karim Raslan
Thu Dec 08 2016
Jeepney are open air vans that can carry between 10 20 passengers at a time. - Photo by Karim Raslan
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Ketegasan Malaysia sekat kapal Israel wajar dicontohi
Walaupun usaha itu dilihat kecil namun ia mampu memberi tekanan kepada rejim Zionis dan menjadi contoh kepada komuniti global.
Juruterbang bomba dihantar ke UAE jalani latihan tambahan secara simulasi
JBPM telah diberikan peruntukan sebanyak RM800,000 untuk menghantar kesemua 17 juruterbang ke negara terbabit.
Lebih 14,000 aduan diterima menerusi aplikasi MYJalan setakat ini - Ahmad Maslan
KKR juga telah menyelesaikan 86 peratus daripada 3,766 aduan diterima menerusi aplikasi itu setakat ini.
AWANI Pagi: Apa Erti Sebenar Cakna Autisme?
Bulan Kesedaran Autisme disambut setiap tahun pada bulan April, untuk meningkatkan kesedaran umum berkenaan diagnosis tersebut. Sejauh mana cakna masyarakat mengenai autisme setakat ini? Ikuti diskusinya dalam Awani Pagi 7.30 pagi Khamis bersama Afiezy Azaman & Azib Zikry.
KPT salur bantuan pendidikan, pengecualian yuran IPT anak mangsa nahas helikopter
KPT melalui PTPTN akan menyalurkan sebanyak RM1,000 seorang kepada 21 anak mangsa nahas dua helikopter yang terhempas di Lumut.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Kapal sedia belayar Jumaat ini - FFC
FFC mengesahkan sudah melengkapkan segala keperluan bagi membolehkan misi pelayaran Jumaat ini.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Semua keperluan sudah dilengkapkan, kapal sedia belayar Jumaat ini - FFC
Ia termasuk keperluan teknikal dan 'crewing' yang merujuk kepada proses menyediakan dan menguruskan ahli kru.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Ideologi Nelson Mandela wajar dicontohi dalam misi capai keamanan - Cucu
Menurut Manlda Mandela, datuknya pencinta keamanan dan bukan seorang pendendam walaupun selepas berjaya mengalahkan rejim apartheid.
Kontroversi UM: Bukan untuk sekat kebebasan universiti - Zambry
Kebebasan yang diberi perlu mengambil kira polisi serta pendirian kerajaan di samping sensitiviti masyarakat dan majoriti rakyat.
Pelan strategik pendigitalan akan dikemaskinikan selari transformasi digital - Wilson
Pelan strategik pendigitalan akan dikemaskinikan selari dengan transformasi digital, kata Timbalan Menteri Digital Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong.
Ceritalah: Sejarah berulang dengan gunung berapi Taal
Pemandangan ketika Taal meletup dan imej-imej semarak debu yang besar dan menakutkan naik ke arah langit diiringi dengan kilatan guruh dan petir yang disebarkan ke seluruh dunia oleh media sosial.
Ceritalah: Tuntutan China atas Laut China Selatan - ASEAN harus bersatu
Pada tahun 2016, pemimpin-pemimpin dunia memandang Beijing dan beliau sebagai suatu hab alternatif - bagi suatu pendekatan terhadap ekonomi dan politik global yang berprinsip dan seimbang.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Joko Anwar: Cemerlang atas usaha sendiri
Tarikannya dan citra jenakanya menyembunyikan suatu minda yang amat bekerja keras dan berfokus.
Ceritalah - Perang dadah Duterte: Rakyat suram sambut Krismas
Kerana enggan kekal diam dan menerima takdir berdarah anaknya, Normita terpaksa meninggalkan rumahnya dan sekarang tinggal bersama seorang sanak saudaranya di bahagian lain bandar itu.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Aung San Suu Kyi: Lannister atau Stark?
Aung San Suu Kyi dari Myanmar - anak seorang jeneral, mengetuai sebuah negara amat rapuh telah menjadi musuh Tatmadaw (tentera) untuk menjadi apologis atau, lebih teruk lagi, pemudah mereka.
Ceritalah ASEAN - Plastik: Patut dikekalkan atau dihapuskan?
Gabungan pendapatan dari 50 firma petrokimia teratas dalam tahun 2018 adalah ASD926.8 bilion, jauh melebihi industri penapisan berjumlah ASD400 bilion.
Ceritalah Indonesia - Jawa: Mengenai bahasa dan perpaduan
Secara berasingan, kesemua tujuh presiden Indonesia mempunyai darah Jawa - termasuk BJ Habibie kelahiran Sulawesi yang baru meninggal. BJ Habibie adalah separuh Jawa.
Ceritalah - Enam hari di laut: Suatu pelayaran di atas Nggapulu
Dari saat para penumpang menaiki feri lapan tingkat itu, Nggapulu menjadi suatu mikrokosmo republik itu sendiri.
Ceritalah Indonesia - Anak muda memberontak: Apa mereka mahu?
Antara 23 dan 30 September, Hamzah adalah salah seorang daripada ribuan pelajar yang membuat bantahan di luar Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) menghidupkan semula ingatan pada waktu Reformasi.
Ceritalah: Gelombang kemasukan pelancong India ke Asia Tenggara
Sementara ekonomi India mungkin menghadapi kemerosotannya sendiri, pelancong dari gergasi Asia Selatan itu menjadi kuasa yang semakin perlu diiktiraf di rantau Asia Tenggara.