Citizens’ Barray on Drugs

The Citizens’ Barray on Drugs is a space where individuals impacted by drug abuse, victims, community members, local traders, and young activists share their stories, information on rights and available support, and collectively explore practical actions that can stem the ongoing drug crisis in Sierra Leone.

The crisis is affecting communities across the country, and the community barray on drugs is starting with the Goderich community in the Western Area that has become notorious for constant drug overdoses and high rate of drug-related deaths, with bodies found in the streets daily.

In Goderich/Funkia, street corners have become one-stop drug shops, with some community stakeholders involved in the drug dealing business. The streets are unsafe at night, limiting the movement of community members. Community members are scared of social interaction with victims because of thefts occurring in broad daylight and house invasions at night. These victims are termed criminals, and harmful. This has limited the community’s power of social interaction, collaboration and development. There is also the breakdown in family relationships: parents are unable to care for their affected children; children are stealing from parents and leaving their homes; families are mourning their loved ones who die from drug abuse; and parents are suffering from stress and depression.

In Goderich and beyond, individuals under the influence of drugs are acting as informal waste collectors (“Clean Salone”), and because they no longer have a mental clarity ⁠to maintain basic hygiene, they turn front yards, streets, and drainages into waste disposal sites exposing the community members to raw waste and an unhygienic environment.

Sierra Leone’s drug crisis is disrupting our communities, families, nation, and human development. We have come together to be part of the solution.