AMERICA/BOLIVIA - Prevention to fight against the new phenomenon of 'micro-trafficking' of drugs

Monday, 4 August 2014

La Paz (Agenzia Fides) - According to the latest estimates, in Bolivia there is the lowest rate of drug use, a little over 3% of the population makes use of drugs. However, the situation is far from positive, particularly for street children, easy victims of 'micro traffickers'. In the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, there are nearly 1,000 children who live in this situation. They run away from their families because of the ill-treatment they suffer and they seek refuge in drugs to forget.
They stop at traffic lights in the city to beg in order to survive. Many would like to return home but are afraid of being beaten by their parents. Fear increases during the night on the streets because of police harassment and the possibility of being robbed of what little they have managed to scrape together. At first, drugs seem to be a haven for all their problems. And, while drug dealers get richer, the victims are condemned to live as refugees in precarious places, under bridges. In addition, the marginalized and the victims of poverty are found to consume cheaper and more deadly drugs. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 04/08/2014)


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