Personal Stories of Drug Addiction and Public Perception: A Photo Stories Series

“My family kept pressuring me almost every day because I used to hang out with my friends who were addicts,” says Ali (not real name), 28 years old now.

In 2013, Ali started taking drugs at 17 years old. His school friends used to take drugs and drink alcohol. “I told my family that I wasn’t doing drugs but they never believed me. They would torment me all the time,” says Ali. “They would always say that, ‘I wouldn’t be hanging around with people like that if I wasn’t drinking.’” 

“I tried to convince them but they didn’t believe me.” 

“One day, I though since they won’t stop saying that I’ve been drinking, I’ll just go ahead and do it. I’ll come home and tell them this is what I’ve done.”

Ali works as a diver. He spends about MVR 500 on drugs every day. “There are some days where I’m not feeling well, but I still try to get some work done.”

He currently lives in Hiyaa Flat in Hulhumalé taking care of his sick mother. He prefers to live in his island, but there’s no work and health care facilities for his mother. This was the reason why he had to move to Malé. 

He’s the second youngest child of nine kids. Ali’s wife works at a store. She doesn’t know that he takes drugs. “I don’t know what I will do when my wife finds out.” 

Public perception of addiction needs to change in the Maldives. Addiction is born out of several socio-economic factors that cannot be distilled down to just morality. It is only after we treat addiction as a health crisis rather than a moral failing, we can change systematic issues hindering the treatment of addiction.

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