© Chan Kai Yan (13A01A) and Chua Jun Yan (13A01A)
Former drug addicts are a marginalised section of society, and are frequently associated with negative stereotypes. For instance, their addiction is often perceived as a sign of a weak will. While well-intentioned, a lot of anti-drug publicity material inadvertently reinforces these pigeonholes.
This was why a group of five of us from the Class of 2013 decided to embark on social advocacy in collaboration with the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA). We wanted to raise awareness about the lives of former drug addicts, in hope that their stories will deter youth from taking drugs and encourage the public to support rehabilitation and reintegration efforts.
The organizing team with teacher-mentor Mrs Nicola Jane Perry and SANA representative Mr Daniel Lim.
Furthermore, as three of us study A-Level English Literature, we wanted to use Literature as a medium to conduct this advocacy work. At a time when Literature has declined in popularity among students in Singapore, we felt that this would be one way to demonstrate the enduring relevance of Literature in our lives.
One of us first got in touch with SANA through the Interact event, Youth Got Heart, which matches students to Voluntary Welfare Organizations. After a string of discussions, we decided to record the oral histories of five former drug addicts and create literary works out of their stories. We felt that this would lend a ‘human face’ to the drug problem in Singapore and better allow the public to appreciate its complexity and nuances.
Over the course of two months, we conducted interviews with five former drug addicts to sieve out their stories of hope and redemption. The process was not easy, and often, we had to strike a balance between being probing and being sensitive. Due to the sensitive nature of this project, the interviews had to be conducted at the secure premises of SANA, and pseudonyms had to be used for our stories.
However, these interviews were immensely educational and formed the bulk of the learning experience of the project. Many of our pre-conceived notions about drug addiction were challenged, such as the demographic profile of drug addicts. Indeed, our interviewees come from all walks of life, including university graduates and white-collar workers.
Meeting between RI and SANA in progress.
Together with four other English Literature students from the Class of 2014, the five interviews were creatively interpreted and transfigured into literary works, including short stories and a play, under the guidance of Mrs Nicola Jane Perry (Assistant Department Head / Literature). They were then collated into an anthology. We chose this “through-the-looking-glass” approach to highlight and elevate the emotional intensity of the stories and breathe new life into their experiences.
After some discussion, we titled the anthology Sense of a Beginning, to reflect the fact that our interviewees have begun their lives anew after giving up drugs, and to celebrate the optimism and hope with which our interviewees approach their new lease of life. It would not have made it to print without the generous sponsorship of the
href="http://www.ri.edu.sg/files/RI_Giving_Form_2013.pdf">1823 Fund, which has enabled 1,000 copies of the anthology to be printed and distributed to schools and public libraries across Singapore. Learning about the fascinating world of copyright, library cataloguing, and even pagination was a major takeaway for us in its own right!
Through our work, we hope that we have shown that literature is not just about the ‘artsy-fartsy’, but about concrete social concerns out there.
Sense of a Beginning will be launched on 22 May 2013 at Lecture Theatre 6, Raffles Institution from 11am to 12.30pm by Principal, Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, and the President of SANA, Mr Poh Geok Ek. Alumni are welcome to attend the launch. More details will be provided at a later date.
'Sense of Beginning: The Stories of Drug Addiction Through Literary Lenses' will be launched on 22 May 2013 in RI.