Man Overcomes Methamphetamine Addiction
to Become Boxing Champion
By Dr.Fourkan Ali
Crystal meth, or ‘ice’
as it is also known, is a devastating drug that is continuing to destroy the
lives of many people all over the world. Ice is a powerful form of the drug
methamphetamine, which produces intense highs followed by severe comedowns. A methamphetamine addictionis a serious illness and one that is extremely
difficult to beat due to the intense cravings that users experience. However,
ice addicts in Indonesia are using boxing as a therapy to keep themselves on
the straight and narrow.
Kicking the Habit
Jundullah Muhammad
Fauzan is an Indonesian national featherweight champion who admits that it was
tough to beat his methamphetamine
addiction. Fauzan struggled
with an addiction to crystal meth for nearly ten years and said that conquering
his demons was far from easy.
Nevertheless, he is part of a unique rehab
programme in Indonesia where boxing has become a valuable therapeutic tool to
help recovering addicts on their journey to a clean and healthy life. Fauzan
said, “Staying clean is a hard journey. I don’t want to have too many
expectations, but boxing has definitely helped my life.”
Tough Laws
Addiction in Indonesia often results in
premature death or time spent behind bars, with the country adopting some of
the toughest drugs laws in the world. Nonetheless, many recovering drug addicts
are benefiting from the same programme as Fauzan and are using the boxing gym
as a haven to help them stay clean.
Getting caught with drugs in Indonesia will
usually mean a tough prison sentence, even if the drugs were for personal use.
In 2015, the country executed 14 people who were found guilty of drug trafficking.
This is what makes programmes like this all the more important to those
struggling with illnesses such as crystal meth or methamphetamine addiction.
Drug Crisis
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has said his
country is facing a ‘drug crisis’ and has used this statement to justify the
harsh laws on drugs. The Indonesian Narcotics Agency estimated that there were
4.2 million drug users in the country in 2015, with the highest number of users
based in West Java province.
However, because of a lack of rehab services
in the province, five recovered addicts decided to open their own centre, Pine
House. Their aim was to use sports and counselling to help drug users to
overcome their illnesses. The centre also works with those living with HIV or
AIDS.
Initially, the group of founders opened up
soccer clinics, but when they branched out to boxing in 2013, they knew they
had found a programme that works.
Boxing Enthusiasts
Pine House soon began to attract a large
number of boxing enthusiasts to a Bandung outdoor gym that they fitted with
simple boxing equipment such as skipping ropes and punching bags. Those who
attend can spend their time between boxing training and counselling sessions.
Eva-Dewi Rahmadiani is one of the patients at
Pine House, and she said that after years of illness brought on by HIV and
addiction, she now feels much stronger and fitter. She trains a number of times
every week and said that although she found the sessions tough initially, she
has a lot of energy despite the drugs she takes for HIV. She also said that her
urge for illicit drugs has faded thanks to the programme, and added, “It just
makes me happier. It elevates my spirit and reminds me that life isn’t over.”
Addiction Stigma
Indonesian drug addicts are often stigmatised,
according to one of Pine House’s founders Ginan Koesmayadi. He said, “The
stigma drives drug users deeper into despair, and their health ultimately
worsens.”
He added that Pine House offers recovering
addicts a place where they are free from harassment and free from prejudice.
Campaigners and activists within the country,
for the most part, do not agree with how the government is tackling the drugs
problem. They say that it focuses more on law enforcement and religion than it
does on the issue of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, a government spokesperson
stated that although there was a lack of addiction facilities in the country,
the narcotics agency vehemently denied that its focus was to punish drug users.
Slamet Prbadi said, “The government has been trying recently to strike a
balance between rehabilitation and law enforcement, but perhaps it can seem
like we only care about prosecutions.”
Success Stories
There is no denying that Pine House see Fauzan
as one of their true success stories considering he is now a national boxing
champion having overcome a crippling ice addiction. Nonetheless, he is not the
only success story; Resnu Sundava began drinking alcohol at the age of ten and
by the time he was a teenager, he was dabbling in drugs. His subsequent drug
and alcohol addictions saw him abandoned by his family, but since joining the
gym in 2015, he has made so much improvement. He is now twenty-two years old
and is a professional boxer, just like Fauzan. He has already taken part in a
number of professional fights in Indonesia and East Timor. He said, “Now I have
the courage to dream again. I want to be a world champion.”
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