Speaking during a visit by this reporter, the Councillor of the area, Famara Fofana, expressed deep concern over the situation, stressing that drug addiction is not a lifestyle choice but a social and health crisis that requires urgent government intervention.
“This is not the wish of these young people to live like this,” Councillor Fofana said. “Every country has destitute people and drug addicts, but it is the responsibility of government to help them through proper rehabilitation centres.”
He lamented the harsh realities faced by the addicts, both male and female, who sleep in unsafe places without shelter, toilets or basic sanitation.
“Every day they are chased from one place to another. They are Gambians, and they are part of our community. These are young people, the future leaders and we must not see them as criminals but as citizens who need help,” he added.
One of the addicts, Babucarr Ceesay, narrated how he slipped into addiction and is now completely dependent on crack cocaine.
“I just found myself in this system and now I am addicted. If I don’t have the drugs, I can do anything,” he confessed. “It is not my wish to be in this mess. People chase us like dogs, yet we are Gambians.”
He described the places where they sleep as unfit for human habitation.
“There are no toilets, no windows, no doors. We can easily get diseases. Crack has disturbed my life completely even food does not matter anymore,” he said, appealing for shelter and rehabilitation.
Another addict, Ramatoulie Ceesay, said she once lived a decent life, having worked with Afrimoney and ECO TV, before falling into addiction through peer influence.
“One of my friends put me in this mess. I started with cocaine and now I am addicted. Without it, my life is in trouble,” she said emotionally.
She admitted that addiction has destroyed her priorities.
“If I don’t have crack, I don’t mind stealing or scamming just to regulate my brain. I have a three-month-old baby boy, but I left him with my mother just to come and get drugs,” she revealed.
Ms Ceesay also appealed to the police to adopt a humane approach.
“We need advice and support, not harassment. It is not our wish to be in this situation,” she said.
A resident of the area, John Njie, described the growing presence of crack addicts in Kololi as both tragic and alarming, noting that drug addiction is a serious illness that must be treated as such.
“Some of these young people come from very rich families, yet they are now on the streets. Drugs have destroyed them,” he said.
Mr Njie called on security agencies to go beyond chasing addicts and instead target the drug dealers supplying crack cocaine in the area.
“There are dealers who come to Kololi to sell these drugs. They should be arrested. Isolating addicts in a rehabilitation centre is one of the best ways to help them recover,” he said.
He warned that the continued presence of untreated addicts poses a serious threat to residents.
“When they don’t have drugs, they can do anything. This is why government action is urgent.”
As Kololi grapples with this growing social crisis, residents, community leaders and the addicts themselves are united in one call: the establishment of a rehabilitation centre to restore dignity, save lives and protect the future of young Gambians.
