– Now that we understand this a little better, can we just agree that we have taken one strip too many? Isn’t that enough now? asks Lina Alvarez Reyes. The 35-year-old has read the case “The price for the strip”, where news met the people who live closest to the cocaine route from South America to Norway. According to FHI, young Norwegians have never snorted more cocaine, and this contributes to great suffering for people and nature. Also in Alvarez Reyes´ native Colombia, the largest producer of cocaine in the world. Parts of the country are ruled by guerilla groups and criminals whose main business is cocaine. When the 35-year-old grew up in the capital, Bogotá, passenger planes and public buildings were bombed by cocaine lords like Pablo Escobar. The white party drug financed a civil war that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Colombians. – Friends of my father were killed together with their children. At my grandmother’s house, the window was broken and had to be replaced after explosions nearby. I have relatives who lost half-siblings or classmates when bombs went off in the city, says Alvarez Reyes. Lina Alvarez Reyes watches the case for news on her mobile phone. The 35-year-old moved to Norway as a young person and today works in the Latin American groups (LAG) and is the leader of Fred in Colombia. She says that she has been to parties where cocaine was snorted, both in Colombia and Norway. And admits that she herself has tried. – The truth is that the effect is very short-lived, and it is not worth it, she says. – As young people, we experience great pressure to perform here in Norway. We go through a lot that can sometimes be so overwhelming that taking a “break” can be more tempting than dealing with life, she says. – But we have a choice here. There are ways out and other ways in which we can have fun, without it being at the expense of our own health. And the life of people in the south. Daniel (24): – Sad and powerless 24-year-old Daniel Gutierrez was also born in Colombia, in Cali, former headquarters of the brutal Cali cartel. Huge quantities of cocaine are still produced in the region, now controlled by armed guerrilla groups. Daniel says that coca farmers – who cultivate the raw material for the cocaine – and poor young people are trapped in a dirty industry that is difficult to get out of. Recently, the violence in Cali flared up again, with bomb attacks and exchanges of fire that have cost several lives. – That’s why I feel sad and powerless when I see people using cocaine in Norway. The price for the white substance has been paid by generations of Colombians, the 24-year-old tells news after watching the case. Gutierrez, who is also active in the Latin American group, works in Bergen’s nightlife. There he often sees Jamaldra, who is high on cocaine. In his spare time, he stays away from the drug and anyone who uses it. – I don’t want to condemn anyone. But people should think before they consume something, where does it come from? This applies to everything from food to other products. But especially cocaine. Ildrid (17): – Very scary – Some people think that cocaine is a status drug that is cool and exciting. I think that cocaine is the root of the problem in the country my family lives in, says Ildrid Leticia Berge Galvez. She is 17 years old and half Ecuadorian. Her family lives in Guayaquil, a large port city in Ecuador where much of South America’s cocaine is shipped out to the world market. A few years ago, drug gangs started a bloody war over the smuggling routes. Parts of the city are completely lawless and many hardly dare to move outside for fear of being robbed, abducted or shot. – It is very scary, as we have friends and family there. A friend of dad’s was kidnapped and killed a few months ago, says the 17-year-old. Before she visited Ecuador at regular intervals, now the family does not dare to travel there anymore. And even though the grandmother and aunts visit Norway, Galvez finds it sad and frustrating not to get a chance to get to know his second homeland. – Ecuador is part of my identity. It is actually a very beautiful country, with mountains and rainforest, good food and culture. It is sad that it is only known to the board now, she says. Ildrid is in his final year of secondary school in Oslo. According to the Young in Oslo 2023 survey, it is precisely the Russians in the capital who sniff the most cocaine. One in five boys stated that they had tried the drug in the past year. – Cocaine is not a topic in my gang. But it’s sad that everyone who uses it doesn’t think about the bloody process the drug has been through before they have fun at a party, says Galvez. Facts about cocaine in Norway Cocaine use among young people aged 16-30 has increased since 2012, according to FHI. He has never been higher than in the last five years. In 2023, 4.2 percent answered that they had used cocaine in the past year. Norway ranks third on the EU’s list of cocaine use among young people. One in three Oslo boys at secondary school who drank regularly have also used cocaine. That is a threefold increase in five years, according to Ung in Oslo 2023. In 2023, 2.3 tonnes of cocaine were seized in Norway. This is more than in the years 2000 to 2022 combined. The number of seizures was also a record high. European Commissioner Ylva Johansson believes that drug-related murders in Europe constitute a security threat on a par with terrorism. Hello! Thank you for reading the story. Do you have input or tips? Send an email. Published 15.09.2024, at 08.18
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– Isn’t that enough now? – news Documentary
