Online Reporter
THERE was a time when school holidays meant football in the dusty streets, swimming in the river, visiting ogogo in the rural areas and coming back to school with funny stories about chasing goats.
Not anymore.
Today, for some children, school holidays mean climbing into tinted kombis with strangers, popping dangerous drugs and waking up with no memory of what happened the night before.
That is not fun.
That is a ticking time bomb.
The latest twist in the Vuzu culture should send chills down every parent’s spine. Gone are the days of noisy house parties that neighbours could report. The organisers have become smarter. They now use social media, foreign phone numbers and moving vehicles to keep one step ahead of the police.
They call them Mjeje parties.
We call them what they really are.
Moving crime scenes.
The saddest part is that many of the children think they are too clever to get caught. They laugh at police. They say adults are overreacting. They insist they know how to “handle” alcohol and drugs.
That is exactly what every addict once believed.
No one wakes up one morning and decides, “Today I want to become addicted to crystal meth.”
It starts with “just one try.”
One puff.
One pill.
One drink.
One party.
Before long, the drugs are no longer free. The dealers who once handed them out with a smile come knocking, demanding money. If there is no money, household property starts disappearing. School grades collapse. Families break apart. Dreams die.
The 22-year-old who spoke to B-Metro wanted to become a pilot.
Today, he is battling addiction and cycling in and out of rehabilitation.
His story is not unique.
It is exactly how drug dealers build lifelong customers.
That is why Zimbabwe’s anti-drug campaign deserves the support of every parent, teacher, church, community leader and young person. Police cannot fight this battle alone. A kombi can disappear in seconds, but an alert community can stop a child from climbing into it in the first place.
Parents, this is not the time to assume your child is “just sleeping over at a friend’s house.” Know where they are. Know who their friends are. Check their phones. Have uncomfortable conversations. Your child may complain today, but they will thank you tomorrow.
And to the young people reading this, remember this simple truth.
Drug dealers are not looking for friends.
They are looking for customers.
The invitation to a Vuzu party may sound exciting.
The ride home could last a lifetime.
