The rampant production and consumption of narcotic drugs is the hidden face of the crisis in which Myanmar finds itself plunged. In the capital of the State of Kachin, the experience of the rehabilitation center that the diocese manages together with the Irish missionaries of San Colombano. The stories of those who made it out of the tunnel and sow hope.
Myitkyina () – The cultivation and use of drugs is one of the hidden faces of the long crisis in Myanmar. And precisely the military coup that took place in the country in 2021 and the consequent open conflict into which the country plunged have further increased the production of narcotic substances. But even in this difficult and painful situation it is possible to find signs of hope, as can be seen very well in a story he shared on his congregation’s website The p. Eamon Sheridan, Irish priest of the Saint Colombano Missionary Society. It is the story of a baptism that is intertwined with the daily life of the drug rehabilitation center that he manages, with the support of the Irish missionary institute in Myitkyina, the diocese of the capital of the Kachin State, in eastern Myanmar.
The missionaries of San Colombano have been working in Myanmar since 1936 and precisely Msgr. John Howe, an Irish missionary from this congregation, was the first bishop of the diocese of Myitkyina. In the 1960s came the expulsions of foreign missionaries decreed by the regime of General Ne Win, and the last three missionaries from San Colombano had to leave the country in 1977. However, the mark they left in Myitkyina never disappeared, and that can be seen, for example, in the typically Irish names of Patrick or Columban that are still widespread among men in the local Christian community.
In the late 1990s the diocese and the Irish missionaries began to establish new contacts, giving rise to a new stable presence in Myitkyina. And the rehabilitation center that was created in 2015 is a sample of that friendship that has not been interrupted. Founded to combat drug addiction, since then it has welcomed all those who want to embark on a path of rehabilitation. The center is open to all, but most of the patients are members of the Christian Kachin ethnic group. Even in these two extremely difficult years for Myanmar due to the coup that upended life throughout the country – especially in some areas where the bloody conflict between the army and local militias continues – this center continued to grow in Myitkyina, and the Last year it opened a section for women.
Precisely the stories of those who have passed through the Center are an important seed of rebirth. In his testimony, for example, Fr. Sheridan recounts that in 2017 he met a man here named Patrick, a chronic heroin addict. It is a very widespread plague here, because the largest production of this narcotic in the entire country is concentrated in the Myitkyina area.
Due to his addiction, Patrick had repeatedly found himself on the verge of death and had even received last rites on one occasion. But when he survived, he decided to make a change in his life. The p. Sheridan introduced him to the 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous, the program offered by the Recovery Center. Patrick has been without using for five years now. He teaches karate to the youth of his town and has earned a black belt himself. “He went from having no hope to being a bearer of hope for the youngest of the Center, where he works as a counselor and godfather to other people,” says Fr. Sheridan.
This man is married today and has two children. Last year Patrick asked Fr. Sheridan to baptize his second child and, just as his parents had done with him, named his child after the missionary, Eamon Anthony, in gratitude for his help.
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