Once again this year our centre is taking part in the ESAN EZ project organised by Bidesari and the Prison Pastoral of the Diocese of Bilbao. It is a project for the prevention of drug use among young people, in which the aim is to raise awareness in adolescents of the dangers of drug use and criminal behaviour through the direct testimony of people deprived of their liberty.

In different sessions, they reflect on the risk factors that lead each person to start taking drugs and the possible consequences of this.

This Monday 18th we have had the testimony of “T” and “K“, who accompanied by Jorge Muriel, head of Bidesari and Xabi and Jone, volunteers from Pastoral Penitenciaria, have shared with our students of Basic Vocational Training their testimony of life about how they approached the world of drugs and how it ended with the admission of both of them in prison.

As Jorge told us, “nobody is free from falling into what they have fallen into, circumstances can make us take paths in life that we would never have imagined“, and the example is given by “T” who started in the world of drugs when he was over forty years old, with a wife and children and who, due to the death of a very close relative, fell into a depression from which he believed that only alcohol and drugs would help him to get out of. Little by little the consumption made him lose his job, his family, start with small but repeated thefts to get money until everything led him to prison. There he realised that he had hit rock bottom and through the prison psychologist, he came into contact with Bidesari and they are teaching him to see life differently now.

The circumstances of “K” are different, he is a young migrant who, when he arrived in our country and found himself alone, began to use tobacco (he had never used anything in his country), then joints, alcohol and other substances. “K” spoke to us about “positive friends” and “negative friends” who are those who offer you drugs, those who are not real friends. “It is very difficult to get out of something that your body is constantly asking you to do and that is asking you more and more, there is no such thing as -I control-, there are no limits, you think you can use and stop, but it is not true”, “K” told us sadly while commenting that he has not heard from his family for five years. “It’s not that difficult to get into prison, you just have to put together a personal circumstance with one of those -negative friends- and the damage is done“.

These are two invaluable testimonies that we hope have struck a chord with our young students so that they are a little more aware of where substance use can lead them, even if they think they have it under control.

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