Big Island marshals anti-ice force
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — Rockne Araujo, a retired Hilo cop, is angry at what drugs have done to his once-quiet neighborhood.
Kevin Dayton • The Honolulu Advertiser
Tony Carrisal, a recovering addict, frets that kids are picking up the glass pipe with no idea what crystal methamphetamine can do to them.
This demonstration by about 250 people on Kamehameha Avenue in Hilo yesterday was one of more than 30 such anti-drug displays around the island.
And Dr. George Rourke, a family practitioner, cannot comprehend some of the destructive things he sees his drug-addicted patients doing to themselves and their families.
They all grabbed signs and hit the street in Hilo yesterday afternoon in an islandwide demonstration against crystal methamphetamine. They were joined by an estimated 1,500 anti-drug activists who held signs at about 35 sites from Ka'u to Hawi, and from Pahoa to Kailua, Kona.
"Hilo is the last, last holdout for a peaceful life in the islands, and I'd like to see it go back to the days when there was no drugs around," said Araujo, as honking cars and trucks sped by him on Kamehameha Avenue along Hilo Bay.
"Take a look around, see how many people are on unemployment, see how many marriages have been broken, see how many murders involve drugs, and beatings. It's sad," he said.
Lilian Beaufrere, islandwide coordinator for the event, said organizers wanted to show drug users that the public is watching them, and show politicians that anti-ice initiatives have community support.
"We're going to be active now; it is no longer in the back of the closet," said Beaufrere, who is chair of an organization called Solutions: Neighborhoods in Action. "It's to say, "This is it, guys, we don't want any more of this.' "
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim has "declared war" on ice on the Big Island, where crystal methamphetamine addiction is seen as a critical problem that has overwhelmed healthcare providers and social service agencies.
The Big Island demonstration is the latest in a series of sign-waving events around the state. The events are used in part to rally community support for anti-drug initiatives, and in part to attract new volunteers to the cause, Beaufrere said.
Malia Leialoha, a counselor for a drug treatment program called the Big Island Substance Abuse Council, said the event also shows users there are ways to have clean fun.
Araujo said he hopes the event will motivate people to report what they know to the police, and help authorities get a handle on the problem.
"This idea of 'I'm afraid, I'm afraid,' sooner or later you're going to have to stand up, or they're going to walk all over you," Araujo said.
