‘Drugs are destroying our young people’: Villager calls for tougher laws

A villager from Lomaloma in Vanuabalavu has called for stronger legal penalties against drug traffickers, warning that Fiji’s growing drug crisis is now threatening rural and maritime communities.

Joeli Nagera made the submission before the Constitution Review Commission during consultations in the Lau Group, saying drug-related activity was no longer confined to urban centres.

“Our villagers are under threat because of ongoing drug crisis,” Mr Nagera said.

He warned that remote island communities, once largely insulated from such crimes, were now increasingly vulnerable.

“We are seeing changes in our villages that were never there before. Drugs are destroying our young people,” he said.

“If the law is not strong enough, then it will continue to spread.”

Mr Nagera argued that harsher penalties for traffickers would act as a deterrent and help protect vulnerable communities from what he described as a rapidly escalating social problem.

His submission touched on broader constitutional principles relating to public safety and the State’s responsibility to maintain law and order and protect citizens from harm.

Under constitutional frameworks similar to Fiji’s, the State is tasked with safeguarding communities, while also protecting the right to life and personal security.

Legal observers note that while constitutions protect individual rights, they also allow Parliament to impose criminal penalties in the interest of public safety, provided laws remain reasonable, proportionate and consistent with human rights standards.

Mr Nagera said rural leaders were increasingly concerned that drug trafficking routes were expanding beyond urban hubs into maritime communities where enforcement capacity remained limited.

“We are small villages, but we are not blind to what is happening,” he said.

“We need stronger action before more lives are lost to drugs.”

He said young people were particularly vulnerable, with traffickers exploiting isolation and limited economic opportunities in outer island communities.

“We are asking the Commission to listen to the voices of the villages,” Mr Nagera said.

“We cannot fight this problem alone.”

Mr Nagera ended his submission with a plea for constitutional and legislative reforms to empower authorities to impose stricter penalties on traffickers.

“If we continue with weak penalties, the problem will grow,” he said.

“We need laws that protect our future.”

The Constitution Review Commission continues consultations across the country as part of its review process on possible constitutional and legal reforms.