Ex-addict tells students: Make the right choices

FORMER prison inmate and drug addict Garth St Clair made a passionate plea to students to make better life choices. Now 34 years clean, St Clair is a multi-disciplinary artist and producer of the award-winning film Trafficked.

He shared his story at the Keys to Success youth empowerment symposium hosted by En ToTo, a non-profit organisation that promotes social change through youth-oriented initiatives, on November 5 at the Lions Cultural Centre, Woodbrook.

St Clair encouraged students, ages 13-16, from about 12 schools, to avoid drug use by rejecting peer pressure and developing higher self-esteem.

“If I could, one thing I would ask God for is to reverse time and put me to sit where you are right now.

“I was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago regiment. I went there because I grew up in a dysfunctional home. I saw my mother and father fight all the time, and I couldn't understand why. And when my father left, I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, so I left.

“And the military brought out in me what my father and mother didn’t know I had. I was doing really well and decided to go back to school because I wanted to become a commissioned officer.

“But then a friend, a senior soldier, saw me studying and came up to me. He said, ‘Use this, it will help you stay up at night and you won't have to worry about passing your exam.’

“That substance was crack cocaine. And because I didn’t want him to feel like I was soft, I took it.

“It did help me stay up at night, but it was to stay up to do more cocaine, and my life turned upside down.

“I was eventually discharged from the regiment for unbecoming conduct, and when I went back to my mother’s house, I continued using. I stressed her out so much that one day she raised her hands to the heavens and said, ‘Lord father, kill my son for me, please.’

“I joined a band and after stealing $76,000 in equipment to buy cocaine, I was sentenced to a year in prison. I ended up there because I didn’t respect myself, I didn't believe in myself to say no, I had low self-esteem and that drug helped cover it up.

“But it also destroyed me and the path that I was on.”

St Clair said he had to restart his life on his road to recovery after prison and told students to learn from his mistakes.

“So I am here this morning to let you know that you have a choice. I want you to embrace it. I beg of you; make the right choice every single time. It is not difficult. And if you have so-called friends, who every time they get a chance they say, ‘Try that, nah,’ ‘Take a smoke, nah,’ that’s not your friend. And any time somebody offers you a drink, a smoke or anything, remember this session, remember me telling you that you don’t need it.”

Based on the themes of discipline, patience and perseverance the symposium included a range of speeches and performances from En ToTo members and associates.

Skits performed by DMAD Company, a non-profit organisation that promotes social change through dramatic performances, encouraged students to use non-violence in conflict resolution. The performers demonstrated how every-day situations of conflict can escalate to violence and engaged students in coming up with solutions to deal with issues better.

After the performance, Andre Dillon, creative director and co-founder of DMAD Company, said, “We just came to show you all how easy it is for these things to get out of control, and what we want you to do is to really and truly check yourself.

“Even though somebody could be doing you something wrong, the responsibility falls on you and how you respond to it.”

Newsday spoke with students at the event who expressed their opinions about the messages delivered by the speakers and performers.

Syan Crichlow, from Woodbrook Secondary School, said, “I’m feeling very excited about what’s going on, I liked all the performances so far and I think students can take away a lot of positives from this. Life is not so serious, everybody should just respect each other and live together as a community.

“I hope the students here take in the positive messages, because I’m looking into it a lot more, and I think I will handle conflicts a lot differently now with the tools that they provided.”

Students from ASJA Girls’ College, Tunapuna, said they enjoyed the session.

Janae Fraser said, “It was fun, interactive and entertaining. The theatre performance was funny and they are very good actors. I think students should take away the message of self-respect.”

Leah Davis said, “I like that they’re teaching students how to deal with situations better instead of resorting to fighting.”