At one stage I had (naively) hoped that this would be a Cabramatta story that didn't mention drugs. But drugs (and gangs) are real and both are part of life in Cabramatta. While young people initiated this discussion, they were also at pains to point out that not every Asian kid is a drug dealer or a gang member. Most are not. However, as their narratives indicate, heroin is major problem confronting young people and their communities.

tu, 22 year-old vietnamese-australian
the drug make thing look bad
more worse for racism
because only connecting in some way
but really is not a friendly way
the way they look us is a drug dealer
the way we look them is a junkie
so is not a friendly way

karen, 18 year-old chinese-australian
sometimes
i think of all the younger kids
and how they're gonna learn the hard way
like we try and tell them
"don't get on the gear and everything"
i mean look what i'm doing
i'm out here everyday ruining my life
it's just sad

linh, 15 year-old vietnamese-australian
first time with a friend
she asked me "do you want to try white?"
i didn't know what white was at the beginning
she opened it up
took the foil out
the straw and everything
i just tried first puff and then vomit
that's how i started  [top]

loco, 19 year-old chilean-australian
there's a lot of people selling out there
but no-one sees it
"oh it's just the asians"
they don't see the aussies
the lebs
the tongans
they just think
"oh drugs, must be the asians"

anna, 16 year-old vietnamese-australian
lately i've seen like younger and younger people
getting on it
coming out here
the message they're trying to send through in the school
is not working
and they're so proud of being on it
this guy went to me "i'm a dealer"
and i just felt so bad and said
"you shouldn't say that, you shouldn't be proud of that
we're not proud of it"

andy, 17 year-old vietnamese-australian
like i think
it's not the way to quit
to go overseas or to rehab or something
that's not the way to quit
if you want to quit, you gonna quit yourself
you gotta stay in here to quit
cause you're gonna
end up back here anyway.
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