LIFE TRANSFORMATION
DRUG PUNK
My name is Natalina Batista, I’m 40 years
old and before I came to the UCKG Help
Centre I used to be a drug addict. I started
smoking cigarettes when I was 12 years
old and I also began drinking alcohol and
tried marijuana for the first time. I was
young and very curious but I didn’t realize
that curiosity would be the door to my
addiction. The drugs started to be part of
my daily life. My behaviour at home began
to change. I would go out with my friends
drinking, smoking, and listening to punk
music in clubs. The influence got deeper
and I changed the way I dress. I would
dress like a punk. When my friends and I
would walk on the streets, all eyes were
on us because we looked scary. We carried
bottles of wine, beer, marijuana wherever
we went. My friends and punk music were
the bridge to try another drug, heroine. I
was 14 years old during that time. I was
on vacation so I went camping with my
friends and we used heroine everyday.
When I went back to school, it was never
the same because I would
crave for the drug. Two of my
friends would inject heroine
and a thought came to my
mind saying, “why not?”
So I did. My addiction got
even worse. I found a way
to drug myself everyday. I
would buy my own needle
and couldn’t care less what
they’d think about me. I
would sell things from home
just to sustain my addiction.
My parents never knew
about all of this but it was
impossible to hide it from
them because my behaviour
said it all. So I decided to
leave home and live with my
STOP SUFFERING|14
friends. I left school and started to work
but my money was wasted on drugs. It
became my routine. My dreams were
shattered and I could care less about my
future. I was not happy at all. During these
times, my mom started to go to the Help
Centre in Portugal and she would always
bring my picture with her. After a couple
of months I decided to give her a call and
asked her to accept me home. I wanted
to finish high school and go to university.
So I went back and finished school and I
was working during the night. However,
the temptation was strong. So my parents
decided to send me to France, far away
from my friends. But the problem wasn’t
them or the place, it was me. I had
sleepless nights during my first week in
France because of the absence of heroine.
It was scary, I was alone. I was 18 and I
thought to myself, “I should have fun.”
That “fun” led me to the wrong crowd
again.