"You only live once" or "YOLO" is the theme of this year's Red Ribbon Week, dedicated to raising awareness of drug abuse, excessive alcohol consumption and AIDS, and takes place Oct. 21-29 across America.
The proclamation declaring Red Ribbon Week was signed Oct. 24 at the School Age Center by U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan Deputy to the Commander Tommy R. Mize in front of children and members of the Yongsan community. A cake-cutting followed.
"The simplest way to not get addicted to drugs is to say no. Don't try it in the first place. It is the simplest way to prevent drug use," said Mize.
The red ribbon is a symbol to commemorate the death of Enrique Camarena. Camarena grew up in a poor barrio in Mexico, helping his family earn money by picking peaches and plums. Once he started going to school, he witnessed many of his friends entering the dangerous business of drugs. This inspired him to graduate from college with a degree in criminal justice and pursue a career as a policeman. Camarena worked as an undercover agent in Mexico with other drug dealers. Unfortunately, the drug dealers found out his true identity and tortured Camarena to death. To honor Camarena, his family wore red ribbons. Now, every year, people wear red ribbons to remember and support Camarena and his stand against illegal drugs.
School Aged Services took part in the campaign by wearing red ribbons and learning about the negative effects of drug use.
One of the parents at the event said, "Children tend to be very curious about everything, and drugs can easily be one of their points of curiosity. Because of its addictive characteristics, keeping them away from doing it is the only way to stop them. So parents should always keep their eyes on their children and stop their children before it is too late. I'm really glad that School Aged Services took part in the campaign, having a healthy influence on our children."
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