Leah's Legacy of Dumfries High School
Prior to the Christmas holidays, all schools throughout the country received a copy of "Sorted", a video about the death of Leah Betts who died on November 16, 1995 as a result of taking the designer drug Ecstasy. The video was accompanied by a moving plea from Leah's parents that the video be shown to every pupil in every school.
Senior staff in Dumfries High School felt that it was essential that their pupils and students should watch "Sorted" and have time to reflect on it. Consequently, throughout the school, Social Education in the last week of term was devoted exclusively to this.
When I watched the video, I felt numbed and I still remain speechless by it many months later. As the credits on the video rolled up, with the names of other young people who have met the same fate, everything was still; the silence in the room was piercing and the atmosphere could have been cut with a knife.
During my small survey of pupils in the school, it became evident that the video had made an impact on everyone. Many pupils in the school were left saddened and sure that they would try and prevent their friends making the same stupid mistake Leah made.
One of the lessons to be learned from this tragedy is that there is no "safe and sound" advice about taking Ecstasy. To begin with we were told if you take Ecstasy, "Drink plenty of water". Now however it is apparent that it could be the excess of water in the body that is causing the problems for many victims of this drug.
Mr. Mitchell, the rector at Dumfries High School, stated that his worst ever nightmare was of one day having to hold an assembly in remembrance of a pupil. He also feels concerned that the pupils of secondary school age are the most vulnerable to drugs, and that it is crucial that parents are also made aware of the dangers.
Why did Leah Betts take Ecstasy? Not even Leah's parents can answer that. In their heartbreaking letter, Paul and Janet Betts say, "Why our beautiful daughter felt she needed Ecstasy we will never know".
Within each class of students who watched the video, each individual put themselves in the place of someone in Leah's family. As they watched, the face on the screen became them, their brother, their sister, their mother or their father. This video had a large psychological impact on all of the students at Dumfries High School. I don't think there has ever before been such an identification between the viewer and the viewed.
Leah was not at a night club, or a rave when she took the single Ecstasy pill. She was at home, with her parents, celebrating her 18th birthday. We all know we could get run over by a car or a bus tomorrow, but what happened to Leah could have been prevented. Yet, we cannot really blame anyone, except fate. Leah's parents took every step to ensure their house was as safe as it could be in case of any trouble, yet this did happen! It's tempting to think that God was not looking down on their house that night. Or was He? Perhaps an example may have been set.
We cannot allow Leah to have died in vain. If one life is saved through all this heartache, then there has been a saviour in our day. Leah has gone and answers to questions will never bring her back but we, as a nation, must not let this tragedy go unmarked. Private grief demands not only public reaction but also public ACTION. This tragedy is not an artefact, it is real, so think and act, as we must learn from not only our own mistakes but also those of others - and remember, we are all each others children. Think if it was you, because it so easily could be. In future, just think of what you could leave behind if you are about to risk taking your life as there is definitely no going back, especially from the dead. And remember, you may not think you are taking the plunge to die but, like Leah, you are dancing with death.
And parents: do you want your last memory of your child to be of them attached to tubes and wires? Don't let drugs declare war on your children - get "Sorted"!
- by Lee Kerr who was currently a pupil at Dumfries High School