Afghanis Succumb to Opium Addiction
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In Sarab, Afghanistan, currently inhabits a population of 1,850 people, half of which are free-falling into a world of opium addiction. Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of opium, used as a main ingredient for heroin and is exported in droves world-wide, leaves behind a large amount of the crop that is ravaging whole families from toddlers to old men.
In the entire nation of Afghanistan, there are a reported 200,000 heroin and opium addicts, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services and a survey conducted by the UN. Meanwhile a much wealthier and larger United States recorded approximately 50,000 fewer addicts. Current data conducted from surveys report a larger increase in opium addiction in the region due to never-ending warfare and consistent poverty. And unlike the West, there is no "war on drugs campaign" (which is a known failure), but rather, the villages like Sarab treat addiction more as a family affair which has brought shame and degradation to its villagers.
To make matters worse Afghanistan's western neighbor, Iran has the world's highest heroin usage per capita. The heroin labs in Iran and Pakistan--east of Afghanistan--use Afghanistan's imported opium crops to produce the drug and in return, export heroin addiction back to Afghanistan by returnng their refugees.
Meanwhile in the village of Sarab, those who haven't fallen victim to opium addiction quarantine themselves from those who are. They go as far as not associating with their fellow citizens including not allowing them in their homes and preventing them from attending village meetings.
One of the villagers says for him all hope is lost, but for his grandchildren there is hope. They are the only ones in his family who are not addicts.
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In the entire nation of Afghanistan, there are a reported 200,000 heroin and opium addicts, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services and a survey conducted by the UN. Meanwhile a much wealthier and larger United States recorded approximately 50,000 fewer addicts. Current data conducted from surveys report a larger increase in opium addiction in the region due to never-ending warfare and consistent poverty. And unlike the West, there is no "war on drugs campaign" (which is a known failure), but rather, the villages like Sarab treat addiction more as a family affair which has brought shame and degradation to its villagers.
To make matters worse Afghanistan's western neighbor, Iran has the world's highest heroin usage per capita. The heroin labs in Iran and Pakistan--east of Afghanistan--use Afghanistan's imported opium crops to produce the drug and in return, export heroin addiction back to Afghanistan by returnng their refugees.
Meanwhile in the village of Sarab, those who haven't fallen victim to opium addiction quarantine themselves from those who are. They go as far as not associating with their fellow citizens including not allowing them in their homes and preventing them from attending village meetings.
One of the villagers says for him all hope is lost, but for his grandchildren there is hope. They are the only ones in his family who are not addicts.
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