Chance of a new life at Kabul clinic for drug addicts

Published March 4, 2014
Patients play cards in a dormitory at the Jangalak treatment centre in Kabul. — Photo by AFP
Patients play cards in a dormitory at the Jangalak treatment centre in Kabul. — Photo by AFP

KABUL: It is a spartan life of dormitory beds, communal eating and prayer, but the Jangalak treatment centre in Kabul offers a rare glimmer of hope for heroin addicts caught in Afghanistan's spiralling drug problem.

About 250 male addicts at a time undergo a 45-day course at the government centre, with 70 per cent of all patients successfully staying off heroin after they leave.

Earlier this year, the UN drug and crime agency chief Yury Fedotov described the rapid rise of drug addiction in Afghanistan as a “national tragedy” in a country that is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw form of heroin.

Efforts to cut opium production have failed completely in the 13 years since US-led forces arrived in Afghanistan, with Taliban insurgents often benefiting from the lucrative trade.

The latest UN survey has found that opium poppy cultivation rocketed to record levels last year with a 36 per cent increase compared to 2012.

Addiction levels have also risen sharply — from almost nothing under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, to more than one million heroin addicts today, according to UN figures.

Patients at Jangalak often arrive filthy, unkempt and mentally distressed.

They are washed, shaved and issued with new clothes before their treatment begins.

Doctors supervise medication as the addicts detoxify. The daily routine includes psychological support, regular exercise, games and prayer sessions.

Staff say the bonds that develop between recovering addicts are crucial to their chances of rebuilding their lives.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.