Young addicts have hope

AP Published February 27, 2012
A 16-year-old drug addict sits in the medical office of the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A 16-year-old drug addict sits in the medical office of the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A 10-year-old former drug addict, center, sits on the floor, adding colors to a drawing with recovering drug addicts in a classroom at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan. The boy was just four years old when he spent his first night in jail, where he was sexually assaulted by an older inmate, and by five he was smoking hashish and eventually switched to glue sniffing.
A 10-year-old former drug addict, center, sits on the floor, adding colors to a drawing with recovering drug addicts in a classroom at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan. The boy was just four years old when he spent his first night in jail, where he was sexually assaulted by an older inmate, and by five he was smoking hashish and eventually switched to glue sniffing.
Young drug addicts form a line as they leave the playground at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Young drug addicts form a line as they leave the playground at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addict turns around holding a needle and syringe after injecting himself with a dose of heroin in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addict turns around holding a needle and syringe after injecting himself with a dose of heroin in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
A boy kisses the Quran as 13-year-old Osama, right, prepares to recite verses to fellow students at a Dost Foundation school for young drug addicts in Peshawar, Pakistan. Osama escaped from the Taliban about one month ago and was found sleeping on the floor of a rickety old hotel in Peshawar's old city and brought to the foundation.
A boy kisses the Quran as 13-year-old Osama, right, prepares to recite verses to fellow students at a Dost Foundation school for young drug addicts in Peshawar, Pakistan. Osama escaped from the Taliban about one month ago and was found sleeping on the floor of a rickety old hotel in Peshawar's old city and brought to the foundation.
Young drug addicts sit in a classroom at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Young drug addicts sit in a classroom at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Drug addicts play a ball game on the grounds at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Drug addicts play a ball game on the grounds at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A drug addict leans on a wall after injecting himself with a dose of heroin on a street in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
A drug addict leans on a wall after injecting himself with a dose of heroin on a street in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
A tear forms in the eye of Inam, a 15-year-old drug addict, as he talks about discovering that he has HIV in Peshawar, Pakistan. He figures he got it from sharing needles with his friends.
A tear forms in the eye of Inam, a 15-year-old drug addict, as he talks about discovering that he has HIV in Peshawar, Pakistan. He figures he got it from sharing needles with his friends.
Drug addicts gather outside a detox room at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan. The sign above the door reads in Arabic and Pashto, “Every type of intoxication is forbidden.”
Drug addicts gather outside a detox room at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan. The sign above the door reads in Arabic and Pashto, “Every type of intoxication is forbidden.”
A Pakistani drug addict sits on a chair guarding the premises at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addict sits on a chair guarding the premises at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Drug addicts gather for lunch at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Drug addicts gather for lunch at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addicts walks through a hall at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addicts walks through a hall at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Young drug addicts line up for prayers on the playground at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Young drug addicts line up for prayers on the playground at the Dost Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addict reaches out with a knife after taking drugs on a street in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
A Pakistani drug addict reaches out with a knife after taking drugs on a street in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The flourishing opium production in Afghanistan has resulted in more than four million addicts in Pakistan. In Peshawar, some of the youngest end up in mud-walled rooms being drilled in extreme Muslim doctrine or on the streets and into prostitution for money and shelter followed by hashish and glue-sniffing.  Yet in this rugged frontier city in northwest Pakistan, where people carry guns as casually as they would a daily newspaper, these young addicts have hope - a charity-run boarding school for homeless, drug-addicted children.– Text and photos by AP

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