QUETTA: Rehmatullah had always been a bright student, with dreams of one day becoming an engineer.

A 26-year-old Afghan refugee braving the difficulties his status brought had been dealt a bad hand once in life. But he was not about to let an accident of birth dampen his spirits and weaken his drive to make it big in his adopted country.

But Rehmatullah’s path to success took a turn for the worse when he got himself addicted to heroin.

“The first time I ever smoked a heroin cigarette, I thought I was on top of the world. With each puff, I felt a little less anxious, and a little more confident. It was such an incredible feeling, not to have a worry in the world,” Rehmatullah recalled lamenting his initial partiality to the life-threatening opioid.

“I thought it was a cognitive-enhancing drug — one that would help my mind function better and achieve my goals faster. But I was so wrong. All it did was cloud my judgement with its poison.”

The aspiring engineer’s fortunes, however, have turned around once again, as he rehabilitates at the Nai Roshni centre funded and supported since 2008 by the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR). The rehab facility has provided him counselling, and guidance to chart his way back to a life not plagued with drug abuse.

Every year about 100 Afghan refugees are detoxified with appropriate medical care and regular psychological counselling. The centre also offers free HIV testing for patients and refers HIV positive cases to the Balochistan Aids Control Programme for further treatment. Born in the Surkhab refugee camp, where he spent his early childhood with his family, Rehmatullah was introduced to heroin when he was in the 6th grade. By the time his family had come to terms with the shock of having a drug addict child, he was already completely heroin-dependent. His family’s attempts to save him had all failed. They had tried to support him and had even arranged for him to get married, but all in vain.

It took another 13 years for him to finally get rid of his substance abuse. But by then he had spent the most important years of his life — years that he could have spent studying to become an engineer — recovering and relapsing.

“When I was a drug addict, my family would take care of my five daughters. I could hardly make ends meet, and my failure to provide for my family became a constant source of guilt for me. I just wanted my dignity back,” he said.

Rehmatullah wants young people to look at his life — see how he suffered, how his family suffered — and learn an important lesson. Stay away from the allure of temporary highs, and focus on education.

“I was a bright student. I managed to study until the 11th grade despite my addiction. But my mind suffered and so did my performance. I would have been an engineer had I not fallen prey to this horrible drug,” he said.

The recovered Rehmatullah is now training to become a tailor and is also learning the skill of embroidery at the centre.

“I have been working hard to acquire new skills for the past year and a half at the centre. I feel normal now, and I am trying to make enough money to provide for my family,” he said.

Rehmatullah calls on the younger generation to focus on education, and not get involved with drugs. He could not stay in school for long himself, but he is determined to help his girls get a decent education and pursue their dreams.

Published in Dawn, Aprill 13th, 2018