Harrowing images depicting the rampant drug addiction that has blighted thousands of Afghan families after years of conflict and the resurgence of the Taliban have emerged, in what is a stark reminder of the turmoil faced by the nation's long-suffering citizens.
A sea of people strung out on heroin, opium and meth were pictured strewn over a hillside overlooking Kabul, some scraping by in makeshift tents with many more simply lying in the dirt.
Hordes of dogs are seen skulking around to share in the drugs, with bodies of overdosed humans and hounds often found sprawled amid the stinking rubbish.
Drug addiction has long been a problem in Afghanistan, the world's biggest producer of opium and heroin and now a major source of meth, but spiralling poverty and decades of war have turned millions more to drugs in recent years.
Since the total collapse of the country's economy following the seizure of power by the Taliban in August last year and the subsequent halt of international financing, families that were once able to get by have found their livelihoods cut off, leaving many barely able to afford food.
As a result, more and more people each day turn to drugs to escape their crushing problems, and the capital Kabul is now infested with addicts living in parks and sewage drains, under bridges and on open hillsides.
The Taliban, who seized power nearly a year ago, have launched an aggressive campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation.
At the same time, they inherited the ousted, internationally backed government's policy of rounding up addicts and forcing them into camps.
On two nights earlier this summer, Taliban fighters stormed two areas where addicts gather in Kabul - one on a hillside and another under a bridge. In total, they collected some 1,500 people, according to officials in charge of registering them.
They were herded into trucks and cars and taken to the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment, a former U.S. military base that in 2016 was converted into a drug treatment centre and the biggest of a number of addict treatment camps around Kabul.
There, the addicts were shaved and kept in barracks for 45 days. They receive no treatment or medication as they go through withdrawal.
When the addicts die, either from overdoses, hunger or exposure to the elements living in the dirt, they do so unceremoniously.
Sometimes fellow addicts or family members will hastily bury them - others are just carted off and left to rot or be eaten by the dogs.
Vita said
Jul 20 5:01 PM, 2022
For once, I'm lost for words.
Maddog said
Jul 20 5:24 PM, 2022
They have to fix this on their own..
I'm afraid their form of their backward ass religion will make that difficult.
Sometimes an entire country is like an addict. They have to hit rock bottom for awhile and then decide they want to get better..
Digger said
Jul 20 8:38 PM, 2022
Maddog wrote:
They have to fix this on their own..
I'm afraid their form of their backward ass religion will make that difficult.
Sometimes an entire country is like an addict. They have to hit rock bottom for awhile and then decide they want to get better..
I have no words, really.
Harrowing images depicting the rampant drug addiction that has blighted thousands of Afghan families after years of conflict and the resurgence of the Taliban have emerged, in what is a stark reminder of the turmoil faced by the nation's long-suffering citizens.
A sea of people strung out on heroin, opium and meth were pictured strewn over a hillside overlooking Kabul, some scraping by in makeshift tents with many more simply lying in the dirt.
Hordes of dogs are seen skulking around to share in the drugs, with bodies of overdosed humans and hounds often found sprawled amid the stinking rubbish.
Drug addiction has long been a problem in Afghanistan, the world's biggest producer of opium and heroin and now a major source of meth, but spiralling poverty and decades of war have turned millions more to drugs in recent years.
Since the total collapse of the country's economy following the seizure of power by the Taliban in August last year and the subsequent halt of international financing, families that were once able to get by have found their livelihoods cut off, leaving many barely able to afford food.
As a result, more and more people each day turn to drugs to escape their crushing problems, and the capital Kabul is now infested with addicts living in parks and sewage drains, under bridges and on open hillsides.
The Taliban, who seized power nearly a year ago, have launched an aggressive campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation.
At the same time, they inherited the ousted, internationally backed government's policy of rounding up addicts and forcing them into camps.
On two nights earlier this summer, Taliban fighters stormed two areas where addicts gather in Kabul - one on a hillside and another under a bridge. In total, they collected some 1,500 people, according to officials in charge of registering them.
They were herded into trucks and cars and taken to the Avicenna Medical Hospital for Drug Treatment, a former U.S. military base that in 2016 was converted into a drug treatment centre and the biggest of a number of addict treatment camps around Kabul.
There, the addicts were shaved and kept in barracks for 45 days. They receive no treatment or medication as they go through withdrawal.
When the addicts die, either from overdoses, hunger or exposure to the elements living in the dirt, they do so unceremoniously.
Sometimes fellow addicts or family members will hastily bury them - others are just carted off and left to rot or be eaten by the dogs.
I'm afraid their form of their backward ass religion will make that difficult.
Sometimes an entire country is like an addict. They have to hit rock bottom for awhile and then decide they want to get better..
I think you're right.