Ghazni, January 17: Worried by the growing phenomenon of drug addiction in their remote Afghan region, villagers in the eastern Qarabagh district in Ghazni province have come with a novel idea to eradicate the habit; kicking out addicts.
“Heroin addiction among our young people was destroying us,” elder Mohammad Razaq told.
“This destruction was getting worse and worse every day and we felt that we had no choice but to deal with it in this way.”
Tribal leaders in the district decided to step in first by warning drug addicts to quit the habit or be fined.
If addicts insist on consuming drugs, they are forced to leave the district.
“If they don’t stop taking the drugs by the deadline, then we force them out of the village,” Razaq said.
“Since the elders made the decision, we have evicted more than 200 addicts from villages in this district.
“They have all been told that until they give up their addiction, they are not back.”
Drug producers, traffickers and sellers are also facing the same penalties.
“[They] tell them that if they don’t stop, they will be fined 100,000 afghani (2,000 dollars),” said Razaq.
“And if they still continue after being fined, the community gets together and burns down their houses.”
Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium on which many locals depend to make ends meet.
It accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s opium supply, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
There is no official statistics about the number of addicts in Afghanistan, where its population itself is a rough estimate of 24-30 million.
Objections
Though supported by the police, the eviction policy has stirred opposition from physicians.
“It is not possible to cure addiction by force,” said Dr Ismail Ibrahimzai, head of the Ghazni provincial hospital.
“We have to encourage addicts to come to the treatment centers when they are ready.
“If there is no support network for them, and no health care, suddenly being forced to stop the drugs can be life-threatening.”
The Afghan doctor defended the role played by the health ministry in curbing drug addiction.
“The health ministry has set up treatment centers for addicts and mobile groups are working hard to cut the number of addicts,” he said, estimating that 14 percent of Ghazni’s addicts have registered for treatment.
But the eviction policy is hailed by Ghazni police as the only available option to curb addiction.
“If this plan was implemented across the country without doubt the result will be very positive in cutting the number of addicts and eliminating sellers, production centers and trafficking,” said police chief Khialbaz Sherzai.
With estimates putting the number of addicts at around 20,000, Qarabagh villagers, however, could see no other alternative.
“The number of addicts increased in recent years and most of them were people who had come from foreign countries such as Iran,” Mohammad Nabi said, referring to the millions who fled war and then the 1996-2001 Taliban regime into Iran and Pakistan.
“The government has done nothing to prevent addiction or get rid of producers and sellers.
“So we had no choice if we wanted to stop our children from destroying themselves.”
-Agencies