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The story of Nestoh Naderi, the most famous journalist and presenter on local channels, is one of the strangest stories in the world of drugs in Afghanistan.
Kabul- Abdul Bari Omar, Deputy Minister of Health of Afghanistan, confirmed that the number of drug addicts in Afghanistan has reached 3.5 million people, including 40% of women, or 9% of the country’s total population of 39 million people.
Omar says – to Al Jazeera Net – that “3.5 million people in the country are addicted to drugs… and each of them takes drugs for about 3 dollars a day.”
According to United Nations statistics, in 2020, the area of land used for the illegal cultivation of opium poppy in Afghanistan expanded by 37% compared to the previous year, which is the third largest indicator ever recorded in the country, as Afghanistan produces 85% of the world’s opium, which constitutes 6 to 11% of the country’s GDP.
last stop
The den of drug addicts under a bridge west of the Afghan capital, Kabul, was famous among the addicts themselves as the “last station” and “the bridge of death.” The number of deaths in this place as a result of drug overdoses and cold is estimated at 150 per month, an average of 5 deaths per day.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior managed to collect 2,718 addicts from separate areas of the capital, Kabul, and sent them to health centers for the treatment of addicts.
“We have developed a plan to collect addiction victims from the capital, Kabul, and the rest of the states, and send them to health centers for addiction treatment, and we have designated 14 health centers in the capital, Kabul,” said Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Saeed Khosti – to Al Jazeera Net.
Drug addicts under a bridge west of the Afghan capital, Kabul, and call it the “last station” and “the bridge of death” (Al Jazeera)death bridge
Abdul Karim Khan, a young man who resorted to the bridge of death after taking drugs for 8 years, says – to Al Jazeera Net – “I got addicted to drugs in Parwan state (north of the capital, Kabul) because of my uncle who got addicted to it during his work in Iran, and when he returned to his hometown he was offering Drugs for me from time to time, and after several doses, I realized that I had become addicted to drugs, despite undergoing treatment more than once. I was not able to get rid of this torment.. I hate my life, everyone hates me after cutting this long stretch of my life under the bridge. Your place is not here, but my uncle implicated me so that I have reached a state from which there is no return, and now I am waiting impatiently for my death.”
Two drug addicts under the Kabul Bridge (Al-Jazeera)The story of journalist Nestoh Naderi
The story of Nestoh Naderi, the most famous journalist and presenter on local channels, is one of the strangest stories in the world of drugs in Afghanistan.
Nestoh suffered from addiction for 7 years, and he says – to Al-Jazeera Net – “I was one of the most famous Afghan journalists, but I fell into the trap of drug smugglers, until it came to me that I lived 7 years under the bridge, and I decided to get out of this dark world; I checked the private hospital I treated addicts, and I stayed there for 3 months.”
“I will never forget the experience of addiction in my life, and I learned great lessons and recorded them in a book, in which I dealt with the life and experience of the addict, and how to find salvation,” Nestoh added.
Figures indicate that 3.5 million Afghans use drugs (Al-Jazeera)The number is greater than advertised
Contrary to the statements of Afghan government officials, a former doctor says that “most of the official statistics deliberately underestimate the size of the addiction problem, and there is a deep sense of embarrassment about how the addiction rate has worsened despite the large number of international aid. As for the figures that say that 3.5 million Afghans use drugs, they are It is based on a 2016 survey, while the number far exceeded what the Afghan government says.
A former security source – who preferred not to be named – told Al Jazeera Net, “The former Afghan government and the international community failed to put an end to drug use in Afghanistan, and that a number of officials authorized to combat drugs were involved in drug trafficking and selling to addicts in Kabul; and this is a great challenge for the new government.” led by the Taliban, and the addiction rate in Afghanistan is higher than in any other country.”
The drug is within everyone’s reach!
Buying drugs of all kinds in the capital, Kabul, is easier than buying food and food, addicts say; A single dose costs at least a dollar, and it’s affordable in popular parts of the city.
And a source in the Afghan interior told Al Jazeera Net, “The government is not serious about fighting drugs; They burn more than $9 million a day, which is a ridiculous amount in the current situation.”
A Taliban member stands by a bridge where hundreds of drug addicts gather in Kabul (French)war on drugs
The Ministry of Health operates 95 addiction control centers in Afghanistan, which faces many problems on many fronts, and the chances of its victory in the war on drugs seem unclear, and political writer Abdul Jalil Karim – to Al Jazeera Net – says, “The main factors that push young people in Afghanistan to Drug abuse is poverty and unemployment.”
He added, “We have more than 4 million citizens who cannot find work and seek to migrate to neighboring countries, especially Iran, in addition to easy access to drugs, so the new government in the country must stand firmly against drug dealers and import materials used in drugs.”
