‘My only wish is to get rid of addiction, reunite with family’

TALOQAN (Pajhwok): Gul Khan, the caretaker of an eight-member family, has been spending nights in ruined places in this capital city of northern Takhar province. He sells junk scavenged from the garbage to buy drugs.

Gul Khan, who has been consuming drugs for 10 years, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “It was 1390 solar year; I was a young man when I migrated to Iran due to financial problems, but the situation turned against me and I was addicted to narcotics and now experience bitter days.”

Gul Khan, who is the breadwinner of an eight-member family, said addiction forced him to live  with other addicts and spend the night on the garbage.

Gul Khan is the father of three daughters and three sons but he doesn’t know about their fate.

According to him, addiction has caused miles of distance between him and his loved ones and he cannot solve his family’s problems.

When asked what was his biggest wish in life?, he replied: “Rehabilitation from addiction and to be with my family, who now have no caretaker.”

Gul Khan was wounded in his leg a year ago during the past conflict, but the use of narcotics does not allow his wounds to heal.

He asked the caretaker government to collect addicts and transfer them to standard hospital without beatings, so that he and other addicts could be saved from leading a miserable life and being a burden on society.

HamayunPayman, a professor at the University in Takhar, said the four decades of war in Afghanistan, unemployment, lack of awareness especially among the youth about the consequences of illegal immigration and drug cultivation in some parts of the country were reasons that the population of drug addicts had increased.

According to him, the previous government did not pay any serious attention to collection and treatment of drug addicts.

Now the caretaker government should pay attention to solve this problem, he added.

sa/ma

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