75,000 drug addicts in Herat, estimate officials

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Counter-narcotics officials say about 75,000 people, including 5,000 women, are addicted to several kinds of drugs in western Herat province.

However, no fresh survey has been conducted recently in order to determine the exact number of drug addicts in the province.

A survey conducted a few years ago by the anti-narcotics department and supporting institutions estimates there are nearly 75,000 addicts in the province.

Migration, poverty, human trafficking, unemployment, economic crisis and social problems are cited among the main factors for youth slipping into addiction.

Majeed, a resident of Herat who has been addicted to drugs for 11 years, spends day and night on roads with his nephew.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News the reason behind his addiction was migration to neighbouring Iran to earn a living.

Sharmila, an addicted woman who spends most of her time on streets with her two children and spouse, complained she was had been harassed many times, especially at night.

She blamed her spouse for her addition, saying her husband consumed drugs several times a day. Finally, after two years, she herself was addicted to narcotics.

Sharmila recalled: “The day my brother and son were killed in an accident, my life became dark. This led me into drug addiction.”

Meanwhile, residents of Herat hit out at gatherings of drug addicts in most sensitive places of the city. They urged authorities to collect them.

Mohammad Naeem, an inhabitant of the 7^th police district, claimed the strong presence of drug addicts in the city had led to a surge in robberies.

He called on the counter-narcotics department to collect addicts and transfer them to health clinics for rehabilitation.

Ali Azad, a sociologist and university teacher, believed the presence of drug addicts in public places had a direct and indirect impact on the people.

Maulvi Hayatullah Rohani, director of counter-narcotics, said they had launched a campaign to collect drug addicts, especially women.

He added they had collected 50 women addicts and dozens of men from the city and admitted them to rehabilitation centres.

Rohani assured the addicts would receive complete medical treatment. He underlined the need for creating more addiction treatment centres.

He urged partner organisations to cooperate with the department in providing timely services to drug addicts.

According to surveys conducted in the past, more than three million people are addicted to drugs across Afghanistan.

sa/mud