YALDA’S KABUL
UN Security Council in Kabul Seeks Solutions Journalist Yalda Hakim returns to her native country of Afghanistan. Here she documents the appalling living standards and the ravages caused by heroin addiction. Both shocking and emotional.
“I’m so fearful. Every day I think, “Will that car in front of me explode?”‘
Welcome to Afghanistan’s harsh reality. The Taliban are at the door and insecurity is getting worse. But it’s not the only issue. ‘I became addicted out of misery and frustration’. A man sitting outside a derelict building shows Yalda his amputated thigh. Inside, used needles carpet the floor and hang from the ceilings. ‘Heroin is cheaper than alcohol. You’ve already destroyed our country. Now we eat the poison, the rich and powerful eat the dollars.’
Later, Yalda visits the only rehab clinic for women and children. ‘When I wasn’t smoking, my body was in pain.’ Gul Pari is only twelve. She’s been addicted for six years. There are many children like her. Despite faint glimmers of hope, their future looks very uncertain.
June 16th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
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