Afghanistan is a war-torn country, and has been for 30 years. It has been described in the many conversations that I have had of late, as a "bipolar" society. In many many ways it is a country at war with itself. Out of a population of 32 million, one million Afghans are drug addicts.
That would be just counting the men, of course. Gender roles mean that women may too be affected, but since they don't always step forwards, they are often not counted in the same way.
I went to a WADAN drug treatment centre yesterday, and was humbled to follow the programme, which included a chance to sit in a group therapy session. Relapsing is all too real and there is a critical shortage of mental health workers, since invariably much of the addiction is spurned on by the various troubles this country faces. The dedicated workers and volunteers who make up the programme are truly soldiers of the best kind.
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