Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 21, 2007
Huddled in a tight circle, a group of men smoke hashish. In a corner, a 22-year-old man mumbles incoherently, almost invisible beneath the plastic sack wrapped around him.
About a dozen drug addicts call this once grand building ù Kabul's former Russian Cultural Center ù their home. Most fled to Iran as refugees during the harsh Taliban rule. Many became addicts while away. Now, Iran is sending many of them home, often against their will.
Mohammad Sultan, 45, was deported from Iran nine months ago. He says the drugs keep him from dwelling on his problems. His wife and three children are still in Iran, and he hasn't heard from them for some time. The story is repeated around the room.
Police officers harass the addicts for money. Of the government, Sultan says, "They don't care whether we live or die. We are just like insects for them."
About half of Afghanistan's drug users are returning refugees from Iran or Pakistan, said Mohammad Zafar, the director general for policy and coordination in the Afghan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics.
"Most of the drug users from Iran are heroin addicts and frequently use injections," he said. "Life for refugees is very hard in other countries, with no jobs, and they are introduced to the habit through drug users in other countries."
In Afghanistan, they have a ready supply: The country's farmers produce 93 percent of the world's opium, the main ingredient in heroin.
Doctors and medics from the Zendagi-e Nawin rehabilitation center visit the addicts often to examine and administer much-needed medicines.
AIDS is a concern. A study by Action Aid Afghanistan found that while the country does not have many HIV cases, there is a high risk that the virus could spread because of an increasing number of injecting drug users.
Nearly half of the 99 injecting drug users interviewed by Action Aid did not know HIV could be spread through sharing needles, and 69 percent did not know where they could get an HIV test.
The former cultural center, built during the Russian occupation in the 1980s, saw heavy fighting during Afghanistan's three decades of conflict.
Today, its battle-scarred walls are witness to a new cycle of destruction.
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