Bangkok Post - January 12, 2006
Wassana Nanuam

These men have been diagnosed as mentally deranged from prolonged drug abuse, or are HIV-Aids positive.

A charity rehabilitation centre set up at the school provides herbal treatments which are accepted by local people even though they have not been approved by the Public Health Ministry.

The centre was founded by Sakariya Jehtae, the babor, or headmaster, who was formerly a religious teacher at Thammathan Foundation School in Yala. He converted his house into a ponoh school-cum-mental asylum and Aids treatment centre, operating under religious principles, 18 years ago.

Nearly 2,000 patients have so far been treated at the centre with herbal medicines twice a day, in the morning and at bedtime.

Most patients are young Muslim men, all are shackled to prevent them escaping. Some had gone berserk and smashed everything around them.

The herbal treatments are said to cure drug addicts, the mentally ill and those in the early stage of HIV-Aids.

When Mr Sakariya died in October last year, the task of running of the facility passed to his wife Mrs Nuriyoh, 42, nephew Muhammad Soreh Kiya, 32, and two followers.

"We use herbs from this area and from Arab countries," Mrs Nuriyoh said. "Despite the lack of approval from the Public Health Ministry we will continue the treatments because they are effective and acceptable to local people and we will continue helping them, she said.

Mr Muhammad said not everyone agreed with their methods, but patients must follow the rules.

"Drug addicts, the mentally ill and hallucinating patients here must follow our rules. Their relatives must allow us to chain patients to prevent them from escaping, damaging things and attacking other people," he said.

"Suffering caused by being chained will make them stay away from drugs. People criticise us for chaining them, but it's our rule to confine them for 3-6 months depending on the severity of their condition."

Malang Masae, 36, from Yaring district said he was admitted suffering from hallucinations as a result of drug abuse. He had now recovered. He wanted to go home and would not take drugs again because being chained up was painful.

Abdulloh Jehso, 25, from Mayo district could speak sensibly again after two months of treatment for marijuana addiction and alcoholism, but admitted loneliness might cause him to use marijuana again after going home.

Neither of the two men had any ideas about the violence in the far South and said they could not care less about it.

Heroin addict Amrun Arwae, 37, said he had come to the centre 20 days for help.

He had chains around his ankles and said he did nothing but read all day.

But not all patients recover quickly.

Even after four months, Kamanording Useng still thinks of little else than the cartoon characters Super Seya and Pokemon.

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BP060103

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