State of denial

Since Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan crisis began in 1979 following the invasion of that country by the then Soviet Union, there has been a steady flow of drugs into the country and a consequent increase in addiction levels, especially to heroin.

The result has essentially been the destruction of millions of young people from one generation to the next, badly affecting families and society. Astonishingly, the street value of heroin remains low today compared to other such commodities. Increased social pressures brought on partially by economic strain, unemployment and tensions within families as traditions change mean that youth continue to fall victim to these drugs. Teenagers are included in the number.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Pakistan today, with its 7.6 million drug addicts, carries amongst the highest burden of drug addiction in the world. Yet it is an issue we barely discuss. Twenty-two percent of these addicts are women – a somewhat harrowing statistic which depicts a definite change in pattern since the early 1980s when there were extremely few women users of heroin, the most commonly used substance, hashish or other opiates.

The UNODC also clarifies that this figure is likely to make up only one-third of the total number of addicts given that addiction is not always reported and most crucially there are no government-run treatment centres to offer help to drug addicts. Addiction in fact remains criminalised, with those who consume heroin still thrown into jail rather than being offered help.

The treatment centres that do run in the private sector in our largest cities are often essentially intended to earn huge profits rather than to cure people. These institutes, which run giant advertisements in the media, are earning massive profits but few who return from them are able to shake off the habit that forced their families to take them there in the first place.

Organisations such as Nai Zindagi, run by Dr Tariq Zafar, himself a former drug addict, receive less publicity and in the past have been targeted or victimised by governments. Many specialists believe the group is the only one offering quality treatment to drug addicts by taking in only those who volunteer to remain at the centre rather than be locked in and contribute to all the work carried out there including cooking and cleaning. Despite this, the former Punjab government drove the organisation out of its former home in Lahore, forcing them to change locations and move to Islamabad, where work continues, quietly but, it is understood, effectively.

As for the other centres, the purpose is simply to make money and lure in desperate families who are willing to pay any amount to save their children from the curse of the sinister powder or other similar substances. It should be noted that alcohol is among these, even though this is not officially acknowledged.

Aside from the better known substances of misuse, we have the widespread misuse of prescription medicines sold over the counter, with a high rate of mental illness in the country contributing to their use as a means to alleviate anxiety or stress. Without medical supervision, this can be dangerous. Both men and women are prone to this hazard. According to the Aga Khan University Hospital and other organisations monitoring mental health, around 1 in 4 Pakistanis suffer mental illness. These include a frightening 20 million children, according to the AKUH alone. There may be many others whose situation remains unknown to us.

The drug problem also ties in with that of mental health. We need to treat both holistically. Reports that more and more young people are turning to drugs is alarming. Clearly, something has gone very wrong in our society. These people, most of them aged between 15 and 40 years old, require safe spaces where they can articulate their problems and also have access to tools that can help them break away from the vice that continuous use of hard drugs holds them in.

It has to be a primary healthcare responsibility to tackle the issue rather than to continue the silence about it that has persisted for years. The discussion needs to begin at the school level and move upwards into colleges, universities, mosques, clinics and even workplaces. We know that drugs are readily available even to children. The kind of drug varies largely based on socio-economic background and the ability to buy them. A prime responsibility for the government must be to develop ways to tackle the issue, perhaps initially by developing centres where families can report addiction and seek basic help. More sophisticated treatment centres are needed, but expertise and money are needed to establish these. According to the figures available, at the moment we lack this medical expertise.

Yet it is badly needed. This is all the more true since the use of drugs, especially by injection, can lead to a host of other diseases including Hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS and other problems. A study conducted some years ago in Larkana has already established this.

So how long will we maintain our pretence that all is well in our society? It is not. More and more people are turning to drugs. In an era when mimicking the West is popular among many groups, artificial and synthetic substances that can in some cases cause rapid death have entered the mainstream of the life of our young people. Despite this, there is a reluctance to talk about drugs because parents, teachers and others with influence like to believe that the children they know cannot be affected. This fallacy has to be hacked through. Everyone is a possible victim and, given the scale of the problem, the government has a duty to offer affordable treatment to all.

There also needs to be much greater debate and discussion on drugs of all kinds in the media and at other forums. Only when a problem is discussed can adequate solutions be found. At present, in homes across the country, belonging to both the very rich and the very poor, families suffer in silence. It remains a stigma to talk about addiction. This is especially true for the rich, who in many cases seem unwilling to accept any problem exists at all or then dispatch their offspring overseas for rehabilitation.

The kind of rehabilitation they can afford needs to be brought home as well. Nai Zindagi has shown it can happen. It has worked with specific groups including street children addicted to sniffing glue. There are many other communities and groups that also need help. Ways have to be found to offer it to them. The figure put out by the UNODC is not one that can be ignored. As the problem continues, it will spread further, destroying more and more lives.

We simply should not be allowing this to happen. It is time to face the facts and accept the ugliness that lies on our streets and within our homes. People need to be saved from drugs, from those who manufacture and those who sell them. People should also be able to obtain help without stigma when they require it. Until this happens, we can have no hope of redemption.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com