♥

Child Herion Addicts

I recently watched a documentary on child drug addicts in Afghanistan. It was a raw expose on the results behind Americas ten year + fight against the Taliban. (Or their quest for oil supplies). It was hard to watch and to say it was shocking is quite an understatement. Based on the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime, Opium production in Afghanistan has been increasing since American occupation began back in 2001 and is more sufficient now so than when previously under Taliban rule.

Parents have little or no choice to tend to their children's medical needs by supplying them with the class A drug as it is by far cheaper than the medicine needed to cure/ease the problem. Disheartening and horrifying I sat in disbelief as young war victims were smoking opium for relief from the pain of war inflicted injuries whilst young babies were handed rocks of pure heroin for teething relief. The harsh reality of the matter is these children are blameless, innocent and unfortunately unable to help themselves. Parents who themselves are addicted to the drug have no other viable economic option which has lead to the large amount of chid heroin addicts. Parents can not leave their children in pain yet can not afford the medical help required. Not only are parents using the class A drug for substitute medical care, the drug also suppresses appetites, thus those families who can not afford a daily meal have another heavy dependency on the drug.

A tube of Calgel, (antiseptic pain relieving gel used for teething) from a Boots Chemist in the Uk can be purchased at £2.35, loose change from a monthly pay packet for many people here. I find it hard to understand that today, in the 21st Century, there is such an extreme difference in the way a simple thing like teething is approached. And how in the age of communication little is known or reported on the issue. Yet many of my friends could happily tell you about Pete Doherty's latest stint in a Thai Rehab costing £7,200 a month, how he failed to complete his session and was kicked out for bad behaviour. The voyeuristic nature of our society means that the idle chit chat and celeb gossip is something that saturates our daily lives. Don't get me wrong I am not someone to shy away from the Daily Mail's showbizz columns. However, I stumbled across this episode of Unreported World on 4od's archive of their old series. The key is in the title here, people in the western world are less aware as it is 'unreported'. We are more inclined to read about Doherty and the error in his ways, depicted when he so elegantly sings "you pi**ed it all up the wall" in The Libertines perfectly titled track "What a Waster" and accidently on purpose turn a blind eye to important issues with insufficient coverage.