Zwei Tage nachdem die Taliban im August 2021 die Macht übernommen hatten, verkündete ihr Sprecher Zabihullah Mudschahid, Afghanistan werde ein „drogenfreies Land“ werden. Das bezog sich sowohl auf den Anbau von Opium als auch auf den Konsum von Drogen. Viele Beobachter nahmen das angekündigte Verbot damals noch nicht für bare Münze. Schließlich hing die Lebensgrundlage von geschätzt fast sieben Millionen Afghanen am Opiumgeschäft. Und die Zahl der Drogensüchtigen wurde auf fast vier Millionen geschätzt, fast zehn Prozent der Bevölkerung – eine der höchsten Suchtraten der Welt.
Das strikte Anbauverbot zeigte Wirkung: Nach UN-Angaben brach der Anbau im vergangenen Jahr um 95 Prozent ein. Laut einer am Donnerstag veröffentlichten Studie der Denkfabrik International Crisis Group gingen den afghanischen Bauern dadurch Einnahmen in Höhe von 1,3 Milliarden Dollar verloren. Bei der Bekämpfung der Opiumsucht haben die Taliban mit ihren brachialen Methoden dagegen weniger Erfolg, wie der Bericht der Denkfabrik zeigt.
Das Ergebnis: hohe Rückfallraten
Die Taliban hätten ihre Anti-Drogen-Kampagne damit begonnen, in den wichtigsten Städten des Landes öffentlichkeitswirksam Drogensüchtige von der Straße aufzugreifen und zwangsweise an Orte zu verfrachten, die man kaum als Rehabilitationszentren beschreiben kann. Ein Dokumentarfilm des deutschen Journalisten Marcel Mettelsiefen zeigte im vergangenen Jahr die prekären Bedingungen in solchen Zentren, in denen die Süchtigen ohne nennenswerte medizinische Begleitung auf kalten Entzug gesetzt werden. In anderen Fällen gehört zu den Methoden, die Kranken mit kaltem Wasser abzuspritzen. Drei Monate dauert die Tortur laut einem Bericht der Organisation Global Drug Policy Observatory. Das Ergebnis: hohe Rückfallraten.
Such methods had also been used in part by the previous Western-backed government, but not to such an extent. According to the International Crisis Group, the republic’s government had built 180 rehabilitation centers across the country with the help of foreign donors. However, due to a lack of aid funds, they were hardly usable after the Taliban took power. Instead, the Taliban used vacated prisons from which they had previously freed their fighters. In August 2022, the Taliban announced that they had “treated” 47,000 addicts in this way.
Programs continue to develop
According to the report, the highly visible misery of the urban drug scene was one of the reasons for the decision to ban opium cultivation again, as was done in the late 1990s when the Taliban were in power. During the fight against international troops and the Republic’s troops, however, the Taliban also taxed opium farmers. They justified this partly by saying that the drugs were being exported to Europe and therefore only harmed non-believers.
The International Crisis Group also acknowledges that the Taliban have a learning curve. Their programs have “gradually developed”. Among other things, there are now new rehabilitation centers in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif with a total of 15,000 beds, as well as training centers where those affected can learn sewing, carpentry and electrical repairs. Instead of punishment, the programs are now moving more towards support. There are also isolated offers of psychological counseling for women and girls.
Foreign donors are contributing to the measures to a small extent. For example, the European Union is funding several smaller rehabilitation clinics and support services for women with a tens of millions of euros through the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is trying to import methadone, but this is reportedly difficult.
Is the number of addicts decreasing – or are they being pushed out?
It is estimated that around a quarter of drug addicts are women and more than 100,000 are children. This is also because opium is often used in Afghanistan as a painkiller and sedative or as a means of fighting hunger. According to a survey, 78 percent of drug addicted women surveyed said they gave opium to their children.
The drugs are said to have been particularly widespread among Afghan refugees in Iran, some of whom were supplied with drugs by their employers on construction sites. The precarious humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the spread of hunger and unemployment have probably made the problem even worse.
Although there are now fewer drug addicts on the streets of Kabul and other cities, the report by the International Crisis Group says, it is unclear whether the number of addicts has decreased or whether they have been forced underground by the Taliban’s repression.
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