STORY: Recovered Afghan drug addicts receive training to reintegrate into society
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 30, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 5, 2025
LENGTH: 00:03:20
LOCATION: Kabul
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of rehabilitated drug addicts at the Aghosh camp 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Dari): MEHDI GHIASI, Shoemaking teacher
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Dari): FARIDULLAH, Recovered addict
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Dari): FARIDULLAH, Recovered addict
6. various of rehabilitated drug addicts at the Aghosh camp 

STORYLINE:

Outside Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, a total of 550 rehabilitated drug addicts are being trained at Aghosh camp to become skilled workers.

Once a victim of drug addiction with heroin for more than a decade, 33-year-old Mehdi Ghiasi now is teaching shoemaking to 100 recovered addicts at the rehabilitation center.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Dari): MEHDI GHIASI, Shoemaking teacher
"Anyone who joins Aghosh camp wants to learn an occupation such as tailoring, shoemaking, or repairing electrical appliances. I start by teaching them the art of shoemaking. I have 50 pupils in the morning shift and another 50 in the afternoon. I am truly happy to be of service and to teach these individuals." 

Afghanistan has experienced decades of war and civil strife and is reportedly home to more than 3 million drug addicts. In its commitment to eradicating drug production and addiction, the Afghan caretaker government has already banned poppy cultivation and drug trafficking.

Ghiasi said that he was a skilled shoemaker but that using drugs destroyed his life and isolated him from family and friends. Devotion to family, especially his one-year-old daughter, encouraged Ghiasi to give up using drugs two years ago.

Another recovered addict, Faridullah, has been learning shoemaking in order to open his own shop in the future.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Dari): FARIDULLAH, Recovered addict
"I have been living in the Aghosh camp for five months. I am in good health and working on the shoemaking project." 

Expressing hatred toward heroin and all kinds of illicit drugs, the former drug addict said that using drugs destroys the personality of a person and discards him from society.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Dari): FARIDULLAH, Recovered addict
"Using drugs destroys your life and property. They ruin your honor and credibility, both at home and in the society. My goal in the future is to open a shoemaking shop after coming out from here, so I can support myself and my family. I urge those addicted to drugs to give up illicit drugs and join a rehabilitation center. There, they can learn a skill and receive tools they need to work for themselves."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kabul.
(XHTV)