0:00:02 > 0:00:06Afghanistan. This country is the world's biggest heroin producer.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:10 > 0:00:1390% of all opiate drugs come from here.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17But now it's one of the worst consumers
0:00:17 > 0:00:19of illegal narcotics anywhere.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24The addiction situation in Afghanistan
0:00:24 > 0:00:25is one of the most disastrous.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26We need to act now.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38The nation's drug habit is tearing society apart...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40life by life.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Tahir Qadiry is a London-based Afghan journalist
0:00:53 > 0:00:56with all the connections on the ground.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is one of the unstable places in the north of Afghanistan.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05Now he's back home to find out why this is happening
0:01:05 > 0:01:07and investigate the heroin epidemic
0:01:07 > 0:01:10that's destroying Afghanistan from within.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19Kabul, Afghanistan.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24From a distance this city looks beautiful.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28But Kabul, like Afghanistan as a whole,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31is suffering from an epidemic of hard drug addiction.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36More than a million Afghans are now problem drug users -
0:01:36 > 0:01:39proportionately the highest figure in the world -
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and that number is rising fast.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Music and dancing,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55but this is no party.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58These men are all heroin addicts.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04They're attending The Nejat Centre,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07a charity devoted to helping drug users recover.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Tahir has come here to try to understand their world of addiction.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27Jawad is just 18 years old, but he's been hooked on heroin for 10 years.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31His uncle introduced him to drugs when he was a small child
0:02:31 > 0:02:33to make him work harder on the land.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38IN TRANSLATION
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Babrak is 26.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26He used to smoke hashish, but got addicted to heroin two years ago,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28after some friends gave him some to try.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Babrak's a bit like an older brother to Jawad
0:03:51 > 0:03:53as they try to make their way through rehab.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Despite their very different social classes,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03both well understand the realities of hard drug abuse in Afghanistan.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09But just how bad is it?
0:04:11 > 0:04:16Every day, the Nejat Centre's Outreach Team go into Kabul
0:04:16 > 0:04:19to try and bring basic social and medical care
0:04:19 > 0:04:20to the city's drug addicts.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27IN TRANSLATION
0:04:55 > 0:04:58The team drives down to the Kabul River,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01an area where addicts are known to congregate
0:05:01 > 0:05:03to buy and take their heroin.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11This is the centre of the capital city.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15But the Kabul River is like an open sewer,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19its banks host to human misery and degradation.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22This is a wretched place.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31RETCHING COUGH
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The Outreach Team give basic medical care...
0:06:00 > 0:06:03..cleaning the open sores and abscesses of the junkies.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10They also offer food, clothes and advice on rehabilitation...
0:06:18 > 0:06:22To try and prevent the spread of HIV and other blood-borne diseases,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24they give out clean syringes...
0:06:33 > 0:06:36..and collect the hundreds of used ones
0:06:36 > 0:06:38that litter the riverbank.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I've always come to Kabul but I've never looked at
0:06:52 > 0:06:55this side of Kabul, at this river, really.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I mean, I've walked quite a lot on that side, which is so beautiful.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01But on this side, it's completely a different world.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05With lots and lots of these drug addicts,
0:07:05 > 0:07:06sleeping here, eating here.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09I mean, people in Kabul, I assume no-one really looks at it,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and that's really, you know, the dark side of the city.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08Unemployment here is almost 40%, and is a major reason
0:08:08 > 0:08:11many of the heroin addicts say they use drugs.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15It isn't just limited to the poor and uneducated.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18This man holds a university degree
0:08:18 > 0:08:21and had once worked as a hospital manager.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23There's a lot of people,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28lots of educated people, that they are taking drugs.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31And they are all about jobs,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34because they don't have jobs
0:08:34 > 0:08:39so, if you take drugs, you will be calm,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42you will find relaxation.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So when he got once,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49so you become a junkie.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52How do you feel sitting under this bridge?
0:08:55 > 0:08:56I...
0:08:56 > 0:09:02When I sit under this bridge, I feel very, very bad.
0:09:02 > 0:09:03Very bad.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07As bad as I can't explain it for you.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11I don't have any words for you
0:09:11 > 0:09:16to say when I sit here how I feel.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20I am... I am ready to die.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Dying is better than to sit under this bridge.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30It's so sad, when you look at the river
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and also at the people, when you hear their stories,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37they're all painful and I don't know,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40sometimes I feel like one of them could have been me
0:09:40 > 0:09:42or anyone else, you know?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Because of unemployment and because of lots of...
0:09:45 > 0:09:47You know, the decades of war,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50just hanging around here and taking drugs.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53But for the hardcore addicts
0:09:53 > 0:09:56places like this aren't just somewhere to sit and get high.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It's where they live.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Suddenly, there's a commotion.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28The police arrive and they start kicking and threatening
0:10:28 > 0:10:29the crowd of addicts.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Throughout this, a NATO observation blimp hovers above.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Despite pledges to tackle Afghanistan's drugs trade,
0:11:38 > 0:11:44when foreign troops arrived in 2001, results have been very mixed.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48They've concentrated on fighting Taliban insurgents,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50often turning a blind eye to narcotics
0:11:50 > 0:11:53fearing alienating a rural population
0:11:53 > 0:11:56who rely on opium farming to survive,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00and opium is the raw material for making heroin.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05The collective trauma of more than three decades of extreme violence
0:12:05 > 0:12:08is another reason Afghans turn to drugs.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54A few days later, and Tahir's meeting Jawad again
0:12:54 > 0:12:57near his home in a run-down part of Kabul.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Drug addiction destroys families,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06ruining the lives of those close to them,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09as well as the addicts themselves.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Jawad's father is dead.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19His disabled mum is dealing with her son's problems on her own.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23IN TRANSLATION
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Jawad's mum is desperate for him to quit,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44but is also so concerned about him stealing to buy his heroin
0:14:44 > 0:14:49that she actually supports his drug habit by begging.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51SHE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:15:23 > 0:15:26All this old woman really wants from life and God
0:15:26 > 0:15:28is for her son to get clean.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47But Jawad is coming down and will soon be in pain,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51and she loves him too much to allow that.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53She needs to help him.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So, yet again, she gets Jawad to push her out
0:16:00 > 0:16:05onto the streets of Kabul to beg for money to feed his drug habit.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18ENGINE STARTS AND REVS
0:16:20 > 0:16:25Money isn't a problem for Jawad's friend and fellow addict, Babrak.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27He comes from a well-to-do family,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30but has found heroin to be one of life's great levellers.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Babrak used to be a gym instructor
0:16:55 > 0:16:58in a bodybuilding club before he got into drugs.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Now, thanks to the heroin, he's just a shadow of his former self.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32To show Jawad the possible consequences of his heroin habit,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Tahir's taking him down to the Kabul River
0:17:35 > 0:17:39so he can see the horrific reality of that place.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It's where Jawad could easily end up if he doesn't beat drugs.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20But, as Tahir and Jawad get closer to the drug users,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23they start backing off and waving the camera away.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30It's clear they're not happy with being filmed again.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Well, I think...
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Yeah, so, I think the situation doesn't look really good,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40especially cos some of them don't like to be filmed
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and some of them, I think, they are not living here,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44they only come for smoking,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46so therefore the situation may escalate.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48I think it's best for us to leave.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49Jawad?
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Widespread heroin use has rocketed here in the past ten years.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09But opium, the raw material from which heroin is refined,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12has been around in Afghanistan for centuries.
0:20:13 > 0:20:19Then, as now, people used opium as a kind of medical cure-all.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Tahir's contacts have arranged for him to meet some opium users
0:20:23 > 0:20:26in a very old and historical back-street neighbourhood.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38These traditional Turkmen carpet weavers take the drug
0:20:38 > 0:20:41to ease their back pain and help them work longer hours.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35The change in just over a decade in the way Afghans consume drugs
0:21:35 > 0:21:37is still being understood.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Many experts link it to heroin being more readily available -
0:21:40 > 0:21:45it's now being refined from raw opium in Afghanistan itself.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47Despite billions of dollars spent
0:21:47 > 0:21:49fighting cultivation and trafficking,
0:21:49 > 0:21:54about 90% of the world's illegal opiate supply comes from here.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Many people hoping to escape their problems turn to drugs,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03simply because they're cheap and easy to get hold of.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Traditionally, what we tend to argue
0:22:06 > 0:22:08is that the demand causes the supply.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10What we have forgotten, though,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14is that the supply by itself creates demand.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And that's what we are witnessing now in this part of the world,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Afghanistan and neighbouring countries,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22where the addiction rates are going up tremendously.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24There was no demand in the past
0:22:24 > 0:22:26but, because of the production locally
0:22:26 > 0:22:28and the trafficking across the borders,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31you create an enormous demand potential
0:22:31 > 0:22:33within this part of the world.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38To find out more about supply and demand,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Tahir's leaving Kabul and flying to northern Afghanistan.
0:22:49 > 0:22:5295% of Afghanistan's opium poppies
0:22:52 > 0:22:55are grown in the south and west of the country.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Both dangerous areas where the insurgency is strong.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05But Tahir is heading to Balkh, one of several northern provinces
0:23:05 > 0:23:08officially deemed "poppy free"
0:23:08 > 0:23:10due to government eradication efforts.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18This is one of the unstable places in the north of Afghanistan
0:23:18 > 0:23:21and in the past, these, you know, across the road,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25they were the poppy fields and the farmers used to cultivate poppies.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30Even now, there are rumours that they could be cultivating,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32but it could be in private.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Although local heroin production has been all but stamped out,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40there is still an active trade in narcotics.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44This is one of the key drug-trafficking routes north
0:23:44 > 0:23:47to Russia, Europe and beyond.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51And the dealers are making more money than ever.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56It's a high-risk business.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Local contacts fix Tahir a meeting with a heroin dealer
0:24:00 > 0:24:03who has just survived an assassination attempt
0:24:03 > 0:24:05at the hands of rival gangsters.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08He's been shot twelve times.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13So, is the drugs game really worth the risk?
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Afghanistan's rated as one of the most corrupt countries in the world,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50partly due to the vast sums of money
0:24:50 > 0:24:52generated by the illegal drugs trade.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45So, what about law enforcement?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Tahir's going out with the paramilitary
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Northern Border Police.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54They operate as a land and air force
0:25:54 > 0:25:57to combat drug production and trafficking.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Both the Taliban and local warlords
0:26:21 > 0:26:24finance their operations through the heroin trade.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Afghan drug cartels are heavily armed.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Taking them on can be a deadly business.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Afghan officials increasingly realise
0:27:26 > 0:27:29tackling both trafficking and addiction
0:27:29 > 0:27:31should be at the heart of efforts
0:27:31 > 0:27:34to improve the country's long-term security.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Back in Kabul, it's getting towards evening
0:28:19 > 0:28:22and Jawad needs to buy his daily fix of heroin.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26He says Tahir can accompany him to better understand what life
0:28:26 > 0:28:28is like for a heroin addict.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Because it could be dangerous to follow him on foot
0:28:31 > 0:28:34through the dark streets, Jawad travels in a car with Tahir.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05The car then gets stuck in Kabul's notorious rush-hour traffic,
0:29:05 > 0:29:09and the later it gets, the worse Jawad's drug cravings become.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28He disappears into the night.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31For his own safety, Tahir stays near the car.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Despite his youth, Jawad is an experienced drug user
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and knows exactly where to find the dealers.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Jawad takes Tahir to a park that's frequented by drug users.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27First of all, he smokes some of the heroin off tinfoil
0:31:27 > 0:31:28to get an immediate hit.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Another addict comes over and ties his arm to help raise a vein
0:32:01 > 0:32:05so Jawad can inject the remaining heroin.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Then he starts a more elaborate procedure,
0:32:17 > 0:32:22preparing to inject himself for a longer-lasting effect.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10But, suddenly, Jawad starts to panic.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13He's somehow managed to lose his packet of heroin
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and starts frantically searching the parkland.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Well, he can't give up. Let's go.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Despite Tahir's pleas, Jawad insists on staying behind
0:34:42 > 0:34:44to try to find his missing drugs.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51The Afghan government's entire annual health budget for treating
0:34:51 > 0:34:56the country's one million drug addicts is £1.3 million.
0:34:56 > 0:35:02This works out at around £1.20 per addict, per year.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08Jawad consumes heroin worth about three times that every single day.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Despite the misery caused by drug use,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15treatment isn't a budget priority for the cash-strapped government.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58The Regional Hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif
0:35:58 > 0:36:02in Balkh Province is typical of the facilities on offer.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Its specialist wing for treating drug addiction
0:36:06 > 0:36:09runs an intensive therapy and de-tox programme
0:36:09 > 0:36:12and can treat 50 patients at a time.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26They do what they can, but in Balkh Province alone,
0:36:26 > 0:36:31the authorities estimate there are over 85,000 problem drug users.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56Over 120,000 Afghan women are drug addicts.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59But ignorance of the risks means their children
0:36:59 > 0:37:03and even babies can also develop drug problems.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36The baby will have to go through
0:37:36 > 0:37:39painful withdrawal symptoms to get better.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42But other children are also at serious risk.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46An outreach team from the Hospital
0:37:46 > 0:37:48is visiting a so-called problem family
0:37:48 > 0:37:52in the run-down suburbs of Mazar-e-Sharif.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57They, too, have a little baby.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04Because of the shame of addiction, affected families
0:38:04 > 0:38:07can find themselves isolated from their community.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11We are just going to visit a family
0:38:11 > 0:38:13that the whole family are drug users.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17But, because there is still a stigma attached to using drugs,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19we need to keep a very low profile.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27The mother smokes heroin every day.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Her teenage son also has a history of using.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Her husband is ashamed of them both.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32But the doctors are especially concerned about the new baby
0:39:32 > 0:39:36being exposed to drugs through her mother's heroin fumes.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56A week later,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59the medics went back to do some tests.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Their worst fears had come true -
0:40:03 > 0:40:08the baby had become addicted from inhaling her mother's heroin smoke.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13Afghanistan now had one more little drug addict to contend with.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Back in Kabul,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22the one-time child addict Jawad
0:40:22 > 0:40:25is still trying to beat his heroin habit.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27DOCTOR SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Both he and Babrak are back at the Nejat Centre
0:40:32 > 0:40:34attending another therapy session.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38Everyone here in rehab has a different story
0:40:38 > 0:40:41but they've all ended up in the same place -
0:40:41 > 0:40:45addicted to drugs and desperate for help.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46IN TRANSLATION:
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Their aim now is to secure a place on the detox programme,
0:41:18 > 0:41:23where they can go cold turkey and try to quit for good.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49But to win a place on the detox regime,
0:41:49 > 0:41:52the addicts here have to show doctors
0:41:52 > 0:41:55they've significantly reduced their heroin intake.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23After the therapy sessions, the addicts are enjoying lunch...
0:43:26 > 0:43:29..when, out of the blue, Jawad gets a phone call...
0:43:31 > 0:43:34JAWAD SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:43:34 > 0:43:36..and he falls apart.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38JAWAD SPEAKS TEARFULLY
0:43:42 > 0:43:45It was his sister calling from his home town in Badakhshan -
0:43:45 > 0:43:49she'd found out from their mother that he was finally in rehab.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54He's neither seen nor heard from her for seven years,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58since he was disowned by his extended family for being an addict.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03And suddenly, the loneliness and disgrace
0:44:03 > 0:44:06of his situation is overwhelming.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Jawad's uncle introduced him to drugs
0:45:14 > 0:45:16when he was just eight years old.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20The uncle is now clean, but the damage he's done is plain to see.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25For Tahir, who lives with his family in safety in London,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28the tragedy of Jawad's life in Afghanistan
0:45:28 > 0:45:30is suddenly too much to bear.
0:45:31 > 0:45:36It was a very emotional scene and I don't know really...
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Sometimes it's really hard, you know,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43to understand someone and to...
0:45:43 > 0:45:49You know, sometimes, living, you know, outside, we feel so blessed.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52But then, look at that guy. I mean, he's not to blame.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57And he has spoken to his sister after seven years.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59After, you know, he hasn't seen her.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02And then, he's not to blame.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06He was just saying that his uncle is to blame, who has quit -
0:46:06 > 0:46:10he is living in a luxurious life. and look at this boy!
0:46:13 > 0:46:14I don't know.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32But it is possible to recover from drug addiction.
0:46:34 > 0:46:35Aziz is a social worker
0:46:35 > 0:46:38who helps recovering addicts from the Balkh Clinic.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41He is himself a former junkie.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Beating drug addiction is always a personal struggle.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58A few days later, and the boys have managed
0:47:58 > 0:48:02to secure their coveted place in the detox regime.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Both have apparently reduced their daily heroin dosage
0:48:06 > 0:48:08and are ready to take the next step -
0:48:08 > 0:48:11quitting for good.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43It's a bit like joining the army.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46The addicts are all having their heads shaved
0:48:46 > 0:48:48while joking nervously
0:48:48 > 0:48:51in anticipation of the collective struggles ahead.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54THEY CHATTER IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:48:54 > 0:48:58Coming off heroin is an extremely painful process.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02An addict's nervous system gets used to being numbed on drugs.
0:49:02 > 0:49:07So withdrawal becomes progressively more agonising as the body rebels
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and the cravings become overpowering.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12THEY CHATTER
0:49:20 > 0:49:24The addicts are searched for concealed drugs...
0:49:28 > 0:49:33..and then go up to the dormitory to detox for the next 72 hours.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42It isn't going to be easy.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01One day in, and things seem to be going well...
0:50:03 > 0:50:04..although it's clearly a struggle.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Looking at the bigger picture,
0:50:42 > 0:50:45there are fears the sheer scale of the drug problem could further
0:50:45 > 0:50:49destabilise this country. This year, foreign powers are completing
0:50:49 > 0:50:53their military pull-out and reducing investment across Afghanistan.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57This poses enormous challenges for a government
0:50:57 > 0:51:01which knows that it will have a tremendous fiscal gap already,
0:51:01 > 0:51:03I mean, post 2014, and now has
0:51:03 > 0:51:07an added burden on its public health budget
0:51:07 > 0:51:11with an addiction population which is just out of control.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15That by itself will pose enormous economic problems
0:51:15 > 0:51:19for this new situation in which this country finds itself.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23And we need to help our Afghan brothers and sisters
0:51:23 > 0:51:26to cope with that, because alone, by themselves,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29they will not be able to do so.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38The bitter Afghan winter sweeps in over Kabul.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46And then Tahir gets a phone call.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:51:53 > 0:51:55- TAHIR SIGHS - Oh...
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Oh, it was a call from the doctor of the Nejat Centre, and he said
0:52:09 > 0:52:12Jawad, last night, was crying and shouting and at 12 o'clock
0:52:12 > 0:52:17they had to bring a car to take him back home, which is really bad news.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19I mean, he hasn't really made it.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23And he couldn't even stay clean of drugs for two nights, really.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Tahir drives to the centre as fast as possible,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36to find out exactly what's happened.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43After a second full day of detoxing, everyone looks much rougher.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49It's a very difficult process.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Too difficult, it seems, for Jawad.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06The doctor explains Jawad must have lied about
0:53:06 > 0:53:08decreasing his heroin use,
0:53:08 > 0:53:13so his withdrawal symptoms were much worse than for the others.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Heroin is one of the most destructive and addictive drugs
0:54:35 > 0:54:38in the world, and it's damaging Afghanistan
0:54:38 > 0:54:42just as surely as it's ruining Jawad's life.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48But as Tahir drives away, there's one more surprise in store.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Oh, Jawad!
0:54:54 > 0:54:58JAWAD AND TAHIR CONVERSE IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:54:59 > 0:55:00Jawad says he'd quit rehab
0:55:00 > 0:55:04because one of the other addicts insulted his mum.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20The tragedy is that
0:55:20 > 0:55:22what his mother wants more than anything in the world
0:55:22 > 0:55:26is for her son to get clean of drugs.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59MUSIC: "Heroin" by The Velvet Underground
0:55:59 > 0:56:06Angry and friendless, alone in a blizzard, and still addicted...
0:56:09 > 0:56:13..Jawad's chances of beating his addiction seem bleak.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15And for Afghanistan,
0:56:15 > 0:56:18winning the wider war on drugs will be just as hard.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23# I...don't know
0:56:26 > 0:56:29# Just where I'm going
0:56:37 > 0:56:38# But I'm
0:56:41 > 0:56:46# Gonna try for the kingdom
0:56:46 > 0:56:47# If I can... #