A number of drug addicts hospitalized in the Phoenix drug rehabilitation center in Kabul have escaped over what they said was an uncertain future and because of their treatment at the institution.
 
Sediqa is the mother of four children who is spending devastating life under the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge in the nation’s capital Kabul, has called on the Afghan government to rescue her children.
 
“I want to be treated for the sake of my children,” said addict Sediqa. “Their father goes for begging to bring money for bread and powder,” she added.
 
Hundreds of addicts are living under the bridge.
 
Another man who has a bachelor degree in foreign languages was also admitted to Phoenix camp but escaped after spending some time there.
 
“I pursued education for sixteen years to serve my country but now I am here,” said the addicted man.
 
There are some addicts who live under the bridge alongside their children. Experts say that such an existence will devastate the lives of their children unless the government takes step and rescue them.
 
Based on statistics, there are around ten female addicts who live alongside male addicts under the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge.
 
Zainab 14 is of the female addicts who have been living under the bridge alongside her two brothers, mother and father over the past several months.
 
Based on the international statistics, the number of children and women using drugs in Afghanistan is estimated to be one million.
 
Drug smuggling and production in Afghanistan has been one of the major concerns among the international community.
 
Over the past decades, Afghanistan and international community have spent millions of dollars to wipe out drug smuggling and production in the country. These efforts not yielded positive outcomes and Afghanistan is still the world’s largest producer of opium.