From addiction to healing: The journey of a Herat doctor

HERAT (TOLOnews): An addicted doctor in Herat helps treat other addicts after overcoming his own addiction. Abdul Karim Taraf, who has been undergoing treatment for the past 18 months at a specialized addiction treatment hospital in Herat city, says he has felt the devastating, soul-crushing pain of drugs for six long years.

He graduated from Herat Medical Institute 27 years ago and served as a doctor in the provincial hospital of the province for several years, but drugs turned his life upside down.

Abdul Karim Taraf said: “In this camp, I both quit drugs and now serve. In the emergency service section of this camp, which has four thousand beds for addicts, I serve the patients.”

The doctor was sentenced to death in Iran for drug trafficking and became addicted in prison. However, after five years of imprisonment, he was pardoned and returned to Herat.

The doctor told TOLOnews: “I was in prison for five years and three months, during which I was under a death sentence for two and a half years. Later, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and eventually, I was released. Although I was not executed in prison, I faced a slow death by becoming addicted to drugs.” Some of Abdul Karim’s patients at the addiction treatment hospital are educated individuals such as engineers, doctors, religious scholars, and athletes.

Drugs have severely affected their lives, just like Abdul Karim.

Zamari, an engineer, said: “Drugs brought me to a point where instead of living at home, I would sleep next to animals. Drugs had taken everything from me.”

Aref Mohammadi, an athlete, said: “I practiced Kung Fu for twelve years and completed its courses. Due to ignorance and foolishness, I got addicted to drugs and was addicted for eight years.”

Hayatullah Rohani, the director of the Herat counter-narcotics department, said: “We have prepared a list of these individuals and shared it with our superiors to include them in work opportunities. We have listed some of them and will continue to try to provide job opportunities for them and make use of their skills.”

According to the statistics of the Herat counter-narcotics department, nearly four thousand addicts are being treated at this hospital, and in the past two years, about ten thousand addicts have been treated and returned to normal life. With the activation of this four-thousand-bed addiction treatment hospital, the streets and boulevards of Herat city have been cleared of addicts.