Opium in Afghanistan: Big Business
For years now, Western analysts, journalists and bloggers have said that the West should come up with an effective plan to destroy the production of opium in Afghanistan. Opium was and continues to be big business in this Middle Eastern country, even though the country has been conquered by a coalition of Western forces who have to deal with the effects of opium daily at home.
Opium causes a lot of problems, both in Afghanistan and in other countries, especially the West. Yet, the West has not been able to develop a plan that convinces Afghanis to stop producing this narcotic. The hard approach has been tried, and has failed; soldiers burned down opium plants, hoping that Afghanis would then start producing other products.
That has not happened, however. Opium production flowers like never before. The main reason for this is simple; it pays off. Every now and then Western troops burn down opium farms, but producing and selling opium is still a lucrative business.
Relatively that is.
I say relatively because opium farmers are not by rich by any means. They are not rich by Afghani standards, let alone by Western standards. Producing opium does not help Afghani farmers to become rich; it only helps them survive. All too often these farmers cannot take care of their family without opium. Opium enables them to feed their children and to send them to school. Life without selling opium would be disastrous for these farmers.
This means that if the West truly wants to prevent opium from being produced in Afghanistan on such a massive scale, it has to give Afghanis something in return. And let there be no doubt about it; opium destroys life in the West. We cannot possibly allow Afghanis to continue to sell this devastating narcotic to Western victims. At this moment, 93% of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan.
The New York Times spends some attention to this growing problem in its latest editorial but this American newspaper too forgets to come up with a plan to discourage farmers from growing ‘poppy.’ It mainly suggests punishing drug traffickers and dealers, but does not offer a reasonable alternative for Afghani farmers. These farmers will continue to produce opium, no matter how severe the legal punishments as long as this means that they are able to provide for their family.
In the end, we have to change something dramatically; and that’s the approach to this problem. Zero tolerance is not goin to work, nor has it ever worked in the past when dealing with desperate individuals.
