It’s not the pain that kills…

 

 

This morning I can’t sleep by reason of pain and as my codeine isn’t working at 4:15am BST – I’m awake and listening to the radio. There has just been a piece from one of the BBC’s Afghanistan correspondents, and it has me musing again…

I’m complaining to myself about the pain caused by my disability and the lack of the  effect that a relatively small amount of opiates isn’t having. However, Afghanistan produces the most amount of opium in the world; Governments try to stop production, exportation, processing and supply as heroin. However, I still need a little of it for a restful night.

The interview was about the hidden face of opium consumption, the use of it by Afghanis themselves, something that doesn’t seem to make the headlines. There were a number of heartrending instances mentioned. These included the fact that mothers feed opium to children to keep them quiet while they work and people that are forced into urban shantytowns to find nonexistent work use it to escape the worst of hunger and despair. The correspondent said that corruption is rife and journeys are punctuated with numerous official and unofficial checkpoints demanding bribes for safe passage. 

Millions have been donated in aid and yet people are starving. Perhaps then a plentiful supply of opium is a valid escape from despair in this case. Puts my complaints in perspective, today at least.