March 9, 2007
Brothers of Kabul


Brothers Reza and Hussein


Watch the program: Part 1 | Part 2

Five years after liberation, the promise of democracy in Afghanistan has given way to suicide bombings and the rule of drug lords. A resurgent Taliban has pressed to within a hundred miles of the capital. Half the girls stay home from the newly built schools because they fear for their lives. And freedom means mainly to the freedom to grow poppy. Lots of poppy.

Afghanistan now supplies 90 percent of the world's heroin. Inescapably the producer is also becoming a consumer. Wracked by poverty, traumatized by war, and home to millions of poor refugees lured back to a country unable to support them, an exploding drug epidemic is the newest plague on this ravaged landscape.

Reza and Hussein, brothers, are two of the 50,000 opium and heroin addicts who haunt the ruins in Kabul’s Old City. Ostracized by their religion, stigmatized by their society, and abandoned by their family, they live in a rubble cave behind a destroyed supermarket. They agreed to tell us their story and we, in turn, slowly became involved in their lives, finding them a cheap room, food, clothes, and then helping them get admitted to the country’s only public detox program.

Through the brothers, we aimed to give an honest street-level account of Afghanistan today. But in trying to help them get clean, we also received first-hand experience in the difficulties of reconstruction. In fact -- and this may be the biggest lesson Reza and Hussein have to offer -- addiction treatment is basically nation-building in miniature: Complex and messy and with little chance of success.

-- From Jacques Menasche and Steven DuPont

This is a great example of a plan not fully thought out. Freedom comes at a cost, not only to thoes who die to instill it, but also to thoes who are unawair how to cope with the new responsiblities they will be given. I think that it is a shared responsiblity of the nation itself (Afganistan) AND the nations pushing for the change.

Tough problems like this one will not go away, and there is no easy solution aside of proper education and alternatives for econcomic success.
It would be nice for once if the media would show respect to the people of America and print some positive information instead of so much depressing and ugly "stuff". Commonsense in itself would tell anyone that all cannot be bad, never has been and never will.
another classic left wing nonsense article. if liberals wouold return to Canadian values of helping thy neighbour on which the foundations of our country were built you wouldnt worry about petty things like this. afghans are our brothers and this country will help them until they no longer need our help. GET USED TO IT! haters
This is a great story of how complicated it is to get a nation back on its feet. There is more to it than the military and the development agencies, the UN, or NGOs ... It's a long, long, long and difficult road. Nothing wrong with giving them a hand, isn't it ....?
Quote:
"It would be nice for once if the media would show respect to the people of America and print some positive information instead of so much depressing and ugly "stuff". Commonsense in itself would tell anyone that all cannot be bad, never has been and never will. "

That's right, why doesn't the media report on the house that didn't get bombed, or the 2 family members that weren't raped and killed. It always focuses on on the other three women and children that died. Not on the "lucky" ones that survived. So unfair. Why is the media so keen on showing respect to the victims an not the killer. We should be thanking Al-Queida for all the buildings they didn't hit. And maybe give Charles Manson a Peace Prize for not killing ten more people. Obviously things aren't all bad in Afganistan, I could tell, I drive a BMW in USA and my children go to a fancy University. We always have food on the table, so why wouldn't they? They should be thanking us for all the good in there lives instead of hating us for killing a couple of their family members. I mean really, if someone came and shot my child, but then opened up a school, I'd be ok with that. I mean sure, my kid couldn't attend, but it's my fault for having a handfull of guys from a neighbouring country who were instructed by an evil organization that I have nothing to do with... I digress, all to say your post is stupid.
extremely interesting topic and good elaboration.
most reports never talk about addiction problems in afganistan.
i should acknowledge that shown use of 'treatment' methods like electroshock is shocking. does it work??
beside, demonstrated dirty needles all around the river look like a potential for other drug injecting related disasters, like hepatitis C or HIV... while afganistan has many priorities competing, there is no way to wait for addressing addiction - at least - with avoiding infections. we have an example of russia, ukraine, china and some other countries which delayed their responses to addiction and now have huge fast growing HIV and hepatitis C epidemics.
What a load of cock and bull. This article makes it sound like the Taliban are retaking the country and driving NATO out. If you want to report a story on the hardships of Afghanistan, then do it. But dont try make it sound like Afghanistan is a mess like Iraq, because its not. My cousin is doing housing construction in Afghanistan, and they are making great progress toward building a stable economy and Democracy, and the people there are mostly grateful to America. You are doing a disservice to people who have died fighting for freedom when you distort the truth like this.
This is all because of president Bush's unplanned policies. First we abondoned Afghanistan and soon it will be Iraq. It will be worse as we all can see the chaos in Iraq.
thank you for this report. i never get to see anything about ordinary people of afghanistan.
thanks again.

naz
Afghanistan will continue to be the worlds largest manufacturer of opium,
and heroin as long as their government allows their people to grow poppy and there is a demand for the drug.
Thank you for your story. It seems many of your readers prefer the white washed version of news reporting; pretty pictures of happy people are what they want. How pathetic! How is telling the truth showing disrespect for the American people? I agree, this is a disturbing story but it is a story that must be told. My heart goes out to all the people in Iran. No one who has not been there can truly comprehend the extent of pain and anquish they face every day. I cannot imagine what it must be like to know you could be killed by a suicide bomber if you go to the market, to school, or simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I cannot imagine what it must be like to know a knock on your door could be an insurgent planning to kidnap, torture and kill you. The psycholotical torture that these people endure is heart wrenching. The two boys in your story deserve to have their story told. To dismiss it as just another left wing nonsense artical is pathetic to say the least. To those who say they want more happy stories I suggest they subscribe to the Disney Channel and not watch the news.
How strange that someone who has visited Kabul would make a report like this. Yes, there are problems in Kabul, as there are in any large city. But to portray this as a hopeless situation is to completely fabricate the facts. Nation building in Afghanistan is one of the great success stories. Kabul is a vibrant, bustling cities full of restaurants and shops. Construction is booming, Afghans are investing. It is evident that the people of Afghanistan feel completely different from your reporters, just from watching them build and invest in their own country. This is not a nation in decline, as your authors insinuate. A story like this makes great headlines, but fortunately does not reflect the reality on the ground.
This story motivates me to remind not only the horror of drugs addiction but also the necessity of helping drug addicts.

Thanks for this special report.
Salam

Great Docu. and very interesthing how misrable the life is in Afghanistan. Of the American goverment had focusd only on Afghanistan and did not begin a war without reasen against Iraq the situatian in Afghanistan would be much better.

Greetings
Very cool blog and great work looking at important issues.

This type of reporting ought to be on your nightly broadcasts instead of the Anna Nicole, Duke Lacrosse type stuff.

Your work on getting inside North Korea was also brilliant.

Keep it up.
Dear writers,

I would have bet my life, or better, your presidents's, that if you would have left the names of the country and the cities, you were reporting on some dumb in any American city. This is how it is when war is covered by democracy.
asslamo alaikum, (may peace be upon you)
Behind every fight or worst scenerios there are Talibans right? authors of this blog should be ashamed of it and think carefully as what they are trying to depict here. Today we americans are selling arms around the world in the name of peace i guess this is normal business in good old usa.
who grows the poppys and who sales heroin go and check President Regans advisors, and his confidant who were buying and selling the drugs to finance wars. Behind every supply there is a far greater need and we in usa are badly in need of heroin becz we are they biggest buyers and users of heroin and all the bad drugs they are available in the world.
Lets not put the blame on others look at what we are doing? i welcome comments.
The doctors are heroes; they do everything to help hooked people.

The NATO should watch programmes like that and spend part of the money (which they spend with guns) with hospitals and social services to reconstruct lives.

Congratulations to CNN once again for bringing us reporting like that.
hello!
sorry before for posting in the wrong blog

i would really like to see this untold story but i cannot. i can see others, like ahmadinjeads iran or the newst one, but brothers of kabul dont work anymore. not part not part 2.
can you fix it pplease for me?
thank you very much .-)

Symon


www.myspace.com/SymonHate
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World’s Untold Stories showcases courageous correspondents telling intimate stories of society's most vulnerable people. Often gritty, always powerful tales that open our eyes to a world that is at times disturbing and captivating. Storytelling that is raw and unyielding in its impact. World’s Untold Stories will bring the viewer tales from all corners of the world, and shine light on activities almost never exposed.

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