HIDDEN ADDICTION IN ZANZIBAR

As tourists stroll languidly through the narrow streets of Stone
Town, the romantic city hums with life. Vendors sell oriental spices
and colourful fabrics, while children play soccer between crumbling
walls and men hurry in long gowns towards the mosque.

But when darkness descends over the historic town, Zanzibar's capital
takes on a different life. Formerly bustling alleys are transformed
into dim, shady passages where drug addicts hover to get their
longed-for heroin fix. The town's dark secret: the island is a heroin
stronghold.

The underbelly of this holiday paradise remains unknown to most
tourists, however, who spend carefree vacations on the archipelago.
The tropical island is mainly renowned for its spices and slave
history and as a diving destination -- and its government wants to
keep it that way.

Reliable statistics for heroin usage are not available, but the
island's health ministry estimates that at least 7% of Zanzibar's one
million inhabitants are addicted to what is commonly called "brown
sugar". NGOs say every 10th person is regularly using heroin.

"Heroin abuse is very common, especially among younger men. It is
easily available and much cheaper than other drugs, like cocaine or
ecstasy," says Masoud Haji, project manager of the Zanzibar
Association of Information against Drug Abuse and Alcohol (Zaiada).

"There is no one on this island who is not affected by heroin.
Everyone knows someone who is addicted -- a family member, a
relative, a colleague or a friend," he says.

On to the next

One shot of heroin -- called a kete on Zanzibar -- costs a mere R7.
And those who can't afford it practise blood-flushing -- a method
used by addicts to draw back a needleful of blood after they have
shot up heroin and sell the thinned fix to the next person.

"Everyone here knows where to buy heroin and most addicts inject
quite openly on the streets," says Haji. Those who pay attention can
see used needles lying in the street corners and alcoves of Malindi,
the northern part of Stone Town, near the harbour. But needles can
also been found in the bushes around Forodhoni Gardens, a popular
tourist hang-out in the heart of Stone Town.

Insufficient trade controls make East Africa a welcome transit point
for drug traffickers. Zanzibar lies on a century-old shipping route
from Afghanistan - the world's biggest heroin producer -- via India
to East Africa.

The island's small harbour is often the first stop for drug traders,
who smuggle their drugs from here in small fishing boats into
Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam. From there narcotics are trafficked
into different parts of the continent and to Europe.

When a new delivery of heroin arrives on the island the whispered
news travels at lightning speed. "Everyone who has some connection to
heroin will hear within a few hours that mzigu [Swahili for "new
luggage"] has arrived," says Haji.

The question why the government of the semi-autonomous archipelago,
which belongs to Tanzania, doesn't get the problem under control, he
refuses to answer.

But Abdulrahman Abdullah, an ex-addict, who works for NGO Sober
House, is more blunt than Haji. He believes the heroin trade is
flourishing because its high profits are in the interest of the government.

Turning a blind eye

"We will never solve the heroin problem in Zanzibar because
politicians, police and rich businessmen are all involved and get
kickbacks for turning a blind eye. The island is so small. If the
political will was there, the drug problem could quickly be put to an
end," he says.

Abdullah has been clean for a year. The 36-year-old tried heroin for
the first time as a student and was hooked. The drug controlled the
next 17 years of his life. "I injected to live and lived to inject,"
he says. "Heroin has destroyed everything I had. I lost my family and
my professional future."

To get money Abdullah became involved in armed robberies. "I spent a
big part of my adult life in prisons and psychiatric institutions. It
was hell," he says. As part of his new start in life his goal is to
help other addicts.

One of his proteges is 29-year-old Rama*, who is sitting on a bed in
one of the sparsely furnished rooms at Sober House, where he has been
a resident for the past two months. With the typical empty stare of a
heroin user, he talks about his life.

It is already his second attempt to quit his decade-long addiction.
Rama was clean for six months in 2009, but then suffered a relapse.
"Only very few succeed in saying goodbye to heroin forever," says Abdullah.

With heroin, Rama's life changed drastically. The young man, who
comes from an established, well-known Zanzibar family, quit school
shortly before matric and started to steal to finance his R120-a-day
drug habit -- big money in a country where the average daily wage
ranges between R10 and R15. "I would have done pretty much anything
to get my hands on heroin," he says.

When his family finally threw him out Rama's life went from bad to
worse. The grandson of a high court judge, he started to prostitute
himself to get his next fix. "I sold my body to homosexual sex
tourists and with it my last bit of self-respect," he says.

There has only been one recent blessing: a few days ago Rama's HIV
test came back negative. He is incredibly relieved, he says, because
infection rates are high among addicts who share needles and do sex work.

Although Zanzibar's official HIV infection rate is only 1%, every
fourth heroin addict, or 26%, is infected with the virus, according
to Zaiada. * Name changed