CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM GROWER

NANGARHAR, Afghanistan -- There is simply no other crop that pays as much
as opium poppies. That is why people in this poverty-stricken region grow
- -- and will continue to grow -- the flowers.

In my village, located in the Rodat district in the province of Nangarhar
along the border with Pakistan, the scent from the flowers alone is enough
to make me dizzy when I go out walking in the fields during harvest season.

Here in one of the biggest poppy-growing regions in the biggest
poppy-growing country in the world, the flowers are everywhere.

Growing them is so common that no one even bothers to hide their crops.

Central government authority does not reach the villages out here and what
police there are usually owe allegiance to local strongmen involved in the
drug trade.

Our family has farmed the flowers for generations, stopping only a couple
of years ago when we moved into town. There is simply no other option for
people around here.

Wheat earns a pittance compared with what the same plot planted with
poppies will earn. And growing grain requires much more water, a scarce
resource in this area.

When the Taliban first took power, poppy cultivation initially increased.
Then they banned it, causing great hardship for many farmers.

The ban on growing poppies drove many people to the wall. A number of
farmers who were unable to support themselves by growing wheat simply left
the land.

Other growers had taken cash advances against their poppy crop, leading to
clashes between farmers and the money lenders.

This, in fact, continues to be a problem, now that the poppy has returned.
With such a high-value crop, and with so many farmers borrowing against
future production, a lot is riding on weather conditions and fluctuating
prices. Violence is sure to follow when crop expectations are not met. One
problem that poppy production has not brought to the villages is opium
addiction. It may sometimes be used as a medicine, but smoking and using
drugs for pleasure is seen as very bad under Islam.

I know that it does not make much sense but while hashish is actually quite
widely used, opium is still seen as taboo.

Myself, I can't even use snuff, how could I use opium?

The American bombing and the overthrow of the Taliban regime came just at
the right time -- planting season -- and the poppy seeds went straight back
into the ground.

Today there are more poppies than ever.

Indeed it is spreading to other regions, with farmers from Kandahar taking
their expertise to the surrounding areas where there is more water. In
exchange for teaching others how to grow poppies, they often take a share
of the profits.

This year looks set to be a bumper crop, although there is always anxious
talk of disease and government eradication programs.

There is certainly no useful assistance coming from the government or
foreigners to help people find other livelihoods.

While I have not experienced it personally, there are widespread complaints
that officials in charge of anti-drug efforts stuff their own pockets and
little of the assistance ends up with farmers. One farmer told me that he
had been promised $200 to stop growing poppies on one patch of land -- but
received none of it. If authorities and foreign agencies are serious about
stemming poppy cultivation, and not just interested in safeguarding their
own large salaries, they need to ensure that the money goes directly to the
villagers.

Factories and other industries are needed to create jobs in the regions so
that there is no need for anybody to take part in this inhuman trade.

Given their current state of poverty, people feel that growing poppies for
drugs is justified. It even has the support of some local mullahs.

The Imam of Masab Bin Omer Mosque in Nangarhar, Qari Abdullah Sahar, is one
who argues that there is a practical need. "Muslims are allowed to eat even
forbidden meat at times of great need," he told me, while criticizing the
hypocrisy of richer nations.

"If the international community is really seeking to help humanity, then
why doesn't it ban alcohol and cigarettes?" he asked. "Poppies are the only
means of earning a living for our helpless nation," he said.

A few mullahs go even further, arguing that it is jihad to send such
addictive drugs to Western nations.

I do not agree with this attitude and worry about addicts such drugs
create. We are all human, after all.

However, like most people in the region, this is not a moral dilemma I
spend much time worrying about. For the vast majority, it is simply a
matter of necessity in the face of poverty.