A Fateful Harvest - part 1 - Afghanistan under siege

Afghanistan supplies virtually all of the world's illegal opium. For Afghans themselves, however, feelings about poppy are conflicted: It's harmful to their country and to their people, but it is also a livelihood for many where instability offers few alternatives

A Fateful Harvest A documentary by Voice of America (VOA News)
http://www.voanews.com/english/fateful-harvest.cfm


There are signs Afghanistan is emerging from the darkness ... recovering from thirty years of war and repression, with a new democracy in place
But the country's still under siege from within:
War with Taliban insurgents threatens the nation's security ...
Corruption reaches into the highest levels of government ...
Addiction rates rise among women and children...
And a booming, multi-billion dollar illegal drug trade continues to thrive.

Antonio Maria Costa
'The amount of cultivation in Afghanistan is scary; it's actually terrifying. No other country in the world has ever produced that much narcotics.'

At the center of Afghanistan's crisis -- a hardy, drought-resistant crop that joins poor farmers with criminals and extremists ...
... while pushing the nation toward the brink of disaster.
Under cover of darkness -- somewhere along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan --... a farmer delivers his opium poppy crop to a local trafficker. ...

[Dealer]Have you brought the opium?
[Farmer] Yes
[Dealer] Is it the [right amount]?
[Farmer] I didn't weigh it
[Dealer] Then let's weigh it.

Here begins a world wide illegal narcotics revenue stream -- one generating four billion dollars a year in Afghanistan ...
Prior to 2002, opium cultivation was legal and highly profitable for farmers -- returning up to ten times more money per acre than other crops.
The source for heroin, poppy became Afghanistan's most lucrative export.
And it still is today.
Cultivation has been banned since 2002.
Yet poppy still grows in regions of the country where the central government has little control.
The international community -- led by the US and Great Britain -- has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to combat Afghanistan's drug trade.
Mainly, because money from opium helps fuel the Taliban insurgency.
But when US-trained Afghan-eradication teams plow up poppy plants -- like here in Helmond province -- it's not always the criminals who pay the price.

Boy (crying): 'They are destroying our poppy ... The tractors are doing it!
Boy (continuing): They are destroying our opium, how are we going to eat now? ... With no money! Others grow opium around here, but they have destroyed ours...
They have destroyed our crop for good.'

The United Nations sees Helmand as the center of the poppy trade, supplying over half the opium in the world.
But many farmers here see poppy as a means of survival ...and eradication by their own government a harsh punishment.

Boy's Father: Other crops don't make enough to feed our children... The government's not doing anything to help us. They don't offer food or any support. Nothing! They don't help us at all.

Old Farmer: 'Everyone's deep in debt and without growing poppy we can't pay off those debts! No other crops make as much money ... Afghanistan is torn apart, For forty years now our country's not had a peaceful night.'

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• opium
• afghanistan
• afghan
• heroin
• poppy
• drug
• trade
• taliban
• illegal
• addiction
• eradication
• Tarin
• Kowt
• Nangarhaar
• voa
• new

[eazie12]

the translation is totally wrong so please stop beliving...

the boy is trying to say he lost every thing he dont have nothing to eat... he dint say they are destroying it for good

[JyonasanVolkov]

First, the US tries helping ourselves from the Great Depression. We all worked together. Then World War II, Vietnam War, War in Afghanistan to the US & UN fighting the Taliban. Our country, including Afghanistan, was left in ruins. But we were lucky. We started donating to Africa charities — „Just 14¢ a day“ — & we end up in a national debt. HOW CAN WE HELP OTHERS IF FIRST WE DO NOT HELP OURSELVES?!

[urban22s]

The quote by an afghan farmer was comical 'our harvest makes us not even enough to feed our children.' Someone should tell him that his harvest makes enough for the dealer in the west to buy his kid a BMW.

[MisterNickOtine]

@93iasonas93 yes, it is like the US can't even manage its own drug problems on its own soil and it has to bully helpless afghans. it goes to show you bad the drug war is failing. and besides i would rather have opium dens on every block in town than bars, and I'm sure many users would gladly buy some from these people to help them out.

[MisterNickOtine]

@procenten2 they can't. everything else grows for shit there. the only thing they can grow to make a living off of are poppies(highly drought resistant) and cannabis(requires heavy watering). like the same case as with coca farmers in colombia. and their situation is still pretty much hopeless even if there was no drug prohibition at all. their only hope is possibly selling to pharmaceutical companies.

[Primer9]

@philchelt dick i know its fucked up , but wtf yo

[silver760]

Within the first three minutes there is a lie "Prior to 2002 poppy cultivation was legal" .Prior to 2001the Taliban broke the hands and legs of poppy farmers to stop them from farming poppies,they did this under pressure from the outside world who was withholding aid unless the Taliban did something to reduce opium production,as a result opium production dropped to almost zero under the Taliban,after the US removed the Taliban production exploded as there was no one to police it

[williweb9788]

If they want to eat, grow food, not dope.

[procenten2]

"we have to grow poppys to eat" Why dont they grow food directly instead?

[Primer9]

oh shit i laughed so hard that kid is crying because of his poppy plants

[burkskurk82]

when was this published?

[nouman80]

To all you dicks on your high horses , Think about it like this.

When you kill someone in the US , By mistake , its manslaughter. Ok . When you kill someone in self defense, Its classified as SELF DEFENSE.

So if your dying , and you have to make money for food, would you not grow a fucking crop?

Same thing on both sides. Theyre both just trying to survive.