KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Drug addicts in the former Russian Cultural Centre in Kabul, where up to 1700 addicts come and go from this Soviet-style building, injecting and smoking heroin amongst the ruins and rubbish. It is like a huge shooting gallery for 'junkies', where heroin is sold for 50 Afghanis (USD $1) per gram. Severe addicts will require up to 5g per day, so are forced to rob and beg to feed their habit. There are over 1 million drug addicts in Afghanistan, most of whom became addicts when they were in exile having fled to Iran or Pakistan, and have now returned home. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.
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