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Inside the drug rehab centre in Chittagong
This piece below, has been written by Ney Someta who has been looking into the issue of drug addiction for Your Story in Bangladesh. She visited ARK – a Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Centre in Chittagong.
See the previous blog post for more on her report.
It was established in 2000 by a group of realized addicts, with corporate and Non Government Organization support.
ARK remains a small organization without enough facilities. The addicts in ARK are called clients. They are supposed to pay 8000 taka (about US$ 120) for treatment. However, only 10 – 15% of them pay in full bill, about 40% pay half, and the rest pay less than that or do not pay at all.
Mr. Shamim, the organizer of ARK, told me that drug addiction in Bangladesh is so severe that people need to raise awareness. However, the problem is like a stigma that no one will talk about openly. He says that there are only a few rehabilitation centers in Chittagong and those are for men. In Dhaka, there are some rehab centres for women. (Male and Female rehabs are separated in Bangladesh.)
Mr. Shamim also described the difficulties that ARK has been facing. According to him, government support is insufficient.
Besides the overall problems, Mr. Shamim explains the treatment they use follows a step by step approach.
The Kitchen that has been being built in the rehab centre
The first step for new clients is to keep them in a room without any beds. There is almost nothing in the room. Then the psychologist will ask the clients things like: Do you think drugs are bad? Do you surrender? Are you determined to quit? If the answers are yes, the clients will be transferred to the surrender room and then the next step is stability. It means that they are getting better, and the side effects begin to fade.
Now there are 40 clients in ARK, and they all agree they are supported very well. In there, clients help each other and give each other moral support. That section is called the Growth Group, spiritually and mentally growing. “The rehab gives back the loss,” they say.
Clients follow a fixed schedule. They have to eat and pray group by group at specific times. Even with all support and treatment in ARK, some clients come back again after they recovered.
(This is information I have found out about ARK)
Written by Ney Sométa.
A poster inside the drug rehab centre in Bangladesh
I’m learning lots about the drug scene in Bangladesh – among students at the universities and among the better off, richer classes. This is thanks to Ney Someta – a Cambodian student living in Bangladesh. She’s been looking into addiction of heroin there, after one of her friends started using the drug.
One man in his thirties – Hassan – who owns a successful family business talks to her about his heroin addiction which he smokes through foil. He runs a family business and is a member of the local chamber of commerce, but for all these opportunities he says his life is a hell.
It’s a real insight into the lives of people who look like they’re doing very well in Bangladesh. They’re educated and earning good money. But underneath the surface you find out that they’re living a life on the edge – battling with the demons of addiction and not far from falling into an abyss.
Ney Someta really worked hard on this one and I’m just mixing her material now this morning so that hopefully it will get broadcast this week – I’ll add a link when it’s online.
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