In summary, the film “Afghanistan’s Child Drug Addicts”, Navai Ramita reveals all the hidden consequences of conflict prevailing in Afghanistan. The film narrates the rapid rise in the number of children that are addicted to heroin and opium forming the youngest population in the world that is addicted to drugs (Ramita).
The film clearly relates to the topics discussed in class as well as in the lives of individuals. It has played an important role in raising concern for all international agencies to turn their attention toward the growing proportion of drug addicts. The addicts are aged between three and twelve years and it is important that there be concerted actions to provide solutions to save the Afghanistan population. The film also shows the need for there to be an increase in the number of rehab centers to wean the drug addicted children and offer new activities that will revive an appetite in their young lives. Rehabilitation centers that are well funded will help address the high relapse rates among the parents as shown in the film (Ramita). The film also highlights the side effects of drug addiction such as headaches, constipation, and diarrhea and reflects on the need to seek medical treatment in such instances. The hardened addicts call for hydrotherapy treatments such as cold showers to help them recover from the drug effects. Ramita also documents that opium is administered to children by the parents as a painkiller and remedy for stomach upsets and flu. Also, the parents mix sleeping pills mixed with milk to sedate their children not knowing that the effects are similar to those of drug addiction. In other cases, the children also become passively addicted by inhaling the smoke from their parents while smoking in the house. As such, there is a need to educate the Afghanistan population on the dangers posed by the active use of opium.
There are several important aspects learnt from the film. One of the major ways to combat the problem of drug addiction in the country is to involve powerful international agencies to address the high rate of opium production in Afghanistan that is used to make heroin (Agence France-Presse). The spread of drug addiction among the children in Afghanistan results in a depressed and unhappy population and children. Their lives are affected negatively in that they neither play actively nor care about hygiene. As a result, their health status is affected. Ignorance has affected the Afghanistan population because the parents fail to understand that drugs given to children result in the slow killing of the same children due to the associated side effects (Agence France-Presse). However, poverty should also be addressed alongside ignorance because most of the users of opium for its medicinal value have no other option since they cannot afford the medicine for their children.
The film is very relevant as a tool for teaching and should be used in future classes. First, it stimulates the student in the classroom context through audio and visual enhancements within the traditional formats of lectures. The producer of the film has strategically used characters and graphics that ensure the audience understand and feel the weight of the subject matter. The film “Afghanistan’s Child Drug Addicts” is a resource on YouTube making it a good learning tool since it can be shared and allows for the students to actively engage in discussions about the film. Additionally, the film is a good learning resource since its access is free, unlike other resources such as books that must be obtained from libraries under a subscription. Finally, the film is interesting and adds some value to the learning content compared to the usual unaided lectures.
Works Cited
Agence France-Presse. “Afghanistan’s growing number of child drug addicts” Raw Story 11 February 2013. Web. Retrieved from http://www.rawstory.com/2013/02/afghanistans-growing-number-of-child-drug-addicts/
Ramita, Navai. “Afghanistan’s Child Drug Addicts [CSD]”. Online video clip. YouTube. You Tube, 25 April 25 2015. Web. Retrieved from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ofEFo4oyo
