Drug addicts on the devastated streets of Kabul, Afghanistan have relied on drugging local dogs with heroin to provide both body heat and companionship through the winter
Homeless men facing a gloomy winter in Taliban-ravaged Kabul are feeding the city’s stray dogs heroin to stay with them and keep them warm.
Afghanistan was overtaken by the militant Islamic organization earlier this year, leading to an increase in violence and poverty across the country.
Most of the world’s opium is grown in Afghanistan and addiction is a major problem.
Although the Taliban have vowed to ban drugs and end addiction, it is worse than ever for the homeless people of Kabul, who often see heroin smoking on the streets of the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood.
The Class A drug is relatively cheap, and addicts spend around 200 Afs (£ 1.60) a day on the habit of picking up recyclable items often or finding customers for taxi drivers to make enough money, reports Mail Online.
Homeless men have been spotted giving the stray dogs roaming the streets some of their precious heroin by placing a plastic bottle over the animal’s nose and blowing smoke through the open top.
The drug tames the dogs with a calming effect, similar to humans, which means that they are more likely to lie down and keep the men warm through the bitterly cold nights.
Temperatures in Kabul can reach -4 ° C at this time of year, and the nights get even colder in January.
But the dogs are not only valued for their body heat – Kabul’s heroin addicts desperately need company too, and an docile dog makes sure of that.
The Taliban have been known to brutally beat or even kill citizens found with heroin, adding to addicts’ despair and fear.
“I didn’t know if I were to use drugs my life would be like this and I would lose my family,” one man who has been using heroin for eight months told Mail Online.