Inside Myanmar's Soaring Heroin Trade
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Published 2016-04-11
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"If I didn't do this work, I would have no other source of income", explains a poppy farmer in a remote village. Myanmar's opium cultivation is now the second largest in the world after Afghanistan, with an abundant local trade. “Most of our village want to make the switch to farming coffee", says Panu, one of the first adopters of a UN backed coffee program.
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Opium money has helped bankroll six decades of civil war in Myanmar. As the country now transitions towards a more peaceful future, its opium trade continues apace and shows little sign of slowing down.
"If I didn't do this work, I would have no other source of income and my family would go hungry", explains Nang Hkam Hrseh, a poppy farmer in a remote village in rural Myanmar. It's in places like this, far away from the prying eyes of tourists, that the vast majority of Myanmar's opium is grown, a yield which is now the second largest in the world after Afghanistan. Most of the heroin produced in Myanmar is exported through China to the rest of the world. But the local trade is also abundant, and has reached epidemic-sized proportions in some areas. "My sons were washed away on a tide of heroin", laments 68-year-old Daw Li. However, some villages are looking for ways to fight back against opium dependency. "I don't want my family to be involved in this business any more", asserts 67-year-old Panu, a resident of the isolated Pang Lyam village. Many of the villagers here have signed on to the UN’s crop replacement program and are making the switch from opium to coffee. With the end of military rule and the election of a new democratic government, there is renewed hope that the opium trade may be on the way out.
ABC – Ref. 6726
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All Comments (21)
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16 yrs hooked on this clean 1 yr today. Thank god !!!
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Being a neighbor to Myanmar, the Northeast India has been affecting badly by heroin flooding in from Myanmar ofcourse. From my region the Myanmar is only about 110km away. So eventually we do get it as cheap as around only $1 a piece. I was an addict actually, my teenage years and upto my late 20s was badly affected and was completely dependent to the substance. I went to rehab centre so many times and got relapse as many times as i even can't remember. By the grace of higher power, now I'm redeemed. I'm clean and sober for 4years and 9 months and 21days as of today 🙏
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I hardly watch TV these days, YouTube is full of interesting stuff to watch whatever takes your interest, anytime.
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I am 33 years old from Philadelphia but now live in New England. I have been addicted to heroin since I was 16 with some brief periods of sobriety. Month here or there, not even a year combined. Heroin is a VERY tough drug to manage or get clean from. RIP to all those who didn't make it as long as I did. 🙏🙏🙏
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This plant is precious to mankind no matter what you think. This plant is why we don't suffer pain; it is here for a reason!
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To all the people who watch this that are now clean from heroin, keep going! I’ve got 25 months clean from heroin! To the people who are still using it, I pray you find a way to get away from it before it’s too late. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but it’s so worth it!
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Heartbreaking to watch especially after knowing that the Military Junta is in complete power again since February of this year. All their hopes are shattered.
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A woman gives up her life & freedom to raise 3 sons and 2 killed themselves with heroin and leave their mother to live a life in sorrow. I am sure she would give her life for them again, if she were given the opportunity. Oh the love of a mother.
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The war on drugs will never be won.
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the old woman who lost 2 sons to heroin, I cant believe I could have so much in common with someone on the other side of the world. My heart goes out to her. Wish I could tell her this personally.
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Hooked on black tar for 9 years plus meth. Now im clean since December 9th 2019. Thank you lord for the trials in my life it made me the man i am today also thank you for where im at now!! Thank you JESUS!
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Australia almost did away with heroin until doctors stopped prescribing pain medications because of US fentanyl abuse levels; they're more worried about a medicare audit than breaching their duty of care. So patients with slabs of paperwork proving they're chronic pain sufferers end up buying drugs on the street. I'd say 99% of all drug users I have encountered who use heroin during charity work are pain sufferers whom the Australian medical system refuses to treat, so they have to go elsewhere if they want to keep working and have a life. Maybe we should consider legalizing opium and heroin if our doctors refuse to treat patients.
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A heart-touching upload - the impossibility of their position - the indifference of corrupt regimes - the scope of personal tragedies, all captured in this short documentary. Kudos' to you for your work and my most sincere hopes for their new program.
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Three years clean... Alhamdulillah Rabbilalameen Thank God, Islam was a HUGE part of my change and my love for my wife and kids 🕋
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This is one of the best documentary I have seen.. pretty well directed and executed. I am becoming the fan of this journalist.
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Liam ur documentary is worth million. Shan or chin people of Myanmar have similiar living lifestyle to us in nagaland India. Most of the opium and drugs are from here till today. Public grievances are same. Without other alternative cultivation they depend on opium. Not just surviving but many insurgents asked for tax multiple times. It is better to born rich not poor to overcome worldly cruelty. Thanks for the coverages .🔥🙏
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Let's all thank big brother for taking pain medication from the people who actually need it and boosting the heroin addiction now!
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They forget this is for 95% of the world's pain killers so not just heroin
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2 years clean. God Bless all who suffer from addiction, poverty and hopelessness. NO SURRENDER NO DEFEAT!!
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For the first time I m seeing the dark side of my country through by this video So sad to see these innocent people May Lord protect and save them
