Opium Economy and Corruption

Among government instability and insurgent terrorism, this National Geographic article describes that the economy of Afghanistan is fueled by two main sources: “Western aid, in the hopes that the country will renounce the Taliban [and] opium trafficking supported by the Taliban, which use the proceeds to fund attacks on Western troop” and thus creates a never ending source of violence in Afghanistan. The opium trade has plagued Afghanistan since poppy seeds were introduced to the area as far back as the time of Alexander the Great and currently 85% of Afghani citizens are farmers funded by drug smugglers. In many cases, the opium trade and exports seem to have altered the course of Afghanistan as decisions about eradicating its existence are negated by the fact that the economy would be gone without the money it provides.

Since 2000, the Afghanistan government and even the Taliban have been outwardly opposing the opium trade. Spiritual leader of the Taliban Mullah Omar even “issued a fatwa, or religious decree, declaring opium production a violation of Islam [and] the Taliban enforced the ban with brutal efficiency” however that did not completely end Taliban involvement in the trade. It is readily admitted by the poppy farmers that in order to successfully smuggle opium, you must “have relationships with someone—like the district or provincial police chief" and that many Taliban and even government officials are corrupted by money and drugs enough to do so. The article gives the opinion that “the Taliban's involvement with the drug mafia” after having declaring the whole act religiously irreverent “shows that they don't want a truly Islamic government. They just want power." The issue of ending the harvest of poppy seeds is so deeply rooted in corruption and underground markets now that it seems that in order “to eradicate poppy, we would first have to eradicate corruption."

However, the question arises as to what peacekeepers are doing to eradicate poppy fields in Afghanistan either. Many farmers don’t understand the consequences of the poppy fields so simply working to shut down farms of people who are only working to provide for their families is irresponsible. Many of the farmers are normal people and the article even tells the story of a widow whose husband fought for the Mujahidin against the soviets and recently died fighting the Taliban as part of the ANA and yet who made money from poppy seed crops. Another farmer tells that USAID workers at one point "promised…that they'd give us bags of wheat seed and fertilizer" to plant to supplement the poppy crop which readily grows in the arid land. However, years after those promises nothing has been provided or accomplished. Little aid has helped to improve everyday Afghan life and in many places money hasn’t even gone to local medical clinics that are dependant on the use of opium as a medicinal drug, often getting patients addicted by proxy and fueling the trade even more. Peacekeepers seriously need to think about where prioritizing goes and in this case, microfinance grassroots organizations that help to eradicate the opium trade farm by farm may be the simplest solution to a conflict that continually fuels itself.