[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Arar sober center gives new life to drug addicts" ids="97912,97916,97914,97915,97917,97913,97918,97919"]
Thamir Qamqoom
THE Health Ministry takes care of individuals who have recovered from drug addiction by establishing sober homes to help them achieve stability and prevent them from returning to addiction, following best practices in the US and other advanced countries.
“These men and women pass through three different stages in a period of nine months,” said Dr. Hussain Al-Anazi, director of Bait Muntasaf Al-Tareeq (Midway Home) in Arar, north of the Kingdom, adding that the inmates go through intensive treatment and rehabilitation programs.
He said the rehab center is manned by psychologists, sociologists, sportsmen and religious experts to provide inmates with comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation programs following advanced systems. “The center is designed in line with our religious and social values,” he added.
The social environment plays a significant role in protecting addicts from returning to the unhealthy and dangerous habit of taking drugs, alcohol and other narcotics.
“They have to keep away from old friends who used to take drugs or alcohol with them,” Al-Anazi told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “They should live in a secure atmosphere free from negative influences for several months. They should also learn special skills to achieve quick recovery.”
He said the life in Bait Muntasaf Al-Tareeq would help former addicts face challenges of life and overcome the pressure and temptations to return to drug addiction. “Such an atmosphere is essential for a recovering addict, especially in the beginning stage,” he explained.
There are certain conditions to accept a drug addict at the Arar rehab center. Firstly, he should have recovered from addiction after receiving proper treatment from a specialized medical center, cooperate with the treatment team and attend their programs, perform religious rituals, and should have the desire to get cured without any outside pressure.
“We don’t accept any individual who is wanted by police for security reasons,” said Al-Anazi. The person seeking admission at the center should be a Saudi aged not less than 20 and not more than 65, should be a resident of the region and should have a stable mental condition without any tendency to commit suicide. However, exceptions would be given to individual cases as decided by the management.
The center has 42 beds and advanced living, learning and recreational facilities in addition to a library and indoor sports facilities, a dining hall and a reception cum event hall. “The center is manned by highly experienced and specialized experts,” the director said.
Abdullah Al-Azmi, director of health affairs in the Northern Border Province, disclosed his department’s desire to develop the center and provide recovering addicts advanced services and treatment so that they would not return back to addiction. The health minister opened the center last Ramadan.
“It has been conducting a variety of programs including Haj and Umrah trips and providing training in swimming, bodybuilding and other sports activities in partnership with sports clubs. We also conduct Qur’an memorization programs and Islamic lectures in coordination with Dawa centers.”
Inmates at the sober center have different stories to tell.
Naif, who was a drug addict for 18 years during which he has spent jail terms in various prisons, said he used to take different narcotic drugs. He started with Captagon pills provided by one of his bad friends during school days. After that he started drinking alcohol and using hashish.
He stayed one year at Al-Amal Hospital in Riyadh, which helped him recover from addiction. Later he moved to Arar rehab center, where he got the job of a guide to help addicts recover from the condition. “I am doing this job for the last four years and I have attended specialized courses in the field.” He receives a monthly salary of SR2,500 from a company that has a contract with the ministry.
Another inmate at the rehab center, a private sector worker, said he also became an addict for 14 years after taking Captagon pills. “I had never expected that I would become a drug addict one day. All started with a Captagon pill provided by a friend who gave me the wrong notion that it would energize me and make me more enthusiastic,” he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.
“The friend gave me another pill the next day while we were sitting together in the evening. I got a feeling that I needed such pills for my life and became an addict of Captagon and spent my salary on purchasing the pills. In the meantime I started drinking alcohol and using hashish. Drug addiction turned my life upside down and I was imprisoned twice,” he explained.
He said Bait Muntasaf Al-Tareeq, where he was staying for the last eight months, had given him a new life after being able to recover from addiction by the Grace of Allah.
Readers may wonder to see a government employee, who used to lead prayers at mosque, among the addicts. He has a history of 25 years with drug addiction, consequently he lost his government job. One month treatment at Al-Amal and seven months at the sober center changed his life.
“I have discarded addiction once and for all,” he said. He used to visit his family frequently and now works as maintenance supervisor of the center for its air-conditioning, electricity and plumbing systems. He described his years at Bait Muntasaf Al-Tareeq as marvelous.
“Experts at the center have a strong desire to help inmates get rid of addiction. They provide psychological and physical treatment. I wish we should have similar sober centers in all major cities of the Kingdom to help people recover from addiction quickly,” he added.
Abdullah, a former military officer at the center, also narrated his story with drugs. “I was the victim of bad friends who dragged me to the gutters of drug addiction. I also started with Captagon before becoming an addict of various types of drugs and narcotics.”
He added: “After losing my job at the military and encountering material and social losses I decided to visit Al-Amal to recover from addiction.
Later I joined this rehab center which helped me get rid of addiction 100 percent,” he said. Abdullah spoke highly about the Bait’s facilities and programs as well as about the freedom enjoyed by inmates. “We have a brotherly atmosphere here.”
