RECOVERING addicts went on a pilgrimage last month as part of a self-healing journey while fasting.
Twenty-nine undertook the Umrah to Mecca, organised by the Taafi Drug Recovery Association, a group focused on helping addicts conquer their bad habits.
Umrah is a pilgrimage that can be undertaken anytime during the year, unlike Haj which can only be undertaken at a specified time of the year.
The association, with the support of Leave A Trace volunteering group, came up with the concept to instil in recovering individuals a sense of self-worth and positive identity.
“The spiritual journey comes as part of a process to get those recovering realise that they are normal people who can bypass their addiction and that they can belong and contribute to society,” the association’s psychologist Ahmed Ajeeb told the GDN.
“When we first receive them, they come here broken, rejected by society, having lost money, friends and family.”
Mr Ajeeb
Taafi was launched in 2012, licensed by the Labour and Social Development Ministry, to act as a centre to aid addicts free of charge.
Housing males from many nationalities with ages ranging from 20 to 50, the association, with a success rate of 68 per cent, has successfully helped in 2021 the recovery of 37 individuals from all kinds of addictions ranging from alcohol to drug abuse.
During a visit to their facility in Hidd, the GDN team spoke with some of the recovering victims whose names are being changed to maintain their privacy.
The first interviewee, ‘Omar’, said his downward spiral started when he was offered hashish by a 40-year-old when he was just 14.
“It took me down a dark path where eventually I lost the comfort of home and I would be homeless for days, and hungry for weeks,” said the 29-year-old.
“I hurt my family, I got divorced and could not see my child grow up.
“I reached a moment where I realised that if I did not fix myself soon, I would be found dead or in a mental institution.
“Taafi and the pilgrimage have changed my life; I feel like I have been reborn.”
For ‘Jassim’, this was his second Umrah.
“I went once long ago but I was not honest about it,” said the 28-year-old.
“It might be easy to judge how we were and how we acted, but addiction kills spirituality as a voice rings in your ears to always take more.
“I fully regretted how addiction stole 12 years of my life.”
“So when Taafi took us to Umrah this time, I went with the pure intention to change, to be better.
“Because of the work here, because I gave myself a chance, no more am I living as a misguided mess.
“Today, I am proud of myself and I want to keep living like this.”
Mr Ajeeb said that the centre was open to anyone suffering from addiction of any kind, free of charge, as long as they are willing to change, are ready to spend three months in the centre, are ready to provide medical reports when asked for, and most importantly, to have their family members know.
“We provide for them a home, and a place with a family atmosphere because family relationship is important,” said the Sudanese national.
“It is vital to not only have their family know, but contribute in workshops and lectures to fix and mend any broken bond.”
aref@gdn.com.bh
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