Paper money has all but disappeared from the village of Shahran-e-Khash. Instead the common currency is the one resource Afghanistan has no shortage of - opium.
At the market in this remote north-eastern corner of Afghanistan, five litres of engine oil - worth around £5 - can be bought for 100g of opium. Two bottles of Coca-Cola will set you back 18g. Even the children use opium to buy goods.
People here are so poor they frequently don't have the money to buy basic household goods. Instead, they use the poppies they grow in the surrounding fields to purchase what they need.
If the poppy is not in season the shopkeeper will keep a record in a ledger of the items people have taken and the debts are paid off after the harvest. When he finally has the drug, he sells it to a third party who comes from outside the area. The money he makes from this transaction is then used to replenish his stock.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-afghan-village-that-uses-opium-as-its-currency-447351.html
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8 comments:
Incredible, the amount of irresponsibility exemplified by the Afghani government is phenomenal. The sad thing is we know this is not the only place in the world that is exposed to these kinds of conditions. What is most shocking is how children barter for school supplies with the drug. In being exposed to opium at such a young age it�s hard to believe that no one is an addict; at this rate the situation will only worsen.
-Daniel Jimenez
This is a very interesting article. It comes to show that where there's a demand, there will be a supply regardless of what the product is. In a poor country such as Afghanistan, people will do whatever it takes to put food on their table. It is very depressing to see that children must use drugs to buy simple household items while the real criminal is probably thousands of miles away living in a luxurious lifestyle.
This is a very interesting article. It comes to show that where there's a demand, there will be a supply regardless of what the product is. In a poor country such as Afghanistan, people will do whatever it takes to put food on their table. It is very depressing to see that children must use drugs to buy simple household items while the real criminal is probably thousands of miles away living in a luxurious lifestyle.
Interesting article. When I read this, I instantly thought about the discussion we had in class about the brass rods. The opium in this respect were the brass rods, and in the Afghan village, these are their "prestige goods." The article also reminds me of our own economy in the U.S in that our economy is without a doubt suffering. What will we do if our paper back currency fails? Should be rely on our "prestige" good, gold? Looking at it from the Afghan's point of view, I personally think even though it may seem ridiculous that opium is their main currency, its the only way they can survive. Although the system seems to work, the government needs to implement some sort of alternative currency because putting drugs in the hands of children so that they can trade them for basic needs is awful.
-Dominic Cabacungan
Such an interesting article. It's a great illustration, I think, to some extent, of the creativity and collaboration of the people to sustain themselves. What also strikes me is that, at least in the article, the people are very aware and honest about the causes, the lack of other alternatives, and the consequences that follow.
This is a great example of a commodity money, rather than a token money. Their complete lack of a stable government and economy definitely wouldn't allow them to have a symbolic currency. The fact that an illicit drug is the basis for a town's economy is somewhat sad, but it's worth overlooking considering their alternative; likely starving. Lucky for them there's a global market for drugs so they'll always have something valuable to trade and all they have to do is grow it. In Aristotle's terms, their market is acceptable in that they don't seek to make monetary profit, rather they abide by the C-M-C formula. But all and all I guess they can thank the British way back when for getting much of Asia as well as other parts of the world addicted to the stuff. Opium Wars anyone? =P
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