Rather than watch their poppy fields being destroyed, growers take up arms alongside the Taleban.
Until recently, the Marja area of Helmand province, close to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, enjoyed relative peace. The main occupation here is farming, albeit with a specific twist – opium poppies take up almost all the arable land.
The calm ended last month when the Afghan government decided to send "eradication teams" into Marja to destroy the crop.
Local residents say the tougher new line yielded little other than angering and radicalising the farmers.
"Marja used to be a very calm district, but when the [eradication] campaign personnel came here, it turned all the farmers into Taleban fighters," said Janan, who lives in the Wansi Block area of Marja.
"They all got guns and now they're fighting alongside the Taleban."
According to Janan, the fighters successfully held off the eradication teams, sent in by the interior ministry in Kabul and consisting mostly of Afghan National Police officers. The result was that almost none of the crop was destroyed.
"To be honest, I am very happy that the campaign has failed in the Marja district," said Janan. "We'd lose everything if the Taleban didn't help us. We wouldn't have anything to eat if our poppy fields were destroyed. I thank God for the Taleban."
Helmand is the undisputed poppy centre of the world, supplying almost half the raw material for heroin sold on international markets.
In previous years, efforts to eradicate the crop have faltered, largely due to corruption. This year, the government announced a major counter-narcotics initiative, and farmers complained that police were no longer as susceptible to bribery as they used to be.
The Taleban have mounted their own campaign to capitalise on the anger and desperation of Helmand's farmers. According to local residents, the insurgents have been distributing guns and turning farmers into fighters.
The calm ended last month when the Afghan government decided to send "eradication teams" into Marja to destroy the crop.
Local residents say the tougher new line yielded little other than angering and radicalising the farmers.
"Marja used to be a very calm district, but when the [eradication] campaign personnel came here, it turned all the farmers into Taleban fighters," said Janan, who lives in the Wansi Block area of Marja.
"They all got guns and now they're fighting alongside the Taleban."
According to Janan, the fighters successfully held off the eradication teams, sent in by the interior ministry in Kabul and consisting mostly of Afghan National Police officers. The result was that almost none of the crop was destroyed.
"To be honest, I am very happy that the campaign has failed in the Marja district," said Janan. "We'd lose everything if the Taleban didn't help us. We wouldn't have anything to eat if our poppy fields were destroyed. I thank God for the Taleban."
Helmand is the undisputed poppy centre of the world, supplying almost half the raw material for heroin sold on international markets.
In previous years, efforts to eradicate the crop have faltered, largely due to corruption. This year, the government announced a major counter-narcotics initiative, and farmers complained that police were no longer as susceptible to bribery as they used to be.
The Taleban have mounted their own campaign to capitalise on the anger and desperation of Helmand's farmers. According to local residents, the insurgents have been distributing guns and turning farmers into fighters.
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