Sergei Stroitelev

Photographer

stroitelev.visura.co

The Vicious Circle

The Vicious Circle

Hetauda is a small city located to the west of the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. Every third man here is a drug addict. According to UN statistics, 70% of the male population takes heroin or crack on a daily basis. Due to the lack of jobs in the city, an adequate rehab clinic and psychological support, addicts constantly relapse into addiction.

Some of them, who are very serious about quitting, go to Kathmandu to the Saarathi clinic, where the much-criticized methadone treatment is conducted. The therapy gradually helps to give up the opioid, which takes about two years, but itself causes addiction.

For several months, I followed the lives of drug addicts in Hetauda, getting to know their routine. After that, I went to the Saarathi clinic in Kathmandu and captured the patients' struggle with addiction. For me, the project was also very personal, since I myself took drugs for about 3 years and know how much pain the characters of the story are in.

This project shows the inner demons of each human being, the vicious and zigzagging cycle of life, in which we all expect ups and downs.

Kedar is performing morning puj...he has been addicted to heroin.

Kedar is performing morning puja (praying). He is 28 years old, 10 of which he has been addicted to heroin.

Kedar, in broken English, says ...he same room, comes for dinner.

Kedar, in broken English, says he was waiting for me to shoot up. "You have to film this - my tragedy and joy," he explains. He points to the door without a word to his wife and six-year-old son. For about 15 minutes he pumps the blood and heroin from the syringe into the vein and back, prolonging the pleasure. Then he relaxes and lets the family back into the house. The woman cooks rice in silence; Kedar's father, who lives in the same room, comes for dinner.

Kedar with his family inside their dwelling.

View from Kedar's windo...e unfinished houses of Hetauda.

View from Kedar's window. One of the unfinished houses of Hetauda.

Kedar's arm - injection...#39;ve all burned off from use.

Kedar's arm - injection scars. He says it's getting harder to find a vein. They've all burned off from use.

Babu Bika is 25 years old and a crack addict.

Babu works in a slaughterhouse,...how much a dose of crack costs.

Babu works in a slaughterhouse, where he cuts up meat. He earns $12 a day, which is exactly how much a dose of crack costs.

In Babu's room there is... to work at the slaughterhouse.

In Babu's room there is a light bulb, a bed, a leaky ceiling, some posters. Under the bed there is a spoon and a plate for drugs. His legs are rotting. In a stuffy room measuring three by three meters, Babu and his friends pass crack back and forth while a new dose is prepared on a tray. I hear the crackling of tobacco: when a person is on crack, he wants to smoke. The eyes of those using it turn into glowing dots, they are burning with excitement and a desire to do something. One of the men hands me a pipe with crack. The excitement dies down, everyone falls asleep for about forty minutes. Waking up from the sound of rain on the roof, the men quickly start getting ready - it's time to go to work at the slaughterhouse.

People come to the only rehabil...ercises and breathing practice.

People come to the only rehabilitation center in Hetauda for consultations and exercise therapy.
They are not very happy to see a photographer. On the porch, a thin, almost withered man - Mohan - looks me over from head to toe, asks again where I am from, why I am interested in this topic. When I admit that I used to use drugs myself, he calms down.
Mohan tells that he organized the rehabilitation center with his own money, got into debt. The center has big problems - the locals think that it is a den where they sell drugs. That is why Mohan tensed up when he saw a man with a camera.
The center holds yoga classes; an employee demonstrates simple physical exercises and breathing practice.

One of the patients of the clin...people for inpatient treatment.

One of the patients of the clinic during lunch in the dining room.
The center does not accept anyone on a permanent basis: 8-10 people come here for a while, and then they return to the street. The center does not have the financial capacity to accept people for inpatient treatment.

Breathing practice during yoga ...n the rehab center in Hetauda.

Breathing practice during yoga class in the rehab center in Hetauda.

The rehab center also has board...eturning to the usage of drugs.

The rehab center also has board games and chess to help addicts take their minds off withdrawal.
The percentage of the addicted men who quit after regular visits to the centre is very low, only 3 guys managed to overcome the addiction. Due to the unemployment in the town the most part of the men are returning to the usage of drugs.

A poster on the wall of the Saa...d. The man died of an overdose.

A poster on the wall of the Saarathi Clinic in Kathmandu, which provides methadone treatment for addicts from the surrounding region. Some men from Etuda come here for treatment. The poster shows patients who have successfully overcome their addiction. About 10 percent of them do. A cross marks a patient who has relapsed. The man died of an overdose.

Saarathi as the rehab center in...ing, and return to normal life.

Saarathi as the rehab center in Hetauda does not have the capacity to place patients in inpatient treatment. Addicts receive methadone, spend a few hours in the clinic watching TV or socializing, and return to normal life.

The clinic is visited by severa...e together with their children.

The clinic is visited by several women who come to receive methadone together with their children.

A patient smokes in the clinic ...ettes, blowing out thick smoke.

A patient smokes in the clinic yard. The atmosphere in the clinic is very heavy. The patients' pain is felt acutely, it hangs in the air.
"How long have you been coming here?" one patient asks another. "3 months," replies a young guy in a cap. He lowers his eyes, sighing heavily. A second later, both men take deep drags on their cigarettes, blowing out thick smoke.

One of the clinic's patients is suffering from withdrawal.

Clinic patients play chess in the yard.

Methadone treatment is criticiz...le to become infected with HIV.

Methadone treatment is criticized by some international organizations. In many countries, such treatment is prohibited, and methadone use is illegal. It is believed that methadone is also highly addictive and destroys the liver, but in Nepal, the therapy is practiced quite actively. According to clinic workers, such treatment has one big advantage - because methadone is taken orally, and not through a needle, it is impossible to become infected with HIV.

Young patients of the clinic. T... in tourist areas of Kathmandu.

Young patients of the clinic. To raise money for drugs, they often steal goods from shops and resell them cheaply, and they also beg on the streets in tourist areas of Kathmandu.

Clinic patients play ping-pong.

A man on the side of the road i...ns into the bushes to shoot up.

A man on the side of the road in Etouda waits impatiently for a dealer; he says he really wants to shoot up one last time, and after that he will quit and be king of the town. A motorcyclist pulls up next to him, shoves heroin into his hand and speeds off. The man runs into the bushes to shoot up.