Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver to highlight poppy danger to fellow Afghans

A TAXI driver plans to visit his homeland to educate people about the dangers of drugs and offer them information on growing alternative crops to opium poppies.

Ruh-Ul-Amin Shirzad, 36, of County Road, in the town centre, intends to visit a number of provinces in Afghanistan later this year.

The father-of-one will speak to locals about opium poppy cultivation and educate people on what impact this has on their and other people’s lives.

Afghanistan produces about 90 per cent of the world’s opium, which is used to make the class-A drug heroin.

The trip is part of Mr Shirzad’s industrial rural development course he is studying at Cirencester College.

He will use the information and reaction as part of a thesis he has to produce by September next year.

Mr Shirzad, who drives for private Swindon hire car firm V-Cars, said: “They are faced with either getting involved in this cultivation to fund the feeding of their families or not being able to do so.

“It’s a tough decision they have to make. I want to go out there some time this year and educate them about crop rotation and harvesting.

“This will be to help them find alternative crops to grow such as wheat and show them how to manage it.”

He said wheat could earn their growers almost as much as they would by cultivating poppies although convincing farmers to try a new crop would not be easy as many have never grown anything other than poppies..

Opium production still remains the largest cash crop in Afghanistan, being a big source of income for farmers and the drug traffickers who buy it.

Mr Shirzad will visit Laghman, Kunar, Helmand Province and a number of other towns in Afghanistan.

He said one million Afgan people suffer from heroin addiction out of 25 million people throughout the world.

“When people cultivate poppies many of them get addicted,” he said.

“This is another reason why I want to educate about the dangers. I plan to go there from a month up to six weeks.”

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

The trip is part of Mr Shirzad’s industrial rural development course he is studying at Cirencester College

Why if this course is benificial to Afghanistan is it being run here..surely we have enough issues of our own involving Industrial rural development (what ever that is?)..couldnt this be studied in an afghanistan College where it doesnt cost us british tax payers nowt?

given the USA has more spy satellites than burger bars and must know where every poppy field is, why not just go visit em?

What a lovely warm glow...beats an artificial fire any day...

Who says it is costing the British tax payer anything? The chap is just using his native country as an opportunity to both better himself and if he can, them. I am sure there are plenty of other students on that course who's thesis will not involve travelling abroad and who will investigate industrial rural development here in the Uk. I love to see people learning and in education and you're never to old to start again

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Ok..lets invite the other 5.994 Billion peoples of the world over here to better themselves...then see how much it'll cost us..

Now you're being difficult we're not the only country in the world that educates people and before you say it's free to foreigners I'd check that first

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

most of em are on thier way already, uninvited

I wish the fella well.

Just hope the drugs cartel don't get the hump with him.

_________________
IDFIMH

but without returning to live there

Its not the education most of thems after..its the ticket to easy street GB that they really want, dont kid me on that they come over here after buying a return ticket...its single fare only. they get educated then melt into their surroundings.

I don't think he'll be coming back.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

There are a lot of people who pay a lot of money to be educated in Britain and then GO HOME. This particular taxi driver is already home and is being educated here. The fact that he is going over to his former native country shouldn't reflect badly on his efforts to be educated. The chances are he's a hard working taxi driver who feels the need to get out of this job and so got off his ar$e and went to college to learn something new before he does. This guy is not you're average scrouger who comes over here and sits on the dole waiting for us to provide everything for him. Another thing as well don't you be rolling your eyes at me

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

I must see my optician about that..its becoming habit forming.