Wednesday, October 16, 2013
06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Washington University
Umrath Lounge, 1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO
It’s easy to imagine how Afghanistan’s $65 billion a year opiate industry destroys millions of lives, either by creating more addicts or by killing those already addicted. What isn’t so obvious is the destruction it sows for its most vulnerable people, especially women and children. When Afghan-American journalist Nawa traveled back to her native land between 2000 and 2007 she was shocked by personal tragedies such as Darya’s, the 12-year-old daughter of a narcotics dealer who was sold into marriage with a middle-aged drug lord. Darya’s plight stayed with Nawa and compelled her to write Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords and One Woman’s Journey through Afghanistan.