South Africa: Albert Van Der Walt: "We weren't stupid, we were just heroin addicts"
Albert Van Der Walt is a 21-year-old former heroin addict from Witbank, in Mpumalanga, a largely rural province in South Africa's northeast, with a growing drug problem. Now clean for nearly three years, Van Der Walt told IRIN/PlusNews how heroin quickly took over his life.
"Myself and a friend went to Cape Town for a holiday and that's where it started, in the big city. It was New Year's - an intense, hectic time when everyone enjoys partying - and we met this guy who introduced us to it.
"We didn't hesitate because we were the type of people that liked to experience, that weren't scared of anything. Our first injection - it was amazing, it was truly unbelievable - it was heroin and it was the best you could find.
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