Escaping from reality

In an abandoned building in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat in East Jerusalem discarded needles litter the floor. Men grouped into generationally divided rooms heat spoons of heroin over gas fires or inject it into their pelvis.

Mo*, a man in his late 20s who began using hard drugs in his teens, gives a tour around the building. He claims he has been clean for some time now, although his erratic movements and manic eyes suggest differently.

"In the morning, children congregate in the building to take drugs," Mo says. When asked why, he responds: "They have nothing to do here. We have no recreational activities."

Shuafat camp, which was established for Palestinian refugees, fell under Israeli jurisdiction after Israel annexed the whole of Jerusalem in 1967, a move not recognized by the international community. The camp's residents are not citizens of Israel, but most are granted permits to reside in Jerusalem and freedom of access to the city. The Jerusalemite Palestinians pay taxes to Israel and also qualify for Israeli healthcare, social benefits and services.

Over the decades, Shuafat camp's numbers have swelled and houses are built on top of one another as there is simply no more space left to build elsewhere. Israel's separation wall has cut the camp's residents off from the rest of Jerusalem, which they can only access through a military checkpoint. The municipality neglects to pick up rubbish and roads go unrepaired.

The camp has become a pocket of lawlessness; Israeli police tend only to enter Shuafat for issues related to Israeli security, and Palestinian police have no jurisdiction there.

More and younger

Tamer Zakkak, director of a counseling center situated in the old city, claims over 5,000 children aged 12-17 years are using drugs in East Jerusalem. The center, run by the charity Caritas Jerusalem, has noticed that more children are being drawn toward drugs at increasingly younger ages.

"In the past we were working with children, 16, 17, 18, who were dealing with drug addiction," Zakkak said from his office, just outside the old city walls. "In some cases we are now dealing with 13- and 14-year olds." Zakkar refers to his most recent case as an example: a 13-year-old homeless boy hooked on marijuana and ecstasy.

Children as young as nine begin on what appear to be harmless legal highs, but before they know it they are craving a much bigger hit, says Zakkak. He is referring to synthetic marijuana. Packed with potent chemicals that can induce psychotic episodes, it is cheap, readily available, addictive - and a hit with the youth. "Some people leave school age eight or nine and start working in the streets, learning from adults and other youth in the streets about drugs," Zakkak adds. "Heroin is the second level."

Unlike neighboring Egypt and Lebanon, Palestine has no historic connection with the drug trade. Heroin came onto the scene around 35 years ago and spread like wildfire in East Jerusalem.

The issue of drugs is largely overlooked by the Israeli police, says Zakkak. "Israel can control it, but they don't care." He added: "They only care for the security in Arab areas and only care for the drugs if it's in Israeli communities."

Children suffer disproportionately

Zakkak insists the situation in the whole of East Jerusalem is what's fuelling the drug issue amongst children and youths. The city, home to the holiest sites for the world's major religions, is constantly simmering with tension.

The area has become a flashpoint for clashes between Israeli soldiers and frustrated Palestinian youths. This often leads to the arrest and detention of minors, which also pushes those who have not dropped out of school already, to do so. Thirty-six percent of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem do not complete a full 12 years of education, according to a 2013 NGO report.

"It is children in East Jerusalem who suffer disproportionately as a result of unrest in the city," said Olivia Watson, advocacy officer at the local branch of the NGO Defence for Children International "Palestinian youths are frequently subjected to settler attacks, and arbitrary detention and interrogation by Israeli authorities. The children affected are usually teenagers, but can be as young as 12 years old."

Deeper into the abyss

Venturing further into the abandoned building in Shuafat camp, Caritas field worker Alae Karub, convinces other users to tell their stories. A man in his 50s claims he first began taking drugs at the age of nine.

Another man in his 30s, who has a wife and two children, has been taking hard drugs since his late teens. Both men speak of desperation, frustration, and no outlet for either, as explanations for what led them to this point.

An Israel military watchtower looms above the drug den. The Israeli police will not come to this place, they say. In this dark corner of Shuafat refugee camp, they are safe.

*Not his real name.