Chained in his cell at the shrine of Mia Ali Baba Shrine in Jajalabad, Afghanistan. August 7th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
According to the local beliefs, the shrine has magical qualities to heal mental illness. The local Shrine is located in a remote area controlled by Taliban.
Marks of the “consciences” shaking the wall in Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Abandoned, chained, forgotten… Mental patients in Afghanistan face the lack of resources to take care of them while the political instability and the increase of drug addicts forced them to be forgotten. Ignorance and stigma regard mental disorders
A mental patient is chained in a small cell at Mia Ali Baba Shrine. Patients are chained in Spartan cells around the shrine for 40 days and fed with bread and water.October 7th, 2011. Jalalabad, Afghanistan 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Patients are chained in Spartan cells around the shrine for 40 days and fed with bread and water.
write words (TAWEEZ or SHOHEST) on pieces of paper that are burnt after the healing process is finished. Jajalabad, Afghanistan. April 30th, 2014. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The mental health situation in Afghanistan is characterized as an extremely incapacitated mental health care system
A mental patient lost in his thoughts in Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Population of Afghanistan has been exposed to sociopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, violence, and conflict for at least the past three decades
A depressing wall of the shrine MIA ALI BABA shows the poor conditions of the mental patients have to face. Afghanistan 2014. April 30th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The Spartan approach to take care of mental patient forced them into inhuman conditions. Jalalabad. Afghanistan 2014. April 30th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The bars isolate the violent patients from the others at the mental asylum of Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
There are no exact numbers for the mentally ill in Afghanistan, due to the largely associated social stigma.
A wall of the shrine Mia Ali Baba. Jalalabad, Afghanistan. August 07th, 2014 Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Many rural residents still require sending the patients to shrines, where they may be chained, neglected and poorly looked after. Shrines offer draconian approach to mental illness.
Abdul Wahed, 25 years old, resident of Peshawar, Pakistan. He is stuck in the shrine Mia Ali Baba. His family rought him 60 days ago. Jalalabad, Afghanistan, April 30th, 2014. Diego Ibarra Sánchez MeMo
The keeper said this patient had to discharge in 40 days but none of his family members has been showed up yet. The cell is not spacious enough for the patient and his health has been declining rapidly due to the poor diet the shrine has to offer him.
Rab Gul, 35 years old, sleeping at his cell. He is chained in a small cell at Mia Ali Baba Shrine without any kind of contact with the outside world. Jalalabad, Afghanistan. April 30th, 2014. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
A Spartan cell is supposed to miraculously heal his mental perturbation.
Rab Gul, 35 years old, drinking water at his spartan cell. Due to mental issues his mother admitted him here for the latest 20 days. He said, I was a farmer in my town but my family found me having some mental disorders, and here I am stuck in this shrine. The keepers beat us time to time. Jalalabad, Afghanistan. April 30th, 2014. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Mental patients in Afghanistan live between divine and curse. While mental health treatment in Afghanistan has improved in cities there are still not enough resources to take care of them.
A mental patient kills time in a mental Asylum of Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
War and drugs has a catastrophic effect on the health. Death as a result of war is simply the "tip of the iceberg". More than three decades of conflict have led to widespread human suffering and population displacement in Afghanistan
A Mental patient kills time at a corridor in the mental asylum in Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Over 3 decades, Afghanistan has been ravaged by conflict and now is still facing mental consequences.
A relative of a mental patient looks trough a tiny window of Ali Abad hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. July 19th, 2014. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Ali Abad hospital It is the only public Neuropsychiatric hospital in the country. There are 12 doctors in this branch. They have two sections (female and male). The patient used to be in cage back in the days, however now they use medicine on timely bases to keep the patient calm.
An afghan nurse removes a curtain in a room of the Ali Abad hospital at the female section. July 19th, 2014. Kabul. Afghanistan. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The hospital was built in 1933 by the Turkish government, which is now reconstructing the facility. It was damaged during the fighting between the warring Mujahedeen factions.
A drug addict and mental patient posses for a portrait in a mental asylum in Kabul. Afghanistan October 18th, 2009. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm also resulting in drug addictions
A mental patient at the mental Asylum in Herat is tortured by his thoughts. Herat, Afghanistan. July 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The mental asylum has not improved his mental condition but has developed it further
A group of mental patients stands up in a row inside Edhi Village mental institute. Karachi. Pakistan. April 8th, 2010. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez /MeMo)
Abandoned, chained, forgotten... Mental patients in Pakistan face the lack of resources to take care of them. Ignorance and stigma regard mental disorders. Mental health care facilities available for their use are very sparse.
The bars isolate the violent patients from the others inside the Punjab Institute of Mental Health. Lahore, Pakistan. November 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Punjab Institute of Mental Health. was founded in the year 1900 AD to provide Health care to Mentally Sick persons. It was named “Lunatic Asylum”. The Governing Law Lunacy Act 1912 being unsuitable and inconvenient was replaced by “Mental Health Ordinance in 2001”. The name of “ Govt. Mental Hospital ” was changed to “ Govt. Hospital for Psychiatric Diseases in 1996, and was renamed as “Punjab Institute of Mental Health” in 2002. Lahore. Punjab. Pakistan 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez
A lonely drawing paper shows and reflects the thoughts of a mental patient in a Pakistani shrine. Pakistan. October 23th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
According to the local beliefs the mental illness is labeled as being possessed by an evil spirit known as "Jinn". Self-proclaimed exorcists thrive on these beliefs. They claim special powers from God which enable them to help people
a young mental patient is seen while he joins a healing ritual outskirts Lahore, Pakistan. November 6th, 2012. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The belief is that the spirits have got a hold of them, someone has cast a spell on him, or he is being punished for a wrong deed he committed earlier. There are thousands of pirs across Pakistan who promotes black magic and superstitious rituals. And while genuine pirs are the descendants of Sufi Islam scholars, there are a growing number of fake healers, accused of exploiting their followers and encouraging them into darker exploits
A devotional dance known as "dhamal", being a frenzied and ecstatic swirl of the head and body. Sindh, Pakistan 2012. March 13th, 2012. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Dhamal is a special ritual that is performed at the rhythmic beat of the dhole (a big barrel-shaped drum), some of them being of giant size and placed in the courtyard of the shrine
Allah Rakha has visited a lot of hospital but with not good results. His relatives are still trying to find the way to heal him. One neighbored and closed friend told them to bring Rakha to the shrine. Multan, Pakistan. October 22th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The wife of Allah Rakha takes care of him. Besides his long illness, she has decided to be with him until the end. Multan. Punjab. Pakistan 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez
A pir is seen while he is running a ritual outside his shrine in Sindh´s province. Pakistan. March 13th, 2012. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
According to the local beliefs the mental illness is labeled as being possessed by an evil spirit known as "Jinn"Self-proclaimed exorcists thrive on these beliefs. They claim special powers from God which enable them to help peopleSuch beliefs are widespread in rural Pakistan, where the majority are illiterate and conventional health care is limited, and more people are turning to faith healers, also known as pirs, to cure them,the belief is that the spirits have got a hold of them, someone has cast a spell on him, or he is being punished for a wrong deed he committed earlieThere are thousands of pirs across Pakistan who promote black magic and superstitious rituals. And while genuine pirs are the descendants of Sufi Islam scholars, there are a growing number of fake healers, accused of exploiting their followers and encouraging them into darker exploits
A mental patient sleeps on the floor deserted, chained and ignored by the Pakistani society in a shrine of Multan, Pakistan. October 23th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Devotees consider this shrine as a magical place for the recovery of patients suffering from mental diseases.
a mental patient is seeing while he urines outside his spartan cell in Multan. Pakistan. October 23th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Many rural residents still require to send the patients to shrines, where they may be chained, neglected and poorly looked after. Shrines offer draconian approach to mental illness. They offer them ancient rituals for healing the mental patients to take out the evil spirits. According to the local beliefs the mental illness is labeled as being possessed by an evil spirit known as "Jinn"It's assumed that the ones who could break the chains would be the only ones that can be healed in the shrine
a naked wall of a magical shirne in Multan. Pakistan. October 23th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Many rural residents still require to send the patients to shrines, where they may be chained, neglected and poorly looked after. Shrines offer draconian approach to mental illness. They offer them ancient rituals for healing the mental patients to take out the evil spirits. According to the local beliefs the mental illness is labeled as being possessed by an evil spirit known as "Jinn"It's assumed that the ones who could break the chains would be the only ones that can be healed in the shrine
Ghulam Qadir tries to touch a leaf. He has spent the last month at the shrine.October 23th, 2011. Multan, Pakistan 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
While mental health treatment in Pakistan has improved in cities there are still not enough resources to take care of them. Many rural residents still require sending the patients to shrines, where they may be chained, neglected and poorly looked after.
Allah Rakha has visited a lot of hospital but with not good results. His relatives are still trying to find the way to heal him. One neighbored and closed friend told them to bring Rakha to the shrine. Multan, Pakistan. October 22th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
The wife of Allah Rakha takes care of him. Besides his long illness, she has decided to be with him until the end. Multan. Punjab. Pakistan 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez
A mental patient lost in his thoughts at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore. Pakistan. November 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
In the past, the government of Pakistan has attempted to make progress in the area of mental health by introducing the Mental Health Ordinance on February 20, 2001. When this ordinance came into effect, The Lunacy Act of 1912, enacted by the colonial government, consequently stood repealed. However, the situation is still far from satisfactory, since psychiatric departments tend to be under staffed and to lack basic facilities.
A group of mental illness waits for its treatments at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health. Lahore. Pakistan. November 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Punjab Institute of Mental Health provides services to patients belonging not only the Punjab but also to adjacent areas of all provinces including Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Round about 500 to 600 patients are taken care of in Out-Patient Department daily
An isolated mental patient drinks water at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health. Lahore. Punjab, Pakistan. November 26th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Mental patients sleep on the floor of Edhi village. Karachi, Pakistan. April 8th, 2011. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
Mental patients have to spend nights on the floor with poorly kind of human facilities
A mental patient’s hand looks for the light in Edhi Village. Pakistan. April 8th, 2010. Diego Ibarra Sánchez / MeMo
There are thousands of pirs across Pakistan who promotes black magic and superstitious rituals. And while genuine pirs are the descendants of Sufi Islam scholars, there are a growing number of fake healers, accused of exploiting their followers and encouraging them into darker exploits
