TAUNGGYI (Myanmar) • Looking tired and nervous, Lin steps into a low-profile clinic in an unnamed street on the outskirts of his hometown, Taunggyi. It's the day after Christmas - the latter being a public holiday in Myanmar - but instead of staying home with his wife and two kids, the young man lingers for a while at the clinic, where he often comes to get basic treatment and chat with other patients after taking one of his daily doses of opium.
Twenty-five-year-old Lin (not his real name) has a three-times-a-day opium habit that wrecks his daily life. "I feel lonely every time I take opium, as I can't stay with my wife and children while I do it," he says.
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