Sir would you please introduce yourself?
Well, I’m Gary Lewis and I work with the UN, and I am a very happy guest in your country.
Which team are you playing for?
I am playing for the diplomat’s team
How many games did you play against Congress 60?
Not any game so far but last year we played against Congress 60.
Before you see these people who are former addicts and have treated their addiction and now are playing football, did you believe in addiction treatment?
Yes absolutely, because part of my job years ago was as a drug control officer in United Nations so I have worked on the issue of drug control for 20 years and I know that every day for someone who has used drug is a struggle but the Congress 60 they do a great job here and they are bring life back to young man and also to the families of these young men
So you are familiar with the Congress 60
Yes very.
Are you satisfied with these friendly matches in Iran?
Yes the spirit is good, and it’s not about winning or losing it is about getting out and supporting the team.
Are you interested in transferring this new method of treatment to your country?
The important point is to make sure that it works in Iran, let’s focus on Iran for now.
In Iran we have more than 10000 people who has been treated with the D.S.T method, like me standing in front of you, I used to be a heroin abuser but now I am back to society and am living my life, and 10000 more like me I think this says that this method works.
I think it can be replicated elsewhere, the point is that people in society is watching this now, they must understand that when you are addicted this is a disease that happens to you, after a certain point you don’t chose it anymore, but you can chose to fix the problem, and people in society need to support those who want to become recovered that’s the key point. You shouldn’t push them aside.
What do you suggest for transferring this new knowledge to other countries?
Do what you are doing. Use social media. And communicate it that way.
You can also go overseas and share this knowledge with other countries.
Did you know that with the D.S.T method which is used for addiction treatment, nowadays we are using it to stop smoking as well.
I did hear that yes. That’s great. I would like to speak to family members of Congress 60 team through you. You are doing a great job supporting your young men and I also like to communicate to the citizens of Iran. To look at what is happening here bringing people back into the main stream of the society this is a great job that these guys are doing and you need to support them thank you
Interviewer Ehsan Ranjbar