Anonymous. Voluntary. Free.

The Alcoholics Anonymous community is not a state or commercial organization. And not even a medical one, despite the fact that it has been actively fighting the problem of alcoholism for 90 years and even received the Lasker Medical Award. As in the rest of the world, in our country the AA community consists only of chronic alcoholics and is financed by them - voluntarily and as much as possible. Today, there are about 600 Kazakhstanis in the community.

- For many years - about twenty - I ended every day with a bottle. I worked in the civil service and almost never went to work on Mondays, telling colleagues that I was sick or that my little daughter was sick. I couldn’t admit to anyone that I had an addiction, although my colleagues, of course, guessed. I paid crazy money for personal growth trainings. I went to a psychologist, but even there I couldn’t admit that I drank. Once my daughter and I almost got carbon monoxide poisoning: I put pelmeni on the stove and fell asleep. After that, I realized that I had to do something, - a community member from Astana named DINARA recalled at a meeting.

As if at a group meeting, she shares a very personal story with the police officers, representatives of the education and health departments, the city akimat, the department of the penal system, and doctors invited to the round table meeting. She tells how her life has changed dramatically in the AA community:

- Thanks to the program, I learned to live happily. I realized that I simply didn’t know how to communicate with people, work, or be happy.

At the meeting, the representatives of the community make it clear: the only requirement for membership in "AA" is the desire to stop drinking. The community is not associated with any sect, religion, political direction, organization or institution. Here, no one is told what to do, and no one is kicked out...

- The method practiced in the community is really effective. And not because it helped me in particular, but because it has been proven by a lot of scientific research, - said Almaty resident BOLAT at the meeting. - I have known for a long time that I had problems. Even when I was studying at the medical institute, reading a textbook, I saw all the symptoms of alcoholism in myself, but during lectures I was more worried about where I would get drunk today. I have been to sobering-up centers and the police department many times. I thought that I would get married and quit drinking, then I would have children - and quit. But everything only got worse. Even coding did not help, although I have friends who have not drunk for decades after that. When I was forced to undergo treatment for the second time, my wife died. The second. Of course, we broke up with the first one a long time ago. I went on a binge for a whole year, and then I realized that I could not get out of it...

Bolat tells how he first came to a group meeting, how he got carried away by the “12 steps” program, thanks to which addiction is cured in “AA”. The program helped him. Now he is sure: the main goal of the community of anonymous alcoholics is not even to stop drinking, but to teach how to enjoy life...

- We want to convey our idea to doctors, law enforcement agencies, journalists, relatives of alcoholics, so that someone else can recover. We cooperate with any organization that shows interest in us, - said members of the community.

According to their data, Alcoholics Anonymous exists in almost all countries of the world. It is believed that, according to statistics, approximately one percent of addicts join the community. But here in Kazakhstan there are even fewer of them...

The chief physician of the Akmola regional mental health center, Alexander VYSOTSKY, said at the meeting that in the Akmola region alone, there are approximately 5,000 registered alcoholics. This is the official statistics, but how many are under-examined... At the same time, only four or five people attend the "AA" group.

- For a long time I tried to convince myself that I was not an alcoholic. I said: I work, I drink on my own, I don’t lie around under a fence... I promised myself to drink a little, but I got drunk again and got into unpleasant situations. I deceived myself: I ate little with food, mixed drinks, and so on. Only at a group meeting did I learn that alcoholism is a disease, because we do not judge those who have cancer... - said another member of “AA” MARAT. - Having come to the community, I became one of its active members. We often visit drug treatment clinics, communicate with those who are being treated there. When we tell them that there is a way out, many people feel hope. Yes, not everyone comes to us, only about ten percent of the patients we meet. But those who do not come will tell other alcoholics about us...

- We have quite a few families on our books where parents abuse alcohol, and there are also families from which children are removed by child protection services, - said Sairan SHOKIMOVA, head of the regional education department's psychological support center, at the meeting. - What is offered to such parents to get rid of their addiction? Only compulsory treatment. I think the community could be a good attempt for many of them...

Alexander Vysotsky invited members of the community to visit the hospital in the village of Alekseyevka and talk to those undergoing compulsory treatment. Representatives of the police departments and the penal system also promised to assist in placing brochures and business cards about Alcoholics Anonymous.

- It is believed that alcoholics almost never recover. But many drug treatment hospitals immediately open their doors to us because they see a good effect. Police in many regions are also ready to cooperate - they offer their supervised people to attend our meetings, - said Bolat. - The main thing in our structure is the group. We do everything to ensure that the groups work and help alcoholics get rid of their addiction. You can find out where and when the group meets in each city on the website aaorg.kz. I beg you: help alcoholics find their way to us...

Vladislava KOKORINA, photo by the author, drawing by Igor KIYKO, Kokshetau