Hassan recounts how he fell into the swamp of addiction to Tramadol, a habit-forming drug prohibited in the Gaza Strip. He ascribes it to the absence of job opportunities after he completed his university education nearly two years ago.

The 24-year-old Hassan graduated from Al-Azhar University in Gaza with a major in business administration. Despite this, he has been forced to join the long lines of unemployed workers, who account for 45% of Gaza’s labor force. Matters worsened as his economic, social and psychological problems deepened to the point where he found that his life had become unbearable.

 "After I graduated from university, I spent a long time looking for work, but to no avail. It dragged on until I started to feel that I was a burden on society. I was living in an endless cycle of psychological anxieties," Hassan says. He recounts details of his addiction to Tramadol pills to Al-Monitor, saying: "One of my friends gave me a green-colored pill; he said it would make me forget my troubles, and relax me. I took it without hesitation. At first I felt a severe headache that swiftly turned to relief. I couldn't feel any of the problems around me anymore."

Tramadol, or "al-Tramal" as it's popularly known, is a narcotic substance considered on par with codeine. It is used to alleviate pain by inhibiting the nervous system. It also acts as an effective palliative for sharp or chronic pains in cases where the patient is suffering from unbearable agony. However, it is increasingly being abused, including among university graduates, who fall into dependency on these drugs. This rising tide of addiction may be ascribed to harsh living conditions, the scarcity of job opportunities and a bleak economic outlook.