Dear Editor,
With reference to a letter published in your newspaper on December 12, with the title ‘Alcohol industry continues to profit from the misery it causes by the use of its products’ by Vidyaratha Kissoon, I believe the issue goes further, and personal responsibility by alcohol drinkers should figure prominently in the discussion. While the writer makes a good case for his position, the reality is that we live in a society that allows many liberties, especially for the adult population, and I don’t believe that most will welcome restrictions with open arms. In fact, we are becoming more liberal and many groups are pushing for such things as the legalisation of certain drugs and decriminalisation of homosexuality. The personal liberties we enjoy may be linked to our western lifestyle and state secularity; so are people just going to stop drinking alcohol, if they are told not to, and is this a realistic expectation? Like everything else, overindulgence is a major factor, and even things that we consider to be safe can cause serious health issues if not used in moderation like salt, sugar, food including fast food, energy drinks and ‘soft’ drinks; even too much exposure to the sun and the list goes on. People have been using alcohol since ancient times, and only in a few countries worldwide, particularly theocracies, is alcohol consumption prohibited. So it would be realistic to expect that, regardless of what you tell people, many will still continue to consume alcohol and policies should be framed with this in mind. Preaching about prohibition is just like preaching about abstinence and disregarding the present reality, thereby denying young people valuable health information which could influence them in making more informed decisions.
We have choices, and for those who choose to drink alcohol or not, they should be made aware that they are personally responsible for their actions, whether inebriated or not. Only adults should be able to purchase and consume alcohol, and as adults with great freedom, comes personal responsibility and the expectation of consequences for one’s actions. Are Guyanese adults, children who need to be monitored and babysat? Why not teach people about the responsibilities and consequences of one’s actions that come with adulthood? If adults can abuse others, and just blame it on alcohol, then the domestic violence situation will never improve. What this does is give abusers an excuse, make them victims, deny the real victims justice and shows ‘silent acceptance’ of abuse. Just imagine that alcohol gets banned in Guyana, what happens when Guyanese travel outside of Guyana and are faced with alcohol everywhere, will others excuse their ‘bad behaviour’ while under the influence? Even in countries where alcohol is banned for citizens such as Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and some states in India, terrible crimes still occur daily including domestic violence and murder. What the government can do is educate children from the primary level and continue in secondary schools about the dangers to health caused by alcohol consumption. Teams should visit all schools regularly, and inform children about not just alcoholism, but the taking of other drugs and use child friendly materials such as videos and skits. In addition, they should be educated about domestic violence as a separate topic. They should never be taught that alcohol causes people to murder, rape and abuse. Teach them about the laws of the land, responsibility and consequences, and that there is absolutely no excuse to abuse another person regardless of whether one is drunk or not. In many homes, children are brought up seeing their parents physically abusing each other and have normalised this sort of behaviour. Don’t tell them ‘daddy beat mommy because he was drunk’ tell them ‘daddy must not beat mommy’. Also, children should be taught anger management techniques, and know where and how to access counselling services free of cost.
Editor, during my travels abroad, I stayed in many youth hostels that catered for young adults; most persons were in their 20s and at university. On checking in, I got a free shot (beer, wine or whatever alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink I wanted) and they had onsite bars, clubs and restaurants where huge discounts were offered on drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and food for guests. Yet, during my time at these hostels, I personally never witnessed bar fights, bad behaviour, or persons physically incapacitated because of drinking too much. From observing how these young people behaved, I knew that if I drank too much alcohol and started slurring my words or falling over, they were going to think negatively about me, plus nobody never pressured me to drink more than I wanted. And there are countries where alcohol is more readily available than Guyana, but that’s another topic for discussion. However, in Guyana many times I’ve chosen not to socialise with friends, particularly males, because they do not understand that it’s OK to just have a drink or 2 or no alcoholic drink at all. And socialising with others doesn’t mean drinking until you get drunk, and pressuring others to drink equally with you even if they don’t want to. I had a colleague who drank too much alcohol regularly, that gave him many ‘hangovers’, and often he was absent from work; I’m not aware of him abusing anyone. He told me that he sought treatment for his addiction, but the only treatment facility was private and very costly, soon after starting he couldn’t continue and his addiction got worse. I don’t know if there are free addiction treatment centres in Guyana, but if there aren’t or just one, then the government should set up such places in all regions and inform the public through a widespread information campaign.
Editor, the reality is that some people will not consume alcohol while others will continue to do so, we have choices and moderation plays a part. Also, adults need to be treated as adults and behave as adults. They should take personal responsibility for their actions and be made to face the consequences, regardless of their state of intoxication. When excuses are taken away, and no person or thing to blame but the abuser, maybe then we will see improvements. What the government can do is to educate the young generation in the school system at the moment, on the danger to their health and well-being, caused by the use of drugs, including alcohol, and the issue of domestic violence. Also, make available free treatment for persons with addictions and increase the availability of counselling services.
Sincerely,
Narissa Deokarran
