Dharmic Sabha stepping up its anti-abuse campaign
By Oluatoyin Alleyne
Twenty-eight-year-old Ramesh Nandkishore and his 30-year-old brother, Taijpaul found their daily recreation in hours of drinking rum and playing cards at their mother’s Foulis, East Coast Demerara home.
On May 7 last they were doing just that when tragedy struck after one brother did not want to give the other $60 he was said to have won in a card game. An argument ensued and at the end of it, Ramesh was allegedly killed by his sibling who stabbed him with a broken bottle. Their mother, who only has two children, effectively lost both of them in one blow since as one lay dead the other was taken away in handcuffs by the police and is now awaiting trial for his brother’s killing.
There could not be a more tragic end to a rum-drinking spree than this, but the reality in Guyana is that the story is not unique. While the many hours of rum-drinking may not end in death it is a fact that many Guyanese men and women waste away their lives and ruin their health drinking alcohol with relatives and friends.
The issue of alcohol abuse has been a serious one in Guyana for a long time particularly in the sugar belt and the historic paucity of recreational activities there. And while the Ministry of Health has signalled that it has recognised the problem, some of the undertakings given by Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, including treating alcoholism as a disease at the various hospitals, have not yet materialised.
But head of the Focal Point Drug Demand Reduction Programme at the Ministry of Health, Sheranne Issacs, recently told Stabroek News that a support group for substance abuse, which includes alcohol, is expected to be set up at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by the end of June through the ministry’s mental health programme. And it was only the week before last the ministry officially launched its anti-drug sensitization programme which is set to air a radio and television series on substance abuse, particularly alcoholism.
However, there is a lot more that needs to be done if Guyana is to seriously deal with the issue of alcoholism, and according to University lecturer and member of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr Vindhya Persaud, one of the ways to tackle the issue is to include it in any HIV/AIDS programme. More importantly Dr Persaud said there was a need to go to the different areas and sensitise residents about alcoholism and treat persons who are in need of treatment, since many of them would not come forward for help. Dr Persaud, a general practitioner, disclosed that her organisation operated a clinic on the East Coast and over a period of four months if she assisted four persons with an alcohol problem that would be many. She said most times the persons did not visit the clinic and indicate up front there was a problem; rather the issue would come up conversationally. She counsels the patients and then refers them to the GPHC for further assistance, especially those who may be suffering from withdrawal syndrome as they attempted to stop drinking.
In recognition of the problem internationally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced that it was set to draw up a global strategy to tackle youth drinking and other forms of harmful alcohol consumption which were blamed for some 2.3 million deaths a year.
Breathalyser
Alcohol is believed to be the major cause of road accidents and Minister Ramsammy in a previous interview had indicated that it was estimated that millions of dollars was spent in the health sector treating accident victims who may have been injured because of drunken drivers. Further, he had pointed to the tremendous burden which was placed on the country’s human resources as a result of such accidents, since not only did many persons die but even more were injured and unable to contribute meaningfully to their families and society.
Some believe that drivers continue to drive with impunity under the influence because there are no laws in Guyana that can be used to prosecute persons who drink and drive, and further there is no way of scientifically proving that a person was drunk when they caused an accident. For this and other reasons member of the non-governmental organisation, Mothers in Black, Denise Dias feels that the police should use the breathalyser, which is a device for reading a person’s blood alcohol level from a breath sample. Should this become a reality, road accidents would not only be reduced but drivers would face the consequences for their drunk driving.
She told Stabroek News recently that as far as she knew the legislation which would make the breathalyser a reality had been drafted and was now with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). She said that it was believed that the final draft would become a reality by the end of the year. This was confirmed by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, who said, however, he could not give a time-frame for when a bill would be taken to parliament for enactment. The minister told Stabroek News that the legislation was important as it would arrest the traffic problem on the country’s roads and would definitely reduce the incidence of drunken driving.
Dias said that she was very optimistic the legislation would be enacted soon as Minister Rohee and the police were behind it. “It [the legislation] is necessary; it will stop some of the road accidents as people will question themselves before drinking and driving. This is one measure that would be good,” Dias said, adding it was something her organisation had been pushing for quite some time.
Guyana is not the only country in the Caribbean that is seeking to introduce the breathalyser in an effort to curb the road accidents, as Trinidad & Tobago is also going in that direction. It was recently reported in the Trinidadian media that the only obstacle preventing it from becoming a reality was the Metrology Act. According to reports there was an issue with that act that needs to be addressed first before the breathalyser could be introduced.
Targeting youths
Dr Persaud in a recent interview with Stabroek News, said her organisation would be targeting youths through a programme they hoped to implement with funding from the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU). She said they had decided to focus on youths, especially women, because they were more receptive to the information. As a university lecturer Dr Persaud said she had also witnessed first hand the consequences of drinking among young people. She said from the Dharmic Sabha’s inception some 34 years ago they had been dealing with the alcohol issue and all of their functions had been alcohol free. This, she said, had ensured that they had violence-free functions. Follow-ing the rise of the many liquor shops around the country, Dr Persaud said the Hindu organisation started a campaign by raising the issue of alcoholism at all their mandirs and made a point of bringing it up at various functions.
Dr Persaud recalled that in 1998 she had given a speech in Anna Regina on the issue, highlighting the harmful effects alcohol had on one’s health and at the end of the speech three elderly men went up to her and stated that they were unaware of the effects their drinking had on their health. One of them promised her he would stop consuming alcohol from that day. That experience made the doctor, who was a student at the time, realise that many people were not sensitised on the issue enough.
It was in 2003 the organisation resuscitated its youth arm and this was followed by a youth conference with representatives from around the country, with the main topic being alcohol abuse. She said the young people spoke about how they were affected by the issue and they did skits on it which also offered solutions to the many problems arising out of the abuse. From that conference, Dr Persaud said they came up with guidelines on how to tackle the issue and one of those was to get people to talk openly about it.
However, she admitted that their success was limited and this was due to the fact that the consumption of alcohol was something that was culturally ingrained, as it was felt by many that they must drink after work, and they must drink among others because it was a social thing. It was last year that they decided after two years to shift their focus from HIV/AIDS and to focus on youths and women in the area of alcohol abuse. And one of the things they found was poor communication between parents and children. She said she lectured at the University of Guyana and was aware of the under-age drinking that went on among the university’s students. “I am really disturbed about this issue especially when it comes to the youths, and for this reason I have been speaking out, the doctor said. She usually appeals to parents to listen when being told something about their children, as often the first reaction of parents was to dismiss anything negative said about them.
Dr Persaud went on to say there was a major link between alcohol and HIV and AIDS because intoxicated persons were more likely to be promiscuous and in those circumstances persons were not thinking level-headedly and could contract the virus or pass it on. “I am appalled at the code of conduct of some young people at the university, especially the women, but I know most times it has to do with the fact that they drink.” Earlier this year there was a fatal stabbing at the university and since then there has been a reduction in imbibing in the university’s compound. According to her most times young women didn’t know how to say no, so they were pressured into drinking and were not aware of the harmful effects the alcohol had on their bodies.
She felt to effectively deal with the issue there needed to be a decrease in the number of shops being granted liquor licences and there should be harsh penalties for those who sell liquor to underage children. She says she was aware of 12 and 13-year-olds who were frequenting liquor restaurants in Berbice in the company of adults. And while these things were being said over and over, Dr Persaud said there was need for enforcement with spot checks being done at liquor shops for underage drinkers. Promoters of events could also assist in the fight by making their events alcohol free, although Dr Persaud admitted that it may be difficult for some of them as many of the events were sponsored by alcoholic beverages. “But they can be responsible in the sale of the alcohol and not just look for the dollar and cents,” she countered. She said she had found that persons were somewhat receptive to the information given but behavioural changes were another issue.
And Dr Persaud mentioned a matter that had been in the media recently, namely the way police officers dealt with domestic violence. She said many women had complained that when they visited police stations and reported they were being abused by their husbands, who most times were under the influence, they did not get any reaction from the police officers who seemed reluctant to act on the reports. She also said she found in Berbice that many women didn’t seem to find it a problem that they were beaten by their husbands, and instead they complained about what she (Dr Persaud) sometimes found to be frivolous issues. Her organisation was in the process of training peer educators who would be at all the mandirs to counsel and sensitise persons on the alcohol issue.
And her fight is not only through her organisation but also in her classrooms, as Dr Persaud requires her students in all of her classes to do presentations on alcohol.
Side bar:
Signs and symptoms: alcohol abuse vs. alcohol dependence
Alcohol abuse How can I tell if I have a problem with alcohol?
Some of the common symptoms of alcohol abuse include the following:
Health:
Continuing to drink even though you have health problems that are affected or caused by your drinking
Financial issues:
Paying bills late; collection agencies calling
Inability to keep track of your money
Legal issues:
Driving while under the influence (DUI)
Risky behaviour:
Putting yourself or others in danger
Employment or school:
Continuing to drink even though you realize your job or education is in jeopardy
Missing work or school, or going in late due to alcohol use
Family and friends:
Feeling annoyed when other people comment on, or criticize your drinking habits
Feeling remorse or guilt after drinking
Associating with questionable acquaintances or frequenting out of the ordinary locations when drinking
Social life:
Scheduling your day around drinking
Focusing recreational activities around obtaining alcohol, drinking or recovering from alcohol use
Drinking alone or in secret
Alcohol dependence: How serious is my drinking?
When does alcohol abuse become alcohol dependence?
Many of the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse overlap with the signs and symptoms of alcohol dependency. There is a fine line between the two, but the crossover occurs when the person becomes dependent on alcohol. An alcoholic is unable to control their drinking, they have built up a tolerance to alcohol which over time requires them to drink larger quantities of alcohol in order to obtain the same effect, and they will usually experience withdrawal symptoms when they don’t drink.
Signs and symptoms of alcohol dependence.
Cravings:
Strong and overwhelming desire to drink alcohol at a specific time or the next morning
Creating a ritual of having drinks before, with, or after dinner, and becoming annoyed when this pattern is disturbed or questioned
Tolerance:
A tendency to drink more than intended to feel the same effect, or being unable to stop drinking once you start to drink alcohol
Consuming a large quantity of alcohol without appearing intoxicated
Effects on memory and motivation:
Not remembering conversations or commitments; sometimes referred to as a ‘blackout’
Losing interest in activities and hobbies that were once pleasurable
Taken from the website, http://www.helpguide.org/about.htm, which is manned by a US Rotarian group.
