Dear Editor,
On Saturday, July18, I attended the CPL match between the Amazon Warriors and the Tridents at the Providence Stadium, and I was quite shocked to see that the rum culture was being promoted amongst spectators on a grand scale. I was seated in the Green Stand in Block 131 and I made some observations that I now share with the general public, parents, government agencies, and social and religious organizations.
I could easily see no less than 15 large advertisements for rum. Rum was being sold from the back by a salesman. It was also sold in the bars below. Seated near to me was a group of teenage girls who were celebrating the 16th birthday of a member of the group. Those girls were each served a double rum from the salesman who at no time requested to see identity cards to ascertain their ages. After the double one of the young ladies went to the bar and returned with a bag full of quarter bottles of rum. Off course rum was being openly consumed by all age groups.
The CPL organizers created such a rum environment with the stupendously loud and idiotic noises emanating from the loud speakers that had nothing to do with cricket. Fans were allowed in with air horns and were encouraged to use them. It was very dangerous to the ear drums to have people blowing horns at the back of other folks’ heads. Infants, toddlers, and young children were suffered to endure such noise. I daresay that an artillery range makes far less noise. But it is the consequences of the rum and noise that I primarily wish to highlight.
All the young children, and there were many in attendance, seeing the rum advertisements, hearing the idiotic noises from the loud speakers, and witnessing their parents and relatives imbibe rum, were being socially and culturally conditioned into a rum culture. By the time they become teens they would also start to abuse alcohol. Rum consumption leads to domestic abuse in the form of wives and children being beaten by their husbands and fathers. It also leads to deprivations in the home with less money to spend on children’s well-being. This affects children’s education and we end up with more school drop outs, more illiteracy, and poverty in Guyana.
Compounding an already existing crisis is the fact that teenage girls are now being pressured into the rum culture. Soon we will have a situation where both parents in a home are alcohol users. When we have a husband with low testosterone, low sperm count, and erectile dysfunction this means less chance of a pregnancy, and so we would see a decline in the population. On the other hand, if the wife does get pregnant her rum consumption would lead to birth defects which in turn would mean additional costs to the health care sector as well as less productive citizens. The rum culture perpetuates poverty and misery.
The rum culture was allowed to flourish during the 23 years of PPP reign. Now that we effected a change in government in May 2015 we now have to continue to struggle for real changes. To begin with I would like to see the Ministries of Education, Health, Social Protection and National Security rework the regulations under which CPL is allowed to operate in Guyana. There must be an end to alcohol advertisements, the sale of alcohol, and the consumption of alcohol at CPL matches. In fact the CPL must be made to promote good messages to Guyanese children and youths such as staying in school and getting an education. The rum company is committed to ensuring it has a future market. We Guyanese must do our part in eradicating the rum culture in order to safeguard our children and grandchildren.
However this is not a task for government alone. All social and religious organizations must get involved in a sustained national campaign to stop alcohol abuse and the perpetuation of the rum culture especially the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, the Indian Arrival Committee, and the Pandits.
Yours faithfully,
Malcolm Harripaul