Dear Editor,
I learn that the government is planning to take serious aim at alcohol. I think this is much awaited, long overdue, and promises lasting benefits, if successful, for many in this society, if not society as a whole. There are problems, though, as it is a long rough road that must be travelled in this battle.
I look around and I recognise that in Guyana, alcohol is cultural. It is social. It is historical. It may even be spiritual. I believe that the government is going to encounter serious headwinds when confronting what many may view (have come to view) as a fundamental right. I suspect that this government is not thinking the equivalent of the Volstead Act (US Prohibition). Even if it wanted to, the result would be further expansion of the growth industries of bootlegging, moonshining, and rum-running. These already exist to some degree and in various forms, involving different products. I think the initial approach has to be multi-dimensional through the not-so-heavy restraining hand and soft-sell of education, awareness, sensitising, and commonsense. Still, I wonder, how far these will go against entrenched mindsets and longstanding traditions.
I have to wonder, how does this society progress from a 2-bottle minimum to a 2-drink maximum? Incidentally, the brew is not beer. Temperance, sobriety, productivity, domestic abuse and violence, road mayhem, crime, and even poverty, could be some of the areas that just might record much-needed improvement. Still, I remind one and all that this plague is not only national in scale, but also a regional, as well as an international one, too. Births and birthdays, sicknesses and deaths, house buying and house warming, and migrating and returning, are all splendid timeless occasions that call for, nay, demand, observation through lubrication. The problem is that observation can spiral, or descend, into the carnival of all out celebration. Been there. Seen that. Done that too. Know when to say no sounds wonderfully constructive, and it is. But how many do?
One for the road is driven not by the length of the road, but is merrily assisted by that now familiar unending Guyanese cycle of “yuh caan guh pun waan foot.” This can turn out to be many liquid revolutions; one strong belt to the head usually results in partakers developing more feet than a centipede. Let the good times roll; and they do for those held joyfully captive by the spirits. Forget about Stockholm Syndrome; this is Demerara doldrums, Berbice bacchanalia, and Essequibo exuberance. Knowing one’s limit can be stretched to the infinity of oblivion. I have seen this up close. Tomorrow is another day. This is what the government challenges in a very well-meaning venture. I am pessimistic.
My pessimism deepens when a recollection comes. In my time, a man who did not drink was not to be trusted. Since his public demon was not on the table in full exhibition, then the darkest suspicions arose as to what could be his secret vice. Wife beater? Child molester? Pornographer? Dirty trickster? That was then (perhaps, still is), but today there is even more company in the legion of imbibers. Today, drinking starts for many, in the early teens. I have heard the whispers, observed some examples. It is a hard liquor crowd from a very tender age. I shudder. They know the ruses, the places, the adult partners doing the exempting and selling.
Clearly, this country (and government) has enough problems with older boozers, but children, too? I confess to not knowing how the government’s thinking will unfold in a country that is proud of a world-famous product, where alcohol does contribute to GDP, and where there may be more liquor shops than grocery stores and churches. Combined. Think of this: the mighty totalitarian communists lost the battle against vodka and even in Islamic states where Koranic prohibitions reign supreme, and sanctions can be draconian, there are occasional lapses. What chance Guyana? Here is another hard fact: not too long ago, the government encountered an enraged shark fest when it tightened drinking hours. Democracy was imperiled. Tyranny was on the march. And the economy was going to hell in a bone-dry state sponsored sendoff. The populace was doused, soused, and aroused to fits of fury.
Drinking age, drink driving (what is that?), early closure, illegal establishments, all smacked of 1984. Liquor is a constitutional right. To listen to many, it is a sacred right too. As should be obvious, the government means well, but so is that road paved with good intentions. It is a pathway, as reconstructed by me, leading to confrontation and more evasion. Guyanese have had long experience and success with the genius of innovation. Try banned foodstuffs, contemplate gold, wildlife, and the grandfather of them all, narcotics. The people in this country not only live under sea level, but they also possess an underground mentality. This translates to survival of the thirstiest.
If I were the government, I would practice the way of the speakeasy on this one. Big sticks bring bigger societal boomerangs. There are no enticing carrots in these beverages. That is, unless they come fermented, specially blended and aged. I wish government and people the best in what is a noble endeavour.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
