The Vanguish of the Last demon

By Wanjala Wafula

I was recently invited to a house warming party by my all time Kamen Uruji who is a coastal stalwart christened the sea lion. He is from the Pokomo tribe, who revere the Kaya shrines and whose gods even the sea obeys. For many years, I have known Kamen as a drink sturdy resolute whose adventures even the hardened alcoholics dreaded. His was always the only one standing when the rest of the set was in the comfort and mercy of their ancestors. Those of us who know him well were already preparing extracts for his obituary, save for his silence and the abrupt “reincarnation”.

During the party, Kamen pleasantly surprised everyone in attendance when he tossed to the occasion with a glass whose content we least expected. It was a glass of freshly squeezed mango juice, which he ably described as a kiss of life. He intricately told us about his torment with alcohol and the numerous occasions when he came so close to joining his ancestors. His was an alcohol free house now and his wife of twenty years confirmed that the formerly self-described “master of the drink” had finally witnessed the vanquish of the last demon. It’s upon this confession that I submit this piece.

I insist that the mind and body altering alcohol and drugs are a massive industry upon which many economies depend. They remain a key factor to global commerce, hence driving advertising and emerging social trends. Yet, they are a cardinal driver of the skyrocketing violence and crime in many societies. A recent survey in Uganda confirms that most of the road carnage is related to driving under the influence of alcohol. In Kenya, it’s estimated that over 60% of road accidents have a direct correlation to excessive consumption of alcohol. Experts authoritatively affirm that alcohol related accidents alone kill more people in the productive age bracket than malaria and typhoid combined in South Africa.

Alcohol and drugs are a source of pain and desolation for the users, their families and society in general. Every year an estimated 210 million people use illicit drugs, with almost 200,000 of them dying annually. Drug use and alcoholism are not only a health peril, but also threaten global stability and socio-economic development across the world. In Kenya, drug abuse has permeated all layers of society with the youth and young adults being the most affected groups. It’s a silent epidemic whose effects society tussles with yet reluctantly accepts.

There is a much tacit attribute of drug and alcohol abuse which is the link to the gender and sexual violence meted against women, girls and now boys. I hasten to insist that the alcohol demon is currently tormenting both women and men to the same measure and both genders are feeling the effect even though women and girls are paying a bigger price for the vice. I hasten to mention that alcohol regulatory measures around the African continent are currently bedeviled by corruption, poverty, joblessness and the list remains endless.

Cultural and social drivers of alcoholism and drug abuse abound yet basically unchallenged. Traditional cultural practices reflect values and beliefs held by members of a community for periods often spanning generations.Every social grouping in the world has specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs,some of which are beneficial to all members, while others are harmful to a specific group,such as boys, men, women and girls.

The socializing processes observed for boys and girls are designed and rigorously applied to instill a feeling of superiority to boys while girls are groomed to accept subjugation and inferiority with apathy.This established patriarchal system has long endured the passage of time cutting across geographical boundaries as well as religious and class differences. I dare submit here that there is a direct link between the socialization processes and alcohol abuse in most communities in Africa. The very definition of manhood as enshrined in many traditions across the continent play a major role the kind generational decay characterized by alcohol and substance abuse.

The bleak reality is that the harmful traditional practices including alcohol consumption have for a longtime now been performed for male benefit.Female sexual control by men,and the economic and political subordination of women,perpetuate the inferior status of women. I have debated before that there is a direct link between excessive alcohol consumption and the rigid socialization of boys in certain communities across Africa. I have also insisted that negative cultural practices including the tolerance of excessive consumption of alcohol contribute to an environment where women and the girl child have unequal access to education, wealth,health and employment as is the case in many countries across the Africa.

We urgently need to address the unhelpful masculinities that have bestowed a sense of “superiority” to men and boys while and socializing women and girls into subservience and suffering. We have to address harmful socialization processes as leading contributors to the high levels of alcohol and drug use. We have to confront the pressure put on the youth to engage in alcohol and drug abuse as piloted by market forces and driven by the media. We ought to challenge the “modern” attributes and definitions of stardom and fame which continue to drive many youth to the dungeon of drug abuse and excessive alcoholism.

We have to contribute to the demise of the last demon.