The booze curse
Communities ravaged by drunken abuse and crime
GET rid of shebeens, which are destroying families and communities. That’s the plea from welfare organisations who warn that alcoholism is fast becoming a leading cause of the degeneration of society.
As more illegal watering holes spring up in suburbs like Phoenix and Chatsworth, NGOs dealing with children and abused women say the government needs to take action before more damage is done.
The abuse of alcohol was a major factor in domestic abuse cases, said Aroona Chetty, director of Phoenix Child Welfare.
“Many of our abuse and domestic violence cases come from homes in which a parent is an alcoholic. Some fathers, in their intoxicated state, would even sexually abuse their children while others would come home and physically and emotionally abuse them.”
Added Chetty: “Money is used not to purchase food or pay the rent but is used to buy alcohol. This leads to couples fighting and arguing and results in domestic violence.
“Some alcoholics, in order to pay their bills, will borrow money from loan sharks but are unable to pay them back causing additional problems for the family.”
Chetty said alcohol was too easily accessible – in many cases just a short walk to a shebeen.
“If you drive around Phoenix almost every street has a bottle store or tavern.
“Both men and women, before heading home, will stop at the tavern to have their drinks.
“These businesses manipulate and entice the community. If you go to areas like Durban North you would never find something like this.”
She said the government needed to clamp down on these establishments.
The president of Chatsworth Child Welfare, Logan Naidu, said educational awareness by all stakeholders was key to bringing some relief to the problem.
“Alcoholism in Chatsworth is prevalent and along with drugs it is a lethal combination.
“We have had cases of domestic violence between husbands and wives, siblings as well as parents and children.
Naidu said the government did not have any idea how easily accessible alcohol was to the community.
“In Chatsworth almost every street has a tavern and this breaks down the fabric of our society. Alcohol has a direct impact on the family.
“Within half an hour of a person drinking a bottle of vodka they become intoxicated and in that state they cause havoc in their homes.”
Disease
He said in order to curb the problem the government, NGOs and religious bodies needed to start making people aware of the effects of this “deadly disease”.
The national co-ordinator for the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca), Louina le Roux, said alcoholism was a growing problem in South Africa without gender, race and wealth differentiation.
“When a person consumes alcohol the person’s self-control, decision-making processes and behaviour are severely affected.
“This results in the structure of the family being negatively affected. Rules, roles, rituals and hierarchies change in these families. The communication and interaction patterns also change.”
She said getting help was the first step.
“When a family member is going through treatment it’s important that the family educate themselves on the recovery process.
“If your recovering family member is living with you, provide a sober environment to support that recovery.”
She urged people to support their family member’s involvement in treatment, after care meetings and recovery support groups.
“Assist the recovering family member with locating sober housing, employment, child care, transportation or other recovery support needs.”
The spokeswoman for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Welfare, Ncumisa Ndelu, said alcoholism was a growing problem throughout the country, especially among youths.
“We have found that youths have been experimenting with alcohol and in order to curb this issue we have started awareness drives at schools.
“We believe teaching children about the effects of alcoholism at a young age will work as a preventative measure.”
Ndelu said currently the department had two treatment facilities, in Newlands East and Newcastle.
“We have pumped close to R90 million into other non-profit organisations who assist alcoholics and we work closely with families who are affected.”
Ndelu said they were unable to clamp down on taverns because these outlets were monitored by the eThekwini Municipality and the liquor board.
THE generosity of a businessman and his wife has led to the establishment of a centre for recovering alcoholics.
A double-storey house in Silverglen, Chatsworth was bought by Proach Hansraj and his wife, Amretha, and leased to the Recovery Centre for Alcoholics, on an evergreen basis at a nominal amount.
The centre, which is run on a voluntary basis by ex-teachers and headed by retired principal Lall Sukram, moved into the new premises late last year.
According to Amretha, the idea of the centre came about after she and her husband witnessed the effects alcohol had on a family friend.
“The friend was a good man and provider for his family but drank excessively.
“We watched this and knew something needed to be done. So we bought and leased the property in Silverglen to the centre.”
She said through the muchneeded facility she hoped other people would get the help they needed.
Sukram said the centre offered a free 14- to 21-day stay-in period for men over the age of 18.
“Each patient is given a room to sleep in and meals. Our programme offers counselling and, as part of the recovery programme, patients are also involved in gardening.”
He said doctors were on call to perform medical checks.
The centre is sponsored by businesses and receives donations from individuals. An annual golf tournament is also held to raise funds.
Successes
Since opening in July 2010, the centre, which was run from a rented house in Riversdale Road in Silverglen before the move to new premises, has helped on average nine people a month.
“We’ve had a few cases where people went through the programme and their lives did not improve.
“But most of our cases were success stories,” said Sukram.
“Individuals were reunited with their families. Men who were once outcasts in society started living more stable lives, with many finding employment.”
The centre can be reached at 031 401 7614.