What does it say about a society when alcohol leaves one person blind, claims the life of a spouse, and in another household consumes 14 years of a young person’s life? These are not just tragic personal stories but rather warning signs of a much bigger problem that has been unfolding quietly in our communities. Behind every person whose life has been destroyed by alcohol abuse is often a family carrying the burden. There are children deprived of care, spouses left to pick up the pieces, parents watching helplessly as their children drift away, and communities losing people who should otherwise be productive members of society. This is why the campaign recently launched by government against illicit and substandard alcoholic beverages deserves unequivocal support by everybody who cares about the future of our country. Within our communities, dangerous brews have been readily available, mostly sold cheaply enough to attract the most vulnerable, including young people. Their consequences have been visible in trading centres and neighbourhoods where some people begin drinking early in the morning and spend productive hours intoxicated. Had this trend, which was most prevalent amongst the youth, been allowed to continue unchecked, Rwanda risked losing a significant section of a generation to addiction. Government intervention was therefore necessary. Producers who place unsafe alcoholic products on the market cannot hide behind the argument that they are running businesses or creating employment. No investment is worth a human life. However, shutting down factories and removing dangerous products from shelves and disposing them off should only be the beginning. The fight must also target illegal production and distribution networks that could attempt to fill the vacuum. More importantly, those already trapped in addiction need rehabilitation, counselling and pathways back into productive life. Families, local leaders, schools, religious institutions, artistes, influencers and the media also have a role to play. Alcohol abuse should never be normalised simply because it has become familiar in some communities. The two accounts we have recently read should therefore trouble us, but they should also strengthen our resolve. One life lost is one too many. One young person surrendering their most productive years to addiction is one too many. The crackdown on illicit alcohol is not simply about regulating beverages. It is about protecting families, preserving human potential and saving a generation before more lives are irreversibly damaged. However, this is not a fight that will be left to government and security agencies alone. For it to succeed, we must own it as a community.
