The effects of war and colonization: Alcohol and Mental Health Connection in South Sudanese Men

South Sudanese men on the battlefield or off the battlefield have faced the brunt of many civil wars. Their health is rarely a discourse or a focal point when discussing the effects of warfare, colonization and the mental health issues gained from such experiences. Since the independence of Sudan in 1956, South Sudanese have fought an uphill battle to liberate their people from being second or third-class citizens on their native soil. Their image, customs, beliefs and philosophies have been connected with a lack of development, backwardness, and uncivilized and primitive stereotypes throughout the world via the Arab North. Entities who wished to dampen their spirit or control their native territories have always questioned their sense of self, masculinity, and the space they occupy. The plethora of mental health issues, generational poverty, lack of development and investment, and health care tailored to men have not been prioritized, which poses a problem. 

The South Sudanese man's plight began in the 5th century B.C. (Diop, 2012) with the conquest of East Africa by the Arabs who went and started the Arab slave trade. Since those times, they have faced an uphill battlefield with surviving their people's ancestry, ways and claim to the territory. In this case, we are talking about thousands of years of unpacked traumas that peaked in the 21st century. The 21st-century conflicts are the climax calling us to change and heal the collective section by section. Men's mental health and overall well-being have to be made essential. South Sudan's culture is patriarchal, and that's what prevents discourse around mental health and trauma. Because men's health is not addressed or looked into due to false notions of masculinity, cultural heritage and pride, these things prevent the culture, the country and relevant bodies from looking into mental health due to the stigmas surrounding mental health and treatment. Men are supposed to survive anything, and only a weak man lets others know they are hurt; those are notions that don't serve the country or our future. 

As a result, thousands of years of trauma go untreated in South Sudanese men. The presence of trauma post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety, to name a few in men, have resulted in many preventable illnesses. One of the coping mechanisms is alcohol. Lien et al. (2016) defined that "alcohol use and risky drinking are critical public health issues worldwide, evidenced by alcohol as the third-highest contributor to the global burden of disease." Alcohol is not a disease but a symptom of the disease, and we as a society blame alcohol as the problem. If we can get them to stop drinking, their problems will disappear, but issues don't go away unless they are directly addressed. 

It was found that ‘’being male, lack of regular income and psychological distress were the main risk factors for alcohol misuse among this randomly selected population from the northwestern part of South Sudan. This is in line with a study on drinking patterns in 20 different African countries, which found that middle-aged, adult sub-Saharan African males appeared to be the most common alcohol consumers as well as risky drinkers in Africa‘’ (Lien, 2016). The making and consumption of alcohol are not foreign to South Sudanese people and their culture. The local names of the drinks are called Soko, Aragi, and Mawer. They are made from dates and yeast predominantly produced by women and consumed mainly by males (Lien 2016). The alcohol problem and the solution to it are a collective one. Women make money in these dire times, and men use alcohol to soothe their woes. 

In conclusion, alcohol is a global public health crisis. Still, South Sudan faces the worst of it due to our history of ongoing conflicts, generational poverty, lack of opportunity, and untreated trauma inherited since the 5th century B.C. Alcohol is a public health crisis that has no national treatment plan at the moment. Untreated traumas lead to psychological stress disorders, anxieties, posttraumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety, and many more and most use alcohol as a coping mechanism. This public health crisis needs to be handled with a nationalized healthcare plan fully funded by the state. The government has contributed to the ongoing problem by not honouring its principles of delivering jobs, opportunities, education and development. 

References: 

Diop, C. A., & Cook, M. (2012).The African origin of civilization: Myth or reality. Chicago Review Press.

Lien, L., Hauff, E., Martinez, P., Eide, A. H., Swarts, L., & Ayazi, T. (2016). Alcohol use in South Sudan in relation to social factors, mental distress and traumatic events.BMC public health,16(1), 1-7.