Wales of the 21st century

If we can think of a country of a society as being analogous to a human being, then is it possible to make comparisons between the recovery of a person and the recovery of a nation? The individual who has stopped drinking or taking drugs or engaging in other harmful behaviours often experiences a rebirth, a renaissance, in fact in most instances this rebirth is the strongest chance of a lasting recovery. They must learn, or re-learn authentic and open ways of articulating themselves, a language of recovery that makes them independent, not co dependent. In much the same way, Wales has begun the long process of the reclamation of her identity, and the Renaissance of the Welsh language is gradually becoming her people's way of articulating themselves and their world. Language itself is our most important means of making sense of experience, and Wales quite literally, must find her own way of speaking and feeling in Welsh and also in English, for her society to be at ease with itself. The fact that she is not at ease, not in a state of acceptance, or of harmony, can be seen in every large town and small village, not just in Cardiff, on Saturday night, but also increasingly, all week round. Addiction, once confined to the living room or bedroom, behind the lace curtains, is now spilling on to our streets, the old Wales of community, chapel, proud and not a little puritanical, has been swept away, helped in no small part by alcohol, the drunken displays of violence and illness we see (and, amazingly, featured in the Wall Street Journal in 2010) have made cities like Cardiff renown for this appalling social problem. The curious irony here, and it is one that is once again linked to language and our inability to properly articulate what we mean, is that in the same breath as referring to public alcoholic drinking as a social problem, politicians and commentators to a man put the problem down to individual weakness. The idea that social problems might have social causes, and that they might be the result of anything more than a lack of moral fibre or self restraint on the part of the drinker raises questions that are too incendiary, too deadly for our modern political and cultural discourse to deal with. Questions of exclusion, alienation, boredom, hopelessness, meaninglessness, let alone poverty, fairness or consumerism or egotism are conveniently ignored by mainstream discourse, which is why Wales urgently needs a new language of recovery, a people's language if you will, one that speaks in a multiplicity of tongues but that holds honesty to be its constant. If our society can be thought of as a people making machine, crafting all types of individual consciousnesses, based on whatever settings are programmed in, we must direct our words, and thoughts to ask simply how we have programmed it to produce so many alcoholics, addicts and people who feel addictive substances or behaviours can do for them what they cannot do for themselves. If we are courageous in addressing this question in Welsh, English, Polish and Urdu, in every language where addiction cuts a bloody swathe through communities, then the Wales of the 21st Century will be able to clearly articulate itself as distinct from the rest of the UK, and will be able to show the way to the rest of the peoples of these islands, tormented, as so many of them are, by addiction and fear.

A spiritual dilemma?

Today I was asked my opinion on charities partnering with the alcohol industry, whether through sponsorships, partnerships or accepting funding. Here’s my reply: “It's the Lottery dilemma magnified. Can't using drinks industry money be justified, however, as a means to an end? I think we should take the money from the government and the drinks industry if it helps people recover. We wish to continue and develop our relationship with the drinks industry and the government in promoting responsible drinking. However, there are people in our communities, like those with a nut allergy, who cannot take alcohol in any form. We should welcome what support we can get from whatever source in dealing with this chronic condition and offering first class, on-going support and after-care. However, our goal is to be properly funded. And it goes without saying that we should always operate within the law. What would the Master have done? From my knowledge of Him, he'd have put saving lives as a priority and broken the "rules". He’s my role-model.”

My letter to the Prime Minister

Rt. Hon. David Cameron, MP 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA Dear Mr Cameron, I am writing to you as Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, a charity that promotes recovery from addiction and advocates sensible and healthy choices with regard to drinking. Firstly on behalf of the council, its helpers and clients, may I applaud your decision to pursue an alcohol minimum pricing policy, peer reviewed studies have shown a clear link between minimum pricing and harm reduction. The council itself has been vigorously campaigning in the Welsh media for over a year to see minimum pricing policies introduced in Wales. I am writing to you, however, to urge you to take a further and perhaps more ambitious step in our country's war against addiction, whilst addressing pricing is important, it will only treat the symptoms of the illness and not its cause. Britain could be described as an alcoholic culture, it has all the traits socially that an addict tends to have on an individual level, our national media, where much of our dialogue about alcohol is had, helps to obscure, to rationalise and to justify our nation's drinking. This is how an addict in denial behaves, until he or she is able or willing to face up to the truth. A national debate about drinking needs to be had, not simply one that looks at the relative 'fairness' or 'unfairness' of pricing, but the reasons behind our huge and excessive alcohol consumption and its massive social costs. We need to have a debate about how and why our national alcoholism is facilitated by the media, and to really question what exactly it is that many British people feel that alcohol can do for them that they cannot do for themselves. Sometimes public institutions from small charities such as the Welsh Council all the way up to the office of Prime Minister are reluctant to address big existential questions like 'the purpose of living'. However, when so many people, at such an alarming rate are running away from that very question, and are using alcohol to do it, we must at least pose this question in an accessible way to the British public. If they do not have a chance to answer it, those who are affected by addiction will continue to be defeated by it. The Welsh Council will be considering ways to take this debate and these questions to the British public and hopefully start the long process of changing British attitudes towards alcoholic drinking, and we would like to invite the Government to join us in this. Wynford Ellis Owen Chief Executive Welsh council on Alcohol and Other Drugs 58 Richmond Road Cardiff CF24 3AT T. 029 2049 3895. E. info@welshcouncil.org.uk www.welshcouncil.org.uk & www.livingroom-cardiff.com

Lleiafswm Pris

Ym mywyd pob alcoholig, mae amser yn dod pan na fydd ef neu hi’n gallu anwybyddu cost ofnadwy eu dibyniaeth ac maen nhw’n dawel ac yn drist yn cyfaddef na allan nhw gario ymlaen gyda phethau fel ag y maen nhw.

Mae hyn yn ymddangos yn wir gyda chymdeithasau alcoholig ac mae’r Prif Weinidog ei hun yn ystod yr wythnosau diwethaf wedi cyfaddef mai ei reddf normal fyddai caniatau i gewri bragu, cadwynau tafarndai ac archfarchnadoedd gael pen rhyddid. Mae cyfradd problem yfed Prydain mor fawr fel y dywedodd Edward VII unwaith ‘rhaid gwneud rhywbeth’.

Mae’r rhywbeth hwnnw wedi datgelu ei hun mewn galwad am leiafswm pris alcohol a allai fod yn 50p yr uned, gan gynyddu’n sylweddol cost alcohol sydd mewn termau reol y rhataf y bu erioed ers cadw cofnodion.

Mae’r ddibyniaeth, y salwch, y tristwch, y trais a’r anhrefn y mae’r tswnami hwn o alcohol rhad wedi’u dwyn y tu hwnt i bob amgyffred ond efallai y bydd yr un ffaith hwn yn rhoi golau bychan ar y problemau y mae Prydain yn eu hwynebu ar hyn o bryd; mae meithrinfeydd yng Nghymru’n awr yn cael canllawiau ar sut orau i ddelio â phlant bychan sydd wedi’u geni â syndrom alcohol y ffoetws, cyflwr oes sy’n gwanychu ac yn effeithio ar blant yn gorfforol, yn emosiynol ac yn feddyliol. Mae’r gost i’n hamgylchedd, i’n cymunedau, i’n GIG, i’n ffrindiau ac i’n teuluoedd wedi bod yn un yr ydym fel petaen ni wedi bod yn barod i’w dioddef wrth i frandiau alcohol byd-eang gynyddu eu helw a thalu dim tuag at lanhau eu llanastr. Ond yn awr bydd y gost yn cael ei dioddef gan genhedlaeth o blant hefyd.

Petai’r felin ddur gerllaw’n taflu mwg gwenwynig allan ac yn llygru ein cymdogaethau, gan efryddu plant â dwr llygredig neu gyfyngu ar ddisgwyliad oes pobl ifanc yn eu harddegau, byddai mudiad amgylcheddol wedi codi i herio’r perchnogion i wneud y safle’n ddiogel. Mae hyn wedi digwydd nifer o weithiau ac yn awr, mae mudiad tebyg yn dechrau ymddangos, un y mae’r Prif Weinidog yn ddigon doeth i’w gydnabod a’i gefnogi.

Yn lle torri adenydd y felin ddur sy’n llygru, mae’n rhaid i fân werthwyr alcohol sy’n gwenwyno cymdeithas ac sy’n preifateiddio eu helw ond yn cymdeithasu eu costau, drwy ddeddf gwlad, dderbyn rhywfaint o gyfrifoldeb am y lefel o ddinistrio cymdeithasol y mae alcohol yn ei achosi.

Hanner y stori yn unig yw hyn, fodd bynnag. Os mai cwestiwn o roi treth ar alcohol a newid arferion gwerthu’n unig fyddai hyn, gallem adael y dasg i fyddin o Fandariniaid di-wyneb yn San Steffan ac anghofio popeth amdano. Ond nid hynny yw’r sefyllfa ac ni allwn.

Beth sydd wedi ein harwain at hyn? Rhaid i ni’n awr ofyn y cwestiwn hwn yn ddwys i ni ein hunain, ein teuluoedd a’n cymdogion. Sut rydyn ni wedi cyrraedd pwynt lle, yng ngeiriau’r AS Sarah Wollaston:

"Bydd tua 13 o bobl ifanc yn marw yr wythnos hon o ganlyniad i alcohol, a thua 650 eleni. Mae bron i chwarter o’r holl farwolaethau ymhlith pobl ifanc rhwng 15 a 24 oed yn cael eu hachosi gan alcohol. Mae hyn yn 2 bob dydd - llawer mwy nag sy’n cael eu lladd â chyllell neu o ganser …. “ (Sarah Wollaston aS)

Mae lleiafswm prisiau’n sicr yn gam yn y cyfeiriad cywir, ond dim ond y cam cyntaf, fel y mae’n rhaid i unrhyw alcoholig beidio ag yfed er mwyn dechrau gwella. Dechrau’r siwrne yn unig yw hyn a heb ddeall y poen a’r tristwch personol oedd yn arwain at y ddibyniaeth, mae ail-bwl yn debygol iawn. Rhaid i ni’n awr archwilio ein diwylliant, un sy’n dathlu alcohol ac alcoholiaeth; sy’n annog George Best, Keith Moon, Oliver Reed a Paul Gascoigne fel rebeliaid amharchus, sy’n dehongli marwolaeth Amy Winehouse fel un o 'athrylith yn cael ei harteithio’ ac sy’n gwobrwyo meddwon ac adictiaid X Factor drwy fwy o gyhoeddusrwydd i foddhau ein trythyllwch.

Rhaid i ni archwilio’r anobaith sy’n bodoli yn ein cymdeithas o’r brig i’r gwaelod, sy’n cyflwyno yfed fel rhywbeth amgen i fyw ac sydd wedi codi meddwdod i lefel rhinwedd. Rhaid i ni hefyd archwilio’r hunanaddoliad a’r hunan-amsugnad sy’n hyrwyddo ego y bu’n rhaid i ni i gyd ei gydnabod fel ymddygiad cyfreithus ac sy’n esgor ar niwed personol a chymdeithasol anferthol.

Deallwyd ers amser maith bod cymdeithas sy’n cael ei thanio gan bethau fel hyn yn gwanhau neu’n mewnffrwydro. Felly am amser hir ar ôl i reolau prisio newydd y Llywodraeth ddod i rym, rhaid i ni, fel mater o raid, gynnal trafodaeth genedlaethol am bwy ydyn ni a pham ein bod yn yfed.

Minimum pricing

In the life of every alcoholic, a moment arrives when he or she can no longer ignore the terrible costs of their addiction, and they quietly and sadly concede that they cannot go on any more with the way things are.

This appears to be the case with alcoholic societies, and the Prime Minister himself in recent weeks has conceded that even though his normal instincts are to let brewing giants, pub chains and supermarkets run riot, the scale of Britain's drinking problem is so great that, as Edward VIII once put it, 'something must be done'.

That something has manifested itself in a call for minimum alcohol pricing, which could come to 50p per unit, substantially increasing the cost of alcohol, which in real terms is the cheapest it has been since records began.

The addiction, illness, misery, violence and chaos that this tsunami of discounted alcohol has brought with it is almost beyond counting, but perhaps this one fact will shed a little light on the problems Britain now faces; nurseries in Wales are now being given guidance on how best to deal with young children born with foetal alcohol syndrome, a debilitating and life long condition that affects children physically emotionally and mentally. The cost to our shared environment, to our communities, to our NHS, to our friends and families has all been one which we seem to have been willing to bear as global alcohol brands accumulate vast profits and pay nothing towards cleaning up their messes, but now the cost will be borne by a generation of children too.

If the nearby steel mill was belching out poisonous fumes and polluting our neighbourhoods, crippling children with contaminated water or reducing life expectancy amongst teenagers, an environmental movement would evolve to challenge the owners and make the plant safe. This has happened on numerous occasions, and now there is the beginning of a similar sort of movement, one which the Prime Minister is savvy enough to recognise and court.

Instead of clipping the wings of a polluting steel mill, however, socially polluting alcohol retailers who privatise their profits but socialise their costs must now be forced by law to accept some responsibility for the level of social destruction wrought by alcohol.
This is but half the story however. If it were simply a question of taxing alcohol and changing sales practices, we could leave the task to an army of faceless Whitehall Mandarins and forget all about it. But it isn't, and we can't.

What has led us to this place? We must now earnestly ask ourselves, our families and our neighbours this question. How did we get to a point where, in the words of MP Sarah Wollaston:

"About 13 young people will die this week as a result of alcohol, and about 650 this year. Nearly a quarter of all deaths of young people aged between 15 and 24 are caused by alcohol. That is two every day - far more than are killed by knife crime or cancer..."

Minimum pricing is certainly a step in the right direction, but only a first step, just as any alcoholic must initially stop drinking in order to start getting well, it is but the very beginning of the journey and without understanding the personal pain and sorrow that led to addiction, relapse is highly likely. We must now examine our culture, one that celebrates alcohol and alcoholism, that cheers on George Best, Keith Moon, Oliver Reed and Paul Gascoigne as irreverent rebels, that interprets the death of Amy Winehouse as the result of 'tortured genius' and rewards X Factor drunks and addicts by more publicity to satisfy our prurience.

We must examine the hopelessness that exists in our society from top to bottom, that presents drinking as an alternative to living, and that has raised drunkenness to the level of a virtue. We must also examine the narcissism and ego fuelled self absorption that we have now all been forced to recognise as legitimate behaviour, and which results in immense personal and social harm.

It has long been understood that societies that are fuelled by such things inevitably weaken or implode, so long after the Government's new pricing rules come into effect, we must, as a matter of absolute necessity, be engaging in a national debate about who we are and why we drink.

Ar ddydd Gwener y Groglith, dewch i ni ystyried rhai pethau

Mae’r cam cyntaf at adferiad o ddibyniaeth ar alcohol, cyffuriau neu ymddygiadau niweidiol eraill megis pornograffi, rhyw, gamblo, hunan-niweidio, camddefnyddio bwyd ayyb. yr un fath yn union â’r cam cyntaf tuag at ffydd: sef ein bod yn sylweddoli ein hangen am help, ac na fedrwn wneud dim i achub ein hunain o grafangau’r cyffur neu’r obsesiwn sydd wedi ein goddiweddyd, heb gymorth Pŵer uwch na ni. Dyna pryd mae dioddefaint - yn ôl Rollo May, y seicotherapydd byd enwog, “O bosibl, y grym mwyaf creadigol ym myd Natur” - yn arf effeithiol iawn i sbarduno’r broses o adfer. Dioddefaint yn ddi-os gafodd fi i newid fy ffyrdd.

Dyna pryd mae Duw yn gallu cyffwrdd â’r enaid drwy grac yr ymwadiad yn y bersonoliaeth - yr ymwadiad sy’n nodweddu’r cyflwr, ac sy’n mynnu dweud wrth y dioddefwr nad oes dim byd yn bod arno. Dyna un diffiniad o wallgofrwydd, mae’n debyg - yr anallu i amgyffred yn llawn ein gwir gyflwr. Mae pawb arall yn gweld yn glir beth yw’r broblem - ein bod yn ddibynnol ar bethau allanol (alcohol/cyffuriau ayyb) i wneud i ni deimlo’n well - pawb, hynny yw, ond ni ein hunain. Yn hytrach, dewiswn ni feio neu feirniadu pawb arall am ein cyflwr; a bod y datrysiad yn eu dwylo nhw, ac nid o fewn ein gallu ni ein hunain. (Mae sgitsoffrenia yn gyflwr arall sy’n meddu ar yr un nodwedd.)

Mae sawl llwybr at y Dwyfol, wrth gwrs. Mae rhai yn canfod yr allwedd drwy brofiadau annisgwyl yr ysbryd sy’n deillio o sefyllfaoedd cyffredin bywyd bob dydd, ac sy’n dal sylw dyn drwy gynnig iddo flas anghyffredin ar fyw. Mae eraill yn ufuddhau, heb wybod yn iawn pam, i fynych anogaethau’r ‘llais bach tu mewn’, ac yn canfod y ‘bywyd gwynfydedig’ drwy wneud hynny. Dyma lwybr Paul a Ffransis o Assisi at y Creawdwr. Mae llwybr anobaith yn llwybr dilys hefyd: pobl sydd wedi methu darganfod pwrpas i’w bywydau yw'r rhain, ac wedi anobeithio’n llwyr gan droeon trwstan a siomedigaethau bywyd. Hunanladdiad neu gymryd siawns (gambl) ar Dduw yw’r unig ddau ddewis sy’n weddill iddynt. Canfyddant y Duwdod am nad oes dihangfa arall yn agored iddynt o’u hadfyd. (Maent yn rhy llwfr i gymryd yr opsiwn eithaf). Dyma’r llwybr a gymrodd Sant Awstin i’r tragwyddol - fel sawl un arall, yn cynnwys fi. Ac mae’r niwrotig yntau, ar goll ac yn ddigyfeiriad, yn canfod Duw trwy ei boen. Yn wir, po ddyfnaf yw’r boen; y dyfnaf yw’r llawenydd o’i wynebu’n wrol fel y gwnaeth Luther. Yna, wrth gwrs, mae’r ychydig call yn sylweddoli bod mwy i fywyd na’r bersonoliaeth a materoliaeth. Chwenychant ragorach ffordd o fyw a chanfod, drwy ddyfalbarhad, deyrnas ogoneddus Duw.

Yn ôl Morton Kelsey yn ei lyfr Encounter with God (Hodder and Stoughton, 1972), gwyleidd-dra sy’n nodweddu’r llwybrau hyn i gyd. Y sylweddoliad nad yw pethau fel y dylent fod, a bod rhywbeth rhagorach yn eisiau yn ein bywydau. Dyna pam bod cyfforddusrwydd a bodlonrwydd yn rhwystrau ar y daith ysbrydol. Mae hawddfyd yn rhwystro Duw rhag cyrraedd atom.

Gyda llaw, ni allwch fyth fod yn rhy dwp i ganfod y llwybr at Dduw. Ond mi fedrwch chi fod yn rhy glyfar o’r hanner.
Yn y Stafell Fyw, felly, ein gwaith pennaf yw graddol ddatgelu’r crac yn y bersonoliaeth i’r dioddefwyr (eu bod yn doredig), a’u galluogi i sylweddoli eu hangen am help. Dyna ddechrau’r broses o adferiad a’r daith hir at hunan-adnabyddiaeth. Mae hynny’n hollol angenrheidiol, oherwydd ni allwch ddod i berthynas iach â’ch cyd- ddyn na’ch Duw heb adnabyddiaeth lwyr o’r hunan.

‘The way out is in’ chwedl Leo Tolstoy - ac mae’n daith fewnol sy’n gofyn am onestrwydd, ymroddiad llwyr a dyfalbarhad am oes. Weithiau ceir deffroadau ysbrydol sydyn a Damasgaidd. Ond, ar y cyfan, tân siafins o bethau yw'r rhain. Diffoddant yr un mor gyflym heb y dyfalbarhad a’r gefnogaeth angenrheidiol. A dyna ddau wasanaeth arall mae’r Stafell Fyw yn ei gynnig yn ddiwahân i’r adferwyr: cefnogaeth ac ôl-ofal am oes. Na, yr un yw taith y pererin a’r adict tuag at gyfanrwydd. Mae crac ynom i gyd..

WANTED/YN EISIAU - A Recovery Hymn/Emyn Adferiad

YN EISIAU

EMYN I DDATHLU SUL ADFERIAD CYNTAF CYMRU

Mae Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill yn chwilio am emyn newydd ar gyfer dathlu Sul Adferiad cyntaf Cymru.

Bydd yr emyn buddugol yn cael ei gynnwys yn y gwasanaeth swyddogol ar gyfer Sul Adferiad, 7 Hydref 2012.

Mae Sul Adferiad yn fenter newydd gan Gyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill i dynnu sylw at y ffaith anorchfygol fod dibyniaeth ar alcohol a chyffuriau eraill yn chwalu bywydau. Hyd yn oed o fewn eglwysi, mae pobl a theuluoedd yng nghrafangau dibyniaeth. Mae Sul Adferiad yn gyfle i ofyn i Dduw alluogi ei holl blant i weld y perffeithrwydd sydd ynddynt eu hunain.

Bydd y Sul Adferiad cyntaf yn cyd-daro â lansiad Apêl Ecwmenaidd ar gyfer y Stafell Fyw, y ganolfan drin dibyniaeth gyntaf i gael ei sefydlu gan Gyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill.

Bydd gwasanaeth Sul Adferiad yn cael ei anfon i filoedd o eglwysi o bob enwad ledled Cymru. Rydym yn chwilio am emyn Cymraeg a Saesneg, ac mae’r gystadleuaeth yn agored i unigolion ymgeisio yn y ddwy iaith. Beth amdani?

I gael ysbrydoliaeth, beth am ymweld â gwefan Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, www.cyngorcymru.org.uk?

Beirniad: Luned Aaron (dramodydd a chyflwynydd Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol)

Dyddiad cau: 1 Gorffennaf 2012.

Anfonwch eich emynau i Gyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, 58 Heol Richmond, Caerdydd CF24 3AT neu i info@welshcouncil.org.uk.
WANTED

A HYMN TO CELEBRATE WALES’ FIRST RECOVERY SUNDAY

The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs is seeking a new hymn to celebrate Wales’ first Recovery Sunday.

The winning hymn will be featured in the official service for Recovery Sunday, 7 October 2012.

Recovery Sunday is part of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ campaign to draw attention to the tragic fact that addiction to alcohol and other drugs wrecks lives. Even within our churches, people and families fall into the claws of addiction. Recovery Sunday is an opportunity to ask God to enable all His children to see the perfection within us all.

The first Recovery Sunday will coincide with the launch of an Ecumenical Appeal for The Lioving Room Cardiff, which is the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ first rehabilitation centre.

The Recovery Sunday service will be sent to thousands of churches of all denominations all over Wales. We’re looking for an English and a Welsh hymn, and individuals are welcome to compete in both languages. How about it?

For inspiration, why not visit the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ website, www.welshcouncil.org.uk?

Judge: Luned Aaron (dramatist and presenter of Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol)

Closing date: 1 July 2012.

Send your hymns to the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, 58 Richmond Road, Cardiff CF24 3AT or to info@welshcouncil.org.uk