It is that time of year again when teens start planning their end-of-exams “pens down” parties.
It is understandable why young people need to celebrate the end of a stressful period of examinations.
A celebration also seems to be a fitting coda to the traumatic dance most of our pupils go through during the school year in negotiating all sorts of obstacles that no child should have to.
Many have to learn in dilapidated schools with overcrowded classrooms, unsafe bathrooms and a dearth of sports facilities.
Even getting to school can be a challenge, with the unsustainably expensive state scholar transport system constantly breaking down.
And so, when it all finally ends and holidays stretch ahead, many pupils want to celebrate with a party.
But when you add alcohol or drugs to the fuel of youthful joy and exuberance, the consequences are potentially horrific — as the people of this province are well aware.
The cutting short of the lives of 21 youngsters, some as young as 13, at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London’s Scenery Park more than two years ago should have served as a huge wake-up call to parents and other adults who are duty-bound to ensure that our children are safe from harm.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t. Several disturbing incidents of underage drinking have been reported in the Eastern Cape and elsewhere.
At the end of each examination period, police and municipal authorities battle to deal with drunken teenagers at flashpoints such as the East London beachfront.
Apart from the dangers of overcrowding in venues such as Enyobeni, the excessive alcohol consumption results in fights, car accidents and even rape and other crimes.
That is apart from the obvious dangers such as alcohol poisoning.
We should all be saying “never again” and taking every care to make sure it doesn’t
In anticipation of the end-of-year crisis, the Eastern Cape Liquor Board embarked this week on its seasonal “Anti-Pens Down Campaign” to discourage what it called the “harmful culture of post-examination parties”.
It is a commendable effort but more needs to be done.
Most teenagers are not known for having developed appropriate judgment and are likely to ignore warnings of the potentially dangerous outcomes of alcohol consumption.
Responsible adults, including parents, teachers and the police, need to ensure these parties don’t happen.
Hanging over it all should be the prospect of consequences for lawbreakers and adults who fail to exercise their duty of care — something that is not properly managed in the Eastern Cape.
Those who facilitate the sale of alcohol to minors or allow them into a venue which sells it should face criminal penalties.
It took years for even an inquest to begin into the Enyobeni tragedy to ascertain whether there should be criminal liability. That inquest is still under way.
Those affected have been denied clarity and closure. Those responsible have not faced consequences for actions which resulted in the entirely foreseeable tragedy.
We should all be saying “never again” and taking every care to make sure it doesn’t.
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