“FAS doesn’t only concern women and mothers. It concerns everyone. If we take into account every aspect of society that it affects, the cost amounts to some €200 million (US$230 million) every year, in the island of Reunion alone. National education, the justice system, the health system – all public bodies are affected. In France, the cost is as much as €10 billion ($11.5 billion) every year,” Dr Denis Lamblin, who chairs the association, FAS France from the island of Reunion, tells Equal Times.

Every year, at least 150 children are born with the syndrome in this French overseas department.

The Canadian province of Manitoba and the French department of Reunion have decided to come together to share their experience as a resource centre in the prevention of foetal exposure to alcohol. They share the same struggle, as the number of births is almost identical in these two parts of the world. The prevalence of FOS is also the same.

At the beginning of May, a delegation of Canadian experts travelled to Reunion, and to the island’s court, because the judicial authorities are also developing an awareness of the devastation caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

The Public Prosecutor and the President of the Court of Appeal of Saint-Denis have, moreover, signed an international charter on the prevention of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“In some instances, the behaviour of habitual offenders can be explained by neurological disorders developed in the womb. Today, young people need to be diagnosed before they end up in prison,” explains Dr Lamblin.

In Reunion, it is estimated that over a thousand adolescents suffer from foetal alcohol syndrome.

The island has just been designated as a pilot department and will be equipped with one or two diagnosis centres in the next three years.

 
Voice of the victims 

The teams on the ground cannot say it enough: women alone cannot shoulder responsibility for FAS. To understand the causes of alcoholism, we have to immerse ourselves in their journey.

Noéma is among the first to have dared to face the judgement of society. A former alcoholic, now she is sober. And she is determined to speak out for the 7000 other women in Reunion who are dependent on alcohol and who have not yet been able to find help. They hide and lock themselves inside this chronic illness.

It was a family tragedy that plunged Noéma into alcoholism. The father of her two children died, after being severely beaten, on 31 December 1992.

“I would drink everything I had: beer, wine, rum. I cannot even remember how much.”

Three years later, Noéma fell in love again and became pregnant. Three years of alcohol addiction cannot, however, be cured overnight. She continued to drink during her pregnancy, but her midwife picked up on it and put her in touch with ReuniSaf, the name of the FAS prevention network at the time.

Her daughter Stéphie is now twenty years old. She inherited the effects of alcohol on the foetus but thanks to early detection she was able to recover certain mental faculties damaged at foetal stage.

“I cannot hold it against my mother, it can happen to anyone,” says Stéphie, who is proud of her mother for managing to overcome her addiction. Noéma has not touched a drop of alcohol for 17 years.

FAS is a silent threat. Some children show no physical signs. It is often learning difficulties or behavioural problems that reveal the brain disorders such as attention deficit, dyscalculia, dyslexia and dysphasia.

“It is at school that Guilhem showed the early warning signs. He struggles with spelling and, above all, has great difficulty concentrating,” confides Magalie Monier to Equal Times.

This mother-of-four adopted Guilhem in Russia. The diagnosis has only just been confirmed: he also suffers from foetal alcohol syndrome.

“It was in Reunion that we were able to put a name to his problems. During his early childhood, each medical consultation would lead nowhere. The lack of training in the medical profession, as well as among teachers, is a real problem.”

The child bears no physical signs. And he is very clear about the causes of his disability. “FAS? It’s when the mother boozes, boozes and boozes and the baby gets it all.”

At age 11, Guilhem has the bluntness of an adult without a filter. “He can be very cutting, or even nasty when he is annoyed. When we’re in public, people don’t understand, they just think he’s a bad-mannered child. His disability does not show on his face,” adds Magalie.

Emmanuelle was diagnosed later in life. She is 38 years old and is finally able to understand, after years of research, why she has never been able to hold down a job or fit into a group.

She recently met Magalie, Noéma and many other parents of children with this syndrome. She has been very angry since Dr Lamblin gave her the diagnosis, but she is trying to forgive her mother.

“My mother had a serious alcohol problem and it killed her. My father didn’t drink. But he died of exhaustion helping my mother. I am far from being the only victim of this poison in the family.”

They all hope that the joint research between Canada and Reunion will finally produce concrete results and allow future generations to avoid the same kind of disorders.