In the streets in Cameroon, around marketplaces, and at bus stations, a scourge is spreading. For just 100 francs, sachet whisky has become the illusory refuge of unemployed, idle youth and exhausted motorcycle-taxi drivers worn down by hardship.
A momentary escape, they think. In reality, it’s one step closer to self-destruction.
This liquid is far from ordinary alcohol. It is a toxic mixture: industrial alcohol, methanol, dangerous dyes, chemical residues.
A slow poison that ravages the brain, destroys the liver and kidneys, attacks fertility, and alters behavior, plunging many young people into violence, irresponsibility, and dependence.
In motorcycle-taxi parks, the scene has become commonplace: a sachet swallowed between rides to “keep going,” to forget unemployment, hunger, the absence of a future.
But this false courage comes at a high price: accidents, serious illnesses, shattered lives, grieving families.
The danger is known. Laws exist, bans are in place. Yet on the ground, silence, complacency, and the pursuit of profit allow this poison to circulate freely, sacrificing an entire generation.
In the face of this tragedy, indifference is no longer acceptable. Refusing to buy, raising awareness among youth, challenging authorities, organizing civic pressure—every action counts.
Protecting unemployed youth and motorcycle-taxi drivers means protecting the very future of our cities.
To speak out, to alert, to act is not a luxury. It is an emergency.
Let us not allow our youth to die cheaply. 100 francs should never again cost a life.
