Alcoholism has become a way of life for the mixed-race farm workers who tend the South African vineyards

David Blair:

Beneath slender mountain peaks, the immaculate vineyards of South Africa's Cape are the green jewels of the valleys.

This is the idyllic heartland of one of the world's biggest wine industries, attracting tens of thousands of tourists and contributing £1.5 billion to the nation's economy.

It is also the scene of what experts call a "social disaster" - alcoholism has become a way of life for the mixed-race farm workers who tend the vineyards.

Their children suffer from the highest recorded rates of foetal alcohol syndrome in the world. A recent survey of one town in Western Cape Province found that eight per cent of all primary school children suffer from this condition and almost 50 per cent have an alcohol-related birth defect of some kind.

In rural schools, found on the farms themselves, the problem is even worse. Tina Steyn, a teacher at Voor Groenberg primary school, near the wine town of Stellenbosch, estimates that 80 per cent of its children have an alcohol-related disorder.

Their lives are blighted as a result. The syndrome damages the unborn child of an alcoholic mother.

The child will typically have an IQ of 75, stunted growth, facial deformities and be prone to hyperactivity. The simplest schoolwork may be beyond the child.

"Sometimes I cry when I look at them," said Mrs Steyn, 41. "They look at you, but they can't understand what you're saying. You must go slowly, slowly and even then they can't comprehend."

The parents of these children do not conceal their habit. "I enjoy drinking because then I can speak easily, I can say what is in my heart," said Klara Fiks, a 40-year-old farm worker whose son, Jonathan, seven, suffers from the syndrome.

"Alcohol is not bad for you, I'm sure," she added. "Maybe Jonathan will drink as well when he is big."

Mrs Fiks drinks mainly at the weekend. She buys six litres of "papsak", rough wine, for £2.50 every Friday and another six litres on Saturday.

She also drinks "mos" - home-made wine derived from her employer's grapes. Many farm workers - though not all - endure poor housing, low pay and an absence of recreational opportunities.

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