The Youth Are Suicidal If Left Alone
- Category: Gender
- Date 16-01-2005
- 280 views
There is currently growing apprehension about the youth and their conduct in the social arena, and thus significant uproar from religious leaders, among many others, has risen to a sudden crescendo. The reported mysterious youth programmes ongoing nowadays in Dar es Salaam and probably elsewhere deserve some amount of pondering. It has been said that the youth, while attending youth camps, engage in suspicious practices such as selling of stolen property, and drug abuse.
Mr. John Mkello, the Acting Regional Police Command of Dar es Salaam confirmed that “the (police) force has already banned the practice by youth groups to hire vehicles … during such occasions …(because) when searched, some of the vehicles are found with a large amount of marijuana” (See: “Youth camps worry men of God” Sunday Citizen 2nd January 2005, page 4).
Mkello’s assurance that the police “force is keeping and eye on the camps” must be taken with a degree of caution. Necessarily, serious investigation should be initiated, given the uncertainty surrounding the nature, popularity and motives of the youth camps. The best assurance from the police should be a clear statement to the public, about their understanding of the reality as regards the architects of the camps, their specific objectives, and the entire principles on which they are operating.
It is probable that the perceived misconduct of the young people, is not anything quite unexpected. This conduct is consequent upon the increasing influence of the mass media, whereby, for example, the most popular movies and films show the so-called stars excelling in acts that largely boarder on crime. The stars may comprise a gang of individuals who could wreck havoc, say on the police; overwhelm and even murder the forces. For their presumed heroism, they are treated as role models; the youth might want to emulate them, little understanding that such are mere stage-managed scenes by actors whose motives are far from the portrayal of real bravery.
We should remember that for every human being, there is a period in life when one is really at crossroads, unsure of which direction or step to take, and can easily lose direction if they are not properly secured and guided. That is the stage when most youths can inflict serious damage on themselves or the entire society by engaging in thoughtless acts that can only be regretted later.
Whereas it is the religious leaders that are sounding the alarm, not much appreciation of the youth conduct and needs is evident in the religious quarters. Religion does not seem to bear significant influence on character formation of most young followers any longer. Rather, it is the upsurge of the Western trends that seem to be having real impact on young people. The tourists that flock the beaches here leave admirable impressions, which are envied and adapted by the youth through peer pressure. Many will try to live like Europeans without the slightest insight into their practices.
On the positive note, it is fun for the youth to be together. It is instructive to note that the youth camps are very necessary for the youth, to a certain extent. It cements some bonds of friendship among them and strengthens their shared perceptions and goals, if they have them and good ones at that. It gives them a sense of confidence and independence, which they often lack when with parents or teachers, as well as the opportunity to learn from one another, through sharing experiences.
Yet if not carefully assessed, these youth programmes can be so detrimental. Their education opportunities might be tampered with, as considerable time could be committed to such unyielding adventures, characterised by merrymaking. Tasting of some degree of independence, the youth might therefrom become rebellious against all authority. The state of permissiveness could itself be a recipe for rebellion. It may even become a vehicle for venereal diseases, including AIDS, while female participants who would thoughtlessly engage in such projects could come out with pregnancies; it might proliferate sexual abuse.
Thoughtless as the youth camps might appear, they impose a compelling responsibility on those in authority, at home, school, and government, first and foremost, to live exemplary lives. Some religious leaders are known to be frequent visitors to the beach, so they must clarify to the youth how they too can do so safely. Whoever is persuaded that the youth gatherings are immoral and wrong shoulders the responsibility to find ways of curing the idleness that compels young people towards the unseemly camps.
The youth must be led into gainful employment and productive work as they are the most assured labour force that must support the practical endeavour of a country’s development process. Youth projects to develop and utilise their skills for personal and communal development should be the way forward.
If not carefully addressed, irresponsibility might crop up, abating young people to become both idle and disorderly, and possibly degenerate into serious antisocial behaviour and consequent crime. Necessarily, efforts should be made to monitor the youth activities, and make decisions from an informed position rather than to unilaterally declare a ban on the youth camps, as the religious leaders seem to demand. The youth must not be alienated, but supported to abandon such time-wasting ventures – the foundation of all underdevelopment.
By Venansio Ahabwe
Source: Peering Eye, Sunday Citizen