Who is to blame in the recent Kampala demonstrations?
Last weeek's demonstration which was supposedly meant to be peaceful turned violent in which one Indian Deval Rawal and two other Ugandans lost their lives, several injured and property lost in the process. The events that happened should be condemned in the srongest terms possible.
There is no way we can bury our heads and pretend that nothing wrong happened, considering the fact that the issue concerns matters of life and death. The other issue that we cannot escape is tha racist placards against the Indian community in uganda.
This was absolutely uncalled for and shows how some people still live in the past where racism was so wide spread. In this era, there is no one who should be discriminated against on the basis of his/her race, sex, education background or religious or political party affiliation and it is clearly stipulated in our constitution.
The Asians to whom these racist sentiments were directed to are even Ugandans. Most of them have lived in the country for as many as 20 years whereas, others are by nature of birth Ugandans.
But after what happened last week, then who takes up the blame for all this? The system we find ourselves in should be the one to take blame for this! Those who are in power hardly hear the cries of the people they represent. What matters to those in power is the satisfaction of their greedy interests at the expense of the people they serve.
The question of Mabira give away was opposed from it's very inception from all angles of the public ranging from the learned to the illiterate, young to the old, environmentalists and even the busineess community. If those in authority could hear the voices of the people ,then no single life could have been lost. But since those in power have they own desires at heart, the peoples pledges to spare our natural source fell on deaf ears.
The whole idea was in such a way that many Ugandans were provocated in the process. It all seemed that the President and his sycophants wanted to see the reaction of Ugandans by giving away the natural resource that so many treassure.
Much as the actions of the demonstrators may be condemned, these people can't take the blame entirely because resentment towards the Indian community in the past hasn't escalated considering the fact that one member of parliament is an Indian.
Many factors should be bound in mind to consider why the people reacted the way they did. First, is tension and frustration on behalf of Ugandans. Many Ugandans feel they are not participating as much as possible in the development of their economy.
Many feel Asians are favoured as investors to Ugandans. This therefore implies that many potential Ugandans are denied an opportunity to participate in business. Another factor why the demonstrators reacted the way they did could be due to loss of confidence in their leaders. Many Ugandans have lost confidence in the people they elect considering the fact that they can easily be bribed to even support the most uncommon policies like it happened when members of Parliament were bribed to lift the third term for President Museveni.
The people of Uganda in this case are disappointed with their leaders and no longer have trust in them. This means people react to unpopular policies by whatever means possible to achieve their aims and aspirations. There is a lot of tension and frustration on the part of Ugandans. Many people still believe that if the President had heed to the peoples' pleas not to give away Mabira forest, the lives of Deval Rawal and the other two Ugandans could have been saved.
After all that happened last week, the ''Big Question'' is how can the relationship between Ugandans and the Asian community be improved to prevent a repeat of last week's events more so the racist slogans directed towards the Asian community by a few elements?
We need a policy where selection for the beneficiaries of state iniatitive must be open and on merit; through a well established body and criteria. Many Ugandas have cried foul, in that foreign investors are more preferred to them.
All we desire is a policy to encourage and facilitate nationals to participate in the development of the economy and industrialisation. Ugandas should form partnerships among themselves and or with foreign investors.
A serious and genuine long term foreign investor will be most at home when he works in partnership with the local sorrounding environment. If the investor's project is not in conflict with the desires and aspirations of the community, then it will be taken on more vigorous. But if on the other hand, it is in conflict with the aspirations of the people, likewise it will be rejected vehemently like it has been the case with Mabira forest.
If only God could save Mabira, as we look forward to developing ''Our Dear Pearl of Africa.''
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Child Prostitution a Disgrace to our society.
Child prostitution; a disgrace to our society.
Universally in the World, children are seen as innocent and immaculate. Childhood is seen as a “golden age" full of innocence but also vulnerable to evils and in need of adult protection.
Worldwide, children often give the first indication that something has gone wrong in society. Child prostitutes in Uganda are a clear indication of a society in crisis, which urgently needs to be addressed.
Child prostitution is a breakdown in a society that doesn't give proper care and guidance to its children. Why do we still find young children hanging out in public places late in the hours of the night with nobody speaking out against it? Is this really responsible child upbringing? Why do we tolerate these things?
This attitude towards the children has led to increase in the number of girls below the ages of 18 years getting involved in the commercial sex industry. Uganda has of late become a haven for trafficking of children, mostly girls being sexual exploited or sold to forced labor.
Similarly, the girls are also trafficked within the country from rural villages to border towns and urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation. The girls brought to town to work as house girls end up being subjected to prostitution.
This has apparently led to an increase in the number of girls involved in prostitution with most of them participating in the practice at young ages between 15-17 years. This has been rampant in urban areas where children are getting involved in the commercial sex industry, particularly in Kampala.
The implication is that many adolescents are being bullied, sexually harassed and even raped by people who are old enough to be their parents. Never before in African society has there been such widespread hostility to young people.
So where is the innocence of our children! Is child prostitution and sexual exploitation morally justified? No!
The situation our children find themselves in is terrible and calls for urgent intervention on the part of parents, government and all stakeholders. There is need to come up with strong laws regarding to child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Though penalties relating to sex offences and crime against children are handled under the defilement laws, this hasn't helped in curbing this evil of child prostitution. Reasons being that, most of these children do consent to sex in exchange of money as they find this as the only means of survival.
This means that offenders easily go away with it by taking advantage of these young girls' being on street to sexually harass them. So in this case, where is the justice for these victims of sexual harassment?
Since prostitution is illegal and not acceptable in our society, then child prostitution is absolutely abominable and not be tolerated in our beloved country. Many young girls are prone to the vagaries of sexual abuse. The chances of these girls getting infected with HIV/AIDS are high if this evil of child prostitution goes unabated and yet these are the children on which our future lies.
The situation above calls for an urgent intervention on the part of government to protect children from being recruited into sexual abuse/prostitution since childhood is taken to be full of innocence.
It's also the responsibility of parents to ensure that the innocence of all children are protected. Beyond telling children to keep sex for marriage, the parents must seek to surround their children with a loving and healthy atmosphere to help children not fall prey to exploitation.
The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. Nsaba Buturo should also commit himself to end this unlawful recruitment and use of children in sexual exploitation. These children are being raped, physically and emotionally abused. It must stop!
Universally in the World, children are seen as innocent and immaculate. Childhood is seen as a “golden age" full of innocence but also vulnerable to evils and in need of adult protection.
Worldwide, children often give the first indication that something has gone wrong in society. Child prostitutes in Uganda are a clear indication of a society in crisis, which urgently needs to be addressed.
Child prostitution is a breakdown in a society that doesn't give proper care and guidance to its children. Why do we still find young children hanging out in public places late in the hours of the night with nobody speaking out against it? Is this really responsible child upbringing? Why do we tolerate these things?
This attitude towards the children has led to increase in the number of girls below the ages of 18 years getting involved in the commercial sex industry. Uganda has of late become a haven for trafficking of children, mostly girls being sexual exploited or sold to forced labor.
Similarly, the girls are also trafficked within the country from rural villages to border towns and urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation. The girls brought to town to work as house girls end up being subjected to prostitution.
This has apparently led to an increase in the number of girls involved in prostitution with most of them participating in the practice at young ages between 15-17 years. This has been rampant in urban areas where children are getting involved in the commercial sex industry, particularly in Kampala.
The implication is that many adolescents are being bullied, sexually harassed and even raped by people who are old enough to be their parents. Never before in African society has there been such widespread hostility to young people.
So where is the innocence of our children! Is child prostitution and sexual exploitation morally justified? No!
The situation our children find themselves in is terrible and calls for urgent intervention on the part of parents, government and all stakeholders. There is need to come up with strong laws regarding to child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Though penalties relating to sex offences and crime against children are handled under the defilement laws, this hasn't helped in curbing this evil of child prostitution. Reasons being that, most of these children do consent to sex in exchange of money as they find this as the only means of survival.
This means that offenders easily go away with it by taking advantage of these young girls' being on street to sexually harass them. So in this case, where is the justice for these victims of sexual harassment?
Since prostitution is illegal and not acceptable in our society, then child prostitution is absolutely abominable and not be tolerated in our beloved country. Many young girls are prone to the vagaries of sexual abuse. The chances of these girls getting infected with HIV/AIDS are high if this evil of child prostitution goes unabated and yet these are the children on which our future lies.
The situation above calls for an urgent intervention on the part of government to protect children from being recruited into sexual abuse/prostitution since childhood is taken to be full of innocence.
It's also the responsibility of parents to ensure that the innocence of all children are protected. Beyond telling children to keep sex for marriage, the parents must seek to surround their children with a loving and healthy atmosphere to help children not fall prey to exploitation.
The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. Nsaba Buturo should also commit himself to end this unlawful recruitment and use of children in sexual exploitation. These children are being raped, physically and emotionally abused. It must stop!
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