Africa News
May 5, 2006 Friday
Rwanda;
The Spectrum: New Family Pattern Blamed for Juvenile Delinquency
BYLINE: The New Times
LENGTH: 774 words
Why are most children today very unruly? Several people are perturbed by this question. It is no longer surprising to find a child who takes drugs. Children in broad day light take opium; sniff petroleum fumes, cocaine, miraa, and other types of addictives. When I shared this social problem with a friend, he was quick to tell me that such children are street children (mayibobo). But empirical and authentic data from sociologists and anthropologists shows that some of the children on the streets have homes where they come from. They only come to the streets during the day and go back home at sunset. This category is what we call part-time street children.
However, there is another category of delinquent children who do not go to the streets but they are equally spoilt. This category is found in schools and homes. They nearly do everything the street children do. The only difference is that they study and have someone to cater for their physical and intellectual needs. What they share in common is the emotional and psychological disorders. To trace the root-cause of the problem a number of people were asked. There was a fair agreement among the respondents that the new family pattern provides a conducive environment for the children's delinquency.
About 75% of the correspondents agreed that the present family pattern should be blamed for the delinquency of children.
Uwimana Anonciata, a business lady on Quartier commerciale of Kigali city said:
"The present pressures associated with work make most parents neglect their roles as parents. For instance, all the time I am thinking of profits, losses, taxes, debtors and rent; so, I rarely get time to talk to my children, who I sometimes find asleep. Though I realize the need to talk to my children I have to work hard for their education".
While a teacher from APRED Ndera who chose to remain anonymous was of the opinion that some children are influenced by their peers to involve themselves in illicit activities, and that most children get spoilt from home. They come to school with multiple habits and addictions.
He said: "Children come when they are already spoilt; you cannot tell me that they learn to smoke or to go clubbing from school. It is true a few of them imitate their friends but generally parents have left their role to teachers and house girls".
Irresponsible child- bearing was cited among the primary causes of juvenile delinquency. Martin Munyaneza, a salesman said that most spoilt children are bastards:
"If one traced the background of these children, it is no wonder that they would find the majority of them to be children produced outside wedlock or before marriage without proper family planning. Thus, denial of parental love and care forces them to search for acceptability from peers".
The problem with the present pattern of family is that it denies mothers time to bring up the children in accordance to societal expectations. It was expected and normal for our mothers to pass on knowledge and values to the young generation. This was possible for they had all the time they needed to render this valuable service to society. On the contrary, women's involvement in public life insidiously leads into a horde of social drawbacks, which cannot be discussed due to limited space.
Unlike in the past, today women hold public office. Owing to the commitment and demand in those offices, they find little time, if any, to share with their children, leave alone passing values to them. This has immensely disrupted family life. Just imagine a woman minister who has a conference to attend in Beijing, a cabinet meeting and a women's association to launch, all fixed this week; will she get time for the children?
Women's confinement to the kitchen as their office and looking after children's growth is now history. As much as we have to appreciate the changing roles of women, we need to recognize that their failure to play their traditional role of educating children as custodians of wisdom and preservers of morals and values is blamed for all forms of social deviance.
Certainly, there are other factors held responsible for the present social disorder in Rwanda. The 1994 Genocide left many orphans who took to the streets to look for survival while others have been brought up in orphanages. Many children have become orphaned due to the Aids scourge. The two events have denied children their natural right to learn from the parents. It is lamentable that with the erosion of the African extended family, these orphans will never get a word of wisdom from any elder. That is really why they grow without guidance and definitely become delinquent.
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SUBJECT: CHILDREN (95%); FAMILY (90%); PARENTS (78%); PREGNANCY & CHILDBIRTH (78%); OPIUM (78%); SOCIOLOGY (77%); MENTAL ILLNESS (73%); DISEASES & DISORDERS (73%); COCAINE (73%); EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION EMPLOYEES (73%); ANTHROPOLOGY & ARCHAEOLOGY (71%); TEACHING & TEACHERS (69%)
GEOGRAPHIC: RWANDA (92%)
LOAD-DATE: May 10, 2006
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newsletter