Safirah Foondun
6 February 2008
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Port Louis — The problem of juvenile delinquency has been increasingly discussed in the media over the past few years. Delinquency is a legal term meaning behaviour that is against law. Some 70 - 75% of adolescents are thought to be involved in delinquent behaviour. Several questions loom in the air what was going through those adolescents' minds? What factors contributed to their violent acts? And what can parents and society do to deal with juvenile delinquency?
Most juvenile delinquents are unemployed and uneducated youths affected by family and school problems, peer pressure, among others. Empty minds are the devil's workshop. As youngsters are often seen sitting idle, devilish ideas crop up in their minds and they resort to crime. Hence, our youngsters should be kept busy. The busy bee has no time to be unhappy.
The family unit is a crucial body for child development and healthy upbringing. Thus, it contributes enormously in either making the character of youngsters or destroying them. Criminal parents can teach adverse lessons about life. Negative peer pressure also pushes an adolescent towards delinquent behaviour. Teenagers follow new trends. Admittedly each generation develops new values. Does this imply that morality should be sacrificed? Much less ignored! Without being critical, parents are often tolerant of what is intolerable. That is why we find teenage girls dressing to kill, prostitution on the rise and boys emptying beer cans in public without the least qualm or respect for elders.
Consequently, juveniles are endangering not only their future but also that of the country and whole nation as well. Hence, juvenile delinquency is robbing a nation of its youth, its fortune, and its future leaders. Youngsters of today are the nation-builders of tomorrow so stated the great philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and rightly. Therefore, they have to be protected and prevented from going astray.
Youth access to weapons and guns is related to increased youth homicide. This leads to a society surrounded by crime - which is a challenging phenomenon destroying our society at a rapid pace. Sex symbols, pornographic literature and nudes are the palatable menus. It is thus high time to take the bull by the horns and find solutions for these special evils. Mauritian stakeholders, educational institutions and other NGOs should not leave any stone unturned in eradicating juvenile delinquency from our earthly paradise.
Punishment is not the solutions for crimes. Rather our youngsters should be educated, moulded and inculcated with values and morality. And this for sure is not the task of the government only but the joint venture of each and every family that wants to see a better country.
Parents should be prepared for parenthood and needs of children should be appreciated and understood. The school comes next to the home in ordering the behaviour of children. Teachers should not only be facilitators but also willing ears to the problems of growing adolescents.
Our society is going insane. Morality appears to be a questionable terminology. For a sound society, we should incorporate teachings and methods of great philosophers and Gurus like Khalil Gibran, M. K Gandhi and the great Plato.
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