EFFECT OF SOCIAL VICES ON THE YOUTH.

“Drugs are tearing apart our societies, spawning crime, spreading diseases such as AIDS, and killing our youth and our future.” Kofi Annan, former UN secretary General. This statement by Kofi Annan is very true today.

Despite well-known risks, people continue to abuse drugs, and such abuse continues to destroy lives. Drug abuse costs the United States an estimated 100 billion dollars a year in health care, reduced job productivity, lost earnings, and crime. Well, do you know which group suffers most? It’s the youth. According to a Brazilian study, 24.7 percent of youths between 10 and 17 years of age have already tried some kind of drug. Also while teenage drug use in the United States may have declined somewhat in recent years, alarming numbers of young ones there are addicted.

Consider seniors in high school. According to one study, 37 percent had at least tried marijuana in the previous year. One out of 5 had used it in the past month. Almost 1 out of 10 had tried the drug ecstasy in the past year.’ The most murderous group of Americans are in the 18-to-22 age group,” according to a recent report. “In 1979, says the FBI, they accounted for 25% of all murder arrests.” The British Office for National Statistics reports that “12 per cent of pupils aged 11-15 had used drugs in the last year. . . Cannabis [marijuana] was by far the most likely drug to have been used.” Particularly alarming was the fact that “more than one third (35 per cent) had been offered one or more drugs.”

Youngsters have always committed crimes. But usually they expressed remorse when caught. However, more and more of today’s troubled youth don’t seem to know that their crimes are wrong, nor do they care. How else do you explain why two Cleveland teenagers paid another youth $60 to murder their father “because he wouldn’t let us do anything we wanted to do, like smoke pot”? Leaving their father’s body on the floor of their home, they took his credit cards and paycheck and went on a 10-day spending spree. This was reported in one news bulletin.

Another report from the European Union reveals that among young people, “drinking to inebriation has become increasingly common.” The report also says that such “alcohol abuse is associated with various short term adverse effects such as accidents, violence and poisoning, as well as with developmental and social problems.”

Crime and its related effect has also embodied the youth of today that most has lost real hope in Life. Emmanuel, a young Nigerian, is alarmed at the rising insecurity, explaining: “In the past, whenever thieves wanted to break into a house, they would wait until the owner was away. Now it does not matter if the whole family is at home. The thieves knock on the door and demand that you give them your property. If such a thing has started occurring now, what will it be like in the future?” Is Emmanuel alone in this kind of fear? Not at all. We all share in such fear. The effect of such fears has lead to a number of Youth developing low self-esteem.

Chicago researchers surveyed 1,331 teenagers over an 18 years period and the result was that the self-perceptions of American teenagers apparently have become decidedly less positive. The study describes today’s teenagers as being less secure than before, with lower ethical standards. About one fifth of them say that they are empty emotionally and confused most of the time, and that they would rather die than go on living.

Suicide has also risen as a result of insecurity among the youth today. “The number of children who threaten and attempt suicide has increased,” says Dr. Cynthia Pfeffer, a Cornell psychiatrist. “Studies in the nineteen-sixties indicated that no more than ten per cent of the children sent to outpatient clinics showed suicidal behavior. In a recent study I did, thirty-three per cent of the children had suicidal ideas.” Suicide is a leading cause of death among American teenagers today. Some of us today feels a bit insecure in a world were every social vice is increasing at an unprecedented rate and yet we do not know how to steer the wheel to the right way. Well keep deliberating on it and see you next week. Till then have a wonderful time.

CHILD`S RIGHTS.

“GIVE a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.” So wrote the 19th-century English writer and critic John Ruskin. Most parents will agree that it pays to love one’s children, not only because of the love received in return but, more important, because of the positive effect this love will have on them.

The book Love and Its Place in Nature observed, for example, that without love “children tend to die.” And Ashley Montagu, noted British-born anthropologist, went so far as to say: “The child who has not been loved is biochemical, physiologically, and psychologically very different from the one who has been loved.”

These findings emphasize the need for the physical presence of parents. Otherwise, how can strong ties develop between parent and child? In the world today, the needs of children have been neglected to a higher degree that children now feel threatened by a hostile society. This hostile society is a self-centered society where the rights of children are neglected. Where the child’s rights is also a concern, it is over emphasize to the detriment of the development of the child.

In cosmopolitan society, children are forced to live a life of the majority group which sometimes oppressed the children. On the other hand, a child also feels that they should be allowed to live a life of the majority whiles their parents forces them to live a life related to their culture. The question here is `Should there be a dialogue between the parent and the child as to the life they should live in a cosmopolitan society? Every part of the world has now become cosmopolitan and as such the voice of all should be taken into consideration in decision making. As this failure lead to problems among the youth in the world? Let’s deliberate a little.

In the UK for instance, there is the augment that social workers has failed the society especially the youth. Do you agree with this accertion? Well you will be right agreeing. This is because there is no single day passing without an innocent youth being stabbed or sometimes being shot to death. A lot of gang groups have been formed in communities to protect themselves against attack by rival gang group. The rate of knife crime in England has more than double in the last decade. What are the motivating factors behind such crimes?

Some child psychologist and sociologist have concluded a number of factors. Poverty, child abuse, drug abuse and youthful exuberate are among the factors that these professional believes are the factors behind high rate of knife crime in UK. Well, i think i will agree on such factors. Do you also agree?

Another factor that people don’t usually talk about is the crime against youth of African descent by youth of Caribbean descent with the later accusing the fore-fathers of the former of selling them into slavery. Though it’s not much talk about, there has been some trend in crime among some communities.

In Finland, youth crime is low and gangster live is also low but that should not deceive us. The dynamics of world economic situation and its related effect is being felt everywhere in the world and so we should be on guard.

In other parts of the world, gangster way of life by the youth as has been the main cause for minor attacks by some youth against fellow youth in the same communities.

I will conclude by saying that, social workers in the world should work towards alleviating the effect of the factors that has been blame on the rise in youth crime in the UK. Meet me next week for another interesting topic. Till then enjoy your week.

Economic recession, welfare and related matters.

The global economic downturn otherwise known as the economic reccesion has forced a lot of countries to cut down on their welfare budget. Third world countries that began policies on welfare have been forced to abandon the idea. With the expectance of the great reccesion, it has become obvious that the welfare state is really going to suffer. The question here is `who will it affect most?. Let us look at some facets of our lives that will be seriously affected and the resultant consequences.

EMPLOYMENT.
A lot of companies have been forced to cut production because of low sales. In the US, the auto industry has been badly affected that some of the rescue plan is to merge with other auto companies or closing down plants and laying workers off. In Germany, auto workers have either been laid off or their hours cut to prevent wide scale unemployment. In Japan, Toyota posted a first quarter loss in 2009 while in Russia auto plants have to be closed down for a specific number of months to balance the books of the various companies. You will realised that i did not mention any third world country. This reaffirm a proverb in my local language which says `if those climbing with their front view are falling, how much those climbing with their backs`?

What do you think will be the effect of people losing jobs or low renumeration? Well let me start with the effect of recent unemployment in Finland where i live. The Finnish police in the hesinki region confirmed that the number of youth engaging in has increased. Why do u think this is so? This is because humans will do whatever it will take to survive. What about other countries. In UK, there was a demostration recently by `Brtish´citizens and the idea was to give ´British jobs for British people`. I personally think there is no racial connection to the demostration but rather it was out of desperation. In US, recent shootings have all been linked to the effect of the reccesion. What about third world countries? Well your guess is as good as mind. Governments have to cut down on various interventions. In Ghana my beloved country, the government have been forced take a look at the school feeding program, youth unemployment program and cutting down government expenses. In most part of the world, crime has increased to an unprecedented level. Well lets hope the world best economist can fix the problem till it gets to great recession otherwise there will be great consequence.

WELFARE.
The welfare budget of various countirs have been cut because the various governments have failed to reach their projected revenues. What this means is the budget of the welfare programs will have to be cut and the poor people who receive such benefits will suffer more. There is a saying that `a hungry man is a angry man` and so we should expect crime and other social vices increasing in the world. In Finland, municipalies have cut their budget to again balance the books of the various municipalies. In third worlds, governments have to borrow from breton woods institution to sustain the budget. The various government interventions has to be stopped and those on the pipe line has to be abandon.who will suffer? The poor man of course. And what will be effect? Will debate about it and lets meet next week. Till then enjoy ur week.