Writer: Benjamin Rukwengye. PHOTO/FILE.
The extracting state of events might have pushed sad and unfortunate of student Elishammah Ssesazi’s short life out of the headlines, but it shouldn’t. And that is part of the social crises that we face.
The loss of life – at whatever age – has been normalised by state negligence and actions to such an extent that it is not shocking when people die, by whatever means. The facts of the story are that Elishammah was found hanging near his bed, in the wee hours of the morning of February 21.
After that, the details get a little muddied depending on what version you encounter and from whom. That is to be expected in heartbreaking incidents like this – especially where everybody is trying to pass on the blame. Not to add any fuel to the fire, this column would like to focus on what we can do going forward.
The starting point is for us to understand that sometimes, causation can be correlation. That the violence, corruption, obscenity, erosion of morals and values, and a lack of care for others that we see everywhere is part of a process and not an event. In fact, that a country with homes, schools and leaders like we have can only look like the one we have.
We must do more to address incidents that perpetuate bullying and those that lead to depressive behaviour and suicidality. But that’s not all. We must address the pervasive violence that the average Ugandan consumes in the media, at home or in school. We should be ashamed that when young people watch the news, they are more likely to see a gun than they are to see a factory or an innovation.
How are they to learn about emotional regulation, empathy, and conflict resolution? If their daily life is a crash course on aggressive behaviour, how are they not to grow up into violent and abusive spouses, teachers and law enforcement agents?
As you might have noticed from the electoral violence rehearsal in the Kawempe byelection, those who perpetuate violent physical bullying behaviour are your usual Ssekitooleko and Ahimbisibwe. They capitalise on power imbalances. The kids might use blackmail, physical, hitting or kicking, like name-calling, or exclusion from a social group.
The adults, however, have guns and an acquiescing law enforcement system. All you need is to repeat these actions often enough and the victim will be broken as a result or will decide to break on their own.
We know that young people spend more time in and around school than they do anywhere else. That is why we must make our schools safe – if we are going to help them on their way to fulfilling their potential. Teenage and adolescence stage is where the intervention needs to happen. That is when they are starting to come into their own independence and identity. Unfortunately, that can involve putting others down to compensate for incapabilities or gain advantage.
It is also the time when the creation and maintenance of relationships with peers by whatever means necessary becomes of heightened importance. And yet we still have instances where teachers and schools go out of their way to mock, humiliate and punish eccentric youthful excesses. Understanding that young people go through different developmental stages and might not always respond in the same way to the same situations is an important aspect supporting them through this process. The same reason explains why some might question authority, be seen to be rebellious and labelled as rebellious.
The go-to model for most is to double-down with harsh punishments, canes, and bootcamps – without inquiring about the environment in which the young person exists, how it is driving those behaviours, and why that is the response.
There are a few who might respond “positively” in the moment – as the human mind is wont to, when under duress. But they will also have been scarred and turned into the beasts that you see unleashing terror on the streets unprovoked. Because that is how they were taught to deal with conflict and disagreement.
Psychology places the family at the centre of a child’s development. If things aren’t going well at home, it will be hard for them to go well elsewhere. School is the equally important in this matrix. We must have more open and honest conversations between parents and parents, and between parents and teachers.
Mr Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds.
Twitter/X: @Rukwengye
