What has gone wrong with our youth?

Having parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents around should be a personal blessing to their children. They are the people who gave us an identity, and when we say we belong, it is thanks to them.

For the people of my generation, our childhood could not have been complete without the fantastic memories of having our grandparents around, and it made life more interesting! Their stories, their experiences and their generosity meant the world.

Our parents were disciplinarians, but grandparents were the loving comfort and understanding that made life enjoyable. By seeing our parents care for their parents, by making us be close to our grandparents and be there for them, bonds of identity, friendship and lifetime memories were created.

We grew up considering old age as a blessing. It’s the case with most African communities. Even in the religious world, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism etc, long life is a great blessing.

Our religions teach us to take care of our elders. For parents, we are commanded to be “kind” to them. In their old age, we are not supposed to disrespect or scold them but take care of them in gentleness and kindness. The Western scholars of the past characterised old age as a second childhood. So they should be cared well as children.

I believe that the greatness of a family and a nation depends on how it treats the children and the elderly. When a child is born, s/he is a full dependant who eventually grows to be independent. When the years advance for the elderly, they are unable to perform some duties, it’s upon the young generation to take care of them.

Children should remember the sacrifices, the suffering, and the hard work their parents had to endure for them to be. A mother, even by the act of giving birth alone, deserves respect from their children. A great number of parents undertake their responsibility for children faithfully, and so should be the children when the time comes.

One often unsaid mantra of life is that we all want to have children so that they can take care of us in old age. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Some children decide to be evil, and we hear of some doing unimaginable crimes to their parents.

Recently, two incidents reported in Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions of a young man and a young woman respectively murdering their parents so that they can take an inheritance are so saddening, sickening and flabbergasting. In the first case, 24-year-old Patrick Mmasi is alleged to have killed his 40-year-old biological mother, Ruth Mmasi, so as to be able to spend her money/wealth. Disgusting! Son kills mother for money and wealth! In the second case, a daughter allegedly killed her mother and buried her in a shallow grave, just for the love of money!

The two incidents are food for thought. Though isolated, they have sent shockwaves to the whole fabric of our nation. Parents struggle so that they can give their children the best life.

In turn, children are expected to grow, be independent, and support/take care of their parents when they are old. That has been the hallmark of our civilization as African.

We take and stay with our parents when they get old. Lazy young adults’ dream of getting wealth is by killing their parents, what a curse! We need to teach our children about generational wealth.

As families, we are supposed to work together to create more wealth, and the world has enough for everyone.

And more importantly, everyone should know that every human being has the right to live! No one has the right to take the life of another human being. The date for life and death belongs to God.