MARY KAROORO OKURUT: Holiday time; watch out for hyenas on the prowl

You probably have read or heard about the heart-rending story of five toddlers who have been defiled in Busoga, eastern Uganda, in a spate of two weeks.

Toddlers aged two years, two and a half years were defiled in such a despicable manner that must have brought a smile to Lucifer’s blood-stained lips.

The story was on social media and some sections of our print media. Such torrid stories have in the recent past become the order of the day. It is a tragedy that these monstrous, inhuman, detestable, inconceivable, barbaric, heinous and abhorrent crimes are becoming rampant.

One adjective alone seems so inadequate to appropriately describe this tragedy!

“Tugoinga wa?” (where are we headed?) as is commonly asked today in helplessness. Cry, our beloved country!

These detestable crimes not only need action to be taken by the Police; but protecting children from defilement also requires the collective effort of parents, caregivers and community members.

Why have I started with these extremely traumatising stories when the topic at hand is about the protection of children who are now on holiday? The yearly school calendar in Uganda has ended. Children are at home now for the longest holiday, popularly known as ‘long vac’, stretching from December to February.

Naturally both parents and children are happy about this break. It is family time of joy, celebrations, bonding and reunion with family and friends.

However, like the good book says, when God’s children are gathered for a joyful occasion, the devil is alert and, on the prowl, to ruin the party.

It has been stated that when the so-called development index goes up not just in Uganda, but globally, so do the criminals get weirder and more sophisticated; indulging in hitherto taboos of societies.

Some criminals do it out of fascination or the urge to conquer or cross the line. It all borders on the strange but true. The defilement of children is basically unfathomable.

The holiday makers are young and eager to explore new heights in their surroundings, to check out the developments that have taken place in just the few months they were away at school.

The ‘hyenas’ will also be on the prowl ready to take advantage of the holiday makers’ innocence, excitement, and even mistakes.

Today, I propose two areas where parents in solidarity with the community should look out for, in order to safeguard the children.

The mobile phone: Needless to say, this gadget has metamorphosed into a radio, computer, TV, organiser, consultant, tempter or temptress, etc. It is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it enables communication and has useful information on any topic under planet earth. On the other hand, it is also home to the most horrifying, diabolical, vulgar, corrupting and obscene stories, games and adventures.

Many of the action-packed, X-rated videos exhibit violence and sex, as if the two have to co-exist.

Some parents especially those in the upper echelons of society have passwords to their phones and mercifully, the children are unable to access such apps.

But remember many house helps nowadays also have smart phones which the children can easily gain access to. In fact the phone is the new baby-sitter, and the house help can have some peace by giving it to the children to occupy them and keep them under control.

Influence of the TV: Holiday makers can sit before a TV the whole day without a break. The variety on TV nowadays with the liberalisation of the airwaves is quite amazing.

Just like the phone, there is a lot of positive value that the TV can provide in terms of information, education and entertainment.

However, it can also be a source of strange cultures, unacceptable behaviour, information that defies age-appropriateness, and can also be a health hazard with people sitting for long periods without health breaks.

Unfortunately, there are also many parents, especially the older generation, who are not utilising the parental control facility and functions on the phones or TVs because either they are not fully conscious of the danger from the phone and the TV; or they have no idea what to do or even both. The house help too may not even know what these kids are accessing on his/her smart phone which is not regulated. The house help may not even have permission to control how the children watch their family TV. These things happen in urban and rural areas alike.

There is, therefore, great need to monitor what the children are watching and/or reading and with who. Parents, relatives, child minders and all other adults should take keen interest in the friends and groups these children connect or hang out with.

Hyenas on the prowl come in many forms and from different directions.

There are those that come in sheep’s clothing… and present as loving, caring, protective uncles who come and hug the little girls and insist on “taking them to the woodland to look at the wonders of nature”!

They are only luring them into their lairs to maul them. Hyenas are lurking in the phones and TVs, in disguised or direct pornography, violence, cons, gambling, dark web and underworld baits, etc It Is vital to protect our children from exposure to inappropriate content on TVs and phones. But first we must find a way of cultivating friendships and trust with our children; educate ourselves on the dangers on the phones and TVs and the available tools to regulate and protect children from them.

We need to have social networks as the adults to learn from and help one another; and we must have the mettle to enforce the necessary discipline within the family.

In all this, we need to keep our Almighty God busy with prayers to help all of us do the right thing.

The writer is a senior presidential adviser on public relations