Young professionals on social degradation : How and why?

Mauritius has been witnessing high levels of violence lately. While the older generations blame the younger ones, the current generation feels it is wrong to put all the blame on them. In the debate that follows, youngsters highlight the main cause for this degradation.

Vikish Rama : “Lack of accountability is a factor”

Many people cite the rise of infidelity, divorce, teenage pregnancy and crime as the main indicators of social degradation, opines Vikish. “A demographic shift towards people leading more independent, less family-oriented lives has led to the upswing in unhappiness. Media contribute to moral degradation because they present uncensored messages and images to the public. Increased access to a wide range of media, such as television, music, Internet, video games and cell phones, contributes to moral degradation. This is because most of these media broadcast violence, crime and obscenity.”

He further adds that dishonesty among businesses and some public leaders and an apparent lack of accountability bring the young to a depressed state of mind.” They often wonder about ways to obtain stability and security. Thinking about those hard challenges, they would be saying modern life is not good to the mental health.”

Madvi Mauree : “There is lack of guidance for youngsters”

It has been noticed that immoral and antisocial behaviour is increasing among youngsters, states Madvi.  “It is a matter of great concern because the decrease in moral values among the young generation can greatly damage society to a certain extent. Degeneration in moral values, improper use of social media platforms and lack of communication between people are a few examples. Many youngsters are going astray due to lack of guidance. Therefore, having a sense of purpose gives us a greater understanding that our lives have a meaning.  The future of every family and our community rests in the hands of youngsters.”

She avers that when youngsters begin to live with a purpose, radical change will happen in our society.  “Innovation will obviously follow, teenage pregnancy will drop, drug addiction will decrease, and many social scourges will take a dive. Youngsters must strive hard to be more competent and built up their resilience.  They will become beacons of hope and symbols of strength and courage. Therefore, they should be taught values, respect, and good intentions. Indeed, our young people have the power to re-shape social atmosphere and re-define norms.”

Dev Rishi Chooramun : “Unemployment is another reason”

According to Dev, our generations have witnessed tremendous changes, a major part of which being a steady move away from extended families to nuclear families. “In the new family setup, the child is expected to perform well academically in order to get a well-paid job. The pressure surges as parents pitch high ambitions with a high spirit of materialism. This causes more disarray and conflicts within the family. The child is therefore left on his own to deal with the growing burden of working on his academic qualifications. Regression of the child can be attributed to the lack of communication within the family and the absence of close supervision of the child’s interest and daily activities by parents.”

Lack of job opportunities is another reason for rebellion among youngsters, says the young man. “The lack of participation in the labour market is a stress-inducing factor thereby leading to a degradation in moral values of our society and a shield from real life challenges as the cost of living increases and the quality of life worsens. As part of the solution, a multi-functional approach is essential to tackle this problem whereby the family unit, the educational institution, religious leaders and the relevant authorities should meet up and devise a national plan about how to restore our moral values and rebuild our social fabrics.”

Najaah Parahoo : “Family is the focal point”

Najaah claims that Mauritius, as a multi-ethnic and multi -cultural society with the advent of technology and communication, the young are indisputably exposed to much antisocial behaviour that in turn trigger many social evils. “There is a high correlation in terms of institutional reforms and the preservation of the youth. The family is the focal point where the primary socialisation should be strengthened and need to inculcate in them a sense of moral guidance to promote moral values and to tighten the family fold. Empowerment, sexual education and dating relationship programmes should be implemented in every secondary school to frame the mindsets of adolescents from a very young age to resist external influences. More psychological guidance and counselling therapies should be provided to uphold their emotional and mental balances to prepare them to face their interpersonal issues. Stigmatisation should be put to an end in the Mauritian society but rather develop constructive educational projects to form the young generation to earn back their good credentials and entrust them into the position of leadership which will impede a degradation of the Mauritian society and successively realising social stability.”

Dimitri Ros Owen Figaro : “No role model in our society”

Being a youth activist for the past 15 years, Dimitri believes that the youth population does not have local or national role models who they can look up to with regards to their personal, professional or social experiences. “Mauritian youths do not have enough supportive agencies to turn to when they need support. In addition, our education system does not cater adequately for extra-curricular activities like sports, arts, culture and personal development in order to develop our youth in Mauritius into fully-fledged persons. Since Mauritius is keen on becoming a landmark State in the world, it should be highlighted that formal education, that is, academic qualification, is not the only answer to achieve excellence. ‘Soft skills’, technical expertise and experience in the relevant field in question matter as well for meritocracy to prevail.” He argues that the solution should come from within the society, religious leaders, cultural leaders, political leaders, educators, peer group, and most importantly, parents, should act as role models. “Every individual should feel valued and be given free and fair chances to prosper in all spheres of life. Coupling school life and on-the-job training, such as summer job programmes, can help in making our potential workforce more productive and ready for the job market. We need to readdress the way of conducting career guidance to youths.  Unemployment should not be addressed through short term placements/ internships with little or no chances of being employed on a full-time basis.  A more sustainable approach in order to remedy the situation in the long-term is more desirable.”

Kevin Keenoo : “The problem is with people in society”

Kevin Keenoo argues that we do not have problems in our societies, we have problems with the people in our societies. “Murder, rape, assault, theft or other crimes, be it petty or heinous, are not the roots of the problems, they are the outcomes of our dwindling thoughts and sinful deeds. We have turned ourselves into passive observers and the news of a dreadful crime that would shocked someone decades ago, are featuring as headlines in our newspapers and are no longer bothering anyone. The systems of our societies have become dangerous teachers for mankind. A moral society is what we left behind in the pages of time. We are reshaping morality to fit our own egoistic needs. We are using morality as weapons, no longer as shields. Youngsters must not accept everything that unfolds from a system that has been designed by power-holders to divide us. They must question and this is not enough; they must ask the right question. Their deeds should contribute to the restoration of a morality where respect is not scarce but is abundant.”

Rishi Abeeluck : “A positive attitude is needed”

The average person nowadays is far more educated and better informed than anyone of the previous generation, says Rishi. “This society is full of undiscovered talents and latent abilities. The reason these talents lie buried is that most individuals do not have the courage to dig them up and use them. Everybody should be doing better than he was yesterday, but only a few dare to go that extra mile, dare to break that extra sweat, dare to take that extra risk to be a better version of themselves and unleash that dormant potential. Once you dare to be a better version of yourself, once you stop drifting with the crowd and face life courageously, life takes on a new significance. New forces take shape within you and you embrace a winner’s edge.”  He further adds that “personal development, which helps in building a positive attitude, positive habits and positive character, boost self-esteem, strengthen interpersonal skills, increase values and devise winning strategies can be adopted.”

Zakil Tarsoo : “Drug is the biggest problem”

A social worker,  Zakil states that one of the most alarming problems in the country is drug abuse, as too many youngsters are now consuming drug. “There is an excess of consumption and free circulation of harmful drugs which prevent these youngsters from acquiring an adequate education and skills to become the productive labour force of tomorrow. Even lots of young people already in the Labour market unfortunately are becoming drug addicted. There is also an economic injustice regarding our development. Besides, we have a lack of role models for youngsters.” For him, there is urgent need to enhance the degree of our meritocracy in recruitment processes.