THE true of test of a nation’s level of civilisation is seen in the way its people treat children.
During the past ten years a countless number of Zimbabwean children as young as 17 years old have gone abroad where they are not only fending for themselves in the most difficult circumstances but also for extended families back in Zimbabwe.
Many of these children who emigrated as unaccompanied minors are also oiling the wheels of the Zimbabwean economy by remitting the much needed foreign currency to Zimbabwe. The new government’s level of civilisation will be seen in the policies and laws it will put in place to ensure that our children will be able to come back to a Zimbabwe which will offer them a hedge of protection as well equal opportunities to fully realise their potential.
So far, very little has been done to show our commitment to the Geneva Convention on the rights of the child, let alone in crafting domestic laws and an environment that clearly demonstrates that every child matters to us.
We have partly paid back these hard working and precious children by passing unfair citizenship laws which criminalise them for acquiring foreign citizenship, yet we forget that it is our irresponsibility that caused them to leave home in the first place.
As a result of these laws, many of these children find themselves culturally unaccepted in their host countries where they have assumed citizenship and they don’t feel welcome in their country of their birth. We have made these children a lost generation and if we do not do something to reverse this, history will judge us harshly.
As I go about my business with children in the United Kingdom, I come across Zimbabwean children as young as 20 who do some of the most despicable jobs. Some work in the factories and some even clean private parts of old incontinent people to earn a living. Some girls, as young as 22, are working as escorts. I cannot imagine how I would feel if my daughter were to go through such gruelling experiences.
What have we done to ensure that we protect our children? To show that we do not care, the children agenda is not even bothering politicians at all and it appears to be secondary in the political scheme of things at the moment.
By learning from its own experiences, the UK government passed the 2004 Children Act as a follow up the paper, “Every Child Matters”. This law enjoins local authorities to ensure that the physical, economical and social well being of every child in their area is well catered for.
In Zimbabwe, we have a huge task ahead of us to ensure that our policies and practices relating to children meet basic minimum and acceptable conditions to ensure their well being. Our civilisation as a nation will not be judged by the size of our government, the cars we drive or the clothes we wear, but primarily by the way we treat our children.
Arthur Gwagwa London
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ARTICLE ATTACHMENTS
READER OPINIONS
Mhofeti • pasizw@yahoo.co.uk Subject: Every child matters Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:46:02 • There is no doubting that without sanctions Zimbabwe wouldn't be in such a mess economically. How many nations are corrupt across the globe and their economies crumble as a result? There is no moral in the actions of Britain and USA to impose sanctions as that is an artificial way of creating a crisis and then present yourself as having a solution to the same crisis? Does that sound familiar by now to bomb a country to stone age and then offer help with reconstruction? And it's the professionals that the country desperately needs to retain to entertain any hope of a decent society that leave the country first and I leave you to figure out their common destinations. Britain, USA and allies don't have a moral right to claim to champion the needs of the underpriviledged and voiceless. You still remember what we were taught about Marslow's hierarchy of needs and if we even talk about advancing the rights of children in the Zimbabwe we have today, someone will rightly accuse us of having mixed up priorities. Let's all insist on the removal of sanctions and whilst we may differ on how much of the current situation is attributable to them there is no doubting that every little helps. We surely can not talk about self actualization when the marjority of Zimbabweans can hardly afford the basic needs. All these facts back the fact that the sanctions have nothing to do with helping ordinary unfortunate Zimbabweans like the ones mentioned in the article
DREADS • NA Subject: IF IT WORKS WHY TRY AND FIX IT? Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:45:25 • You have said it Brother Arthur:
THE NEW government’s level of civilisation will be seen in the policies and laws it will put in place to ensure that our children WILL BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO ZIMBABWE.
There are now thousands upon thousands of Zimbabwean children born out there in the Diaspora to Zimbabwean couples who are entitled to foreign passports by birth.
And what about their parents - who are also entitled to foreign Passports by virtue of their long stay while they studied and worked hard to send money home?
No one in their right mind will want to relinquish their foreign electronic EU passports and ditch their right to return to go to university or college via the gateway to Europe.
So, until dual citizenship is re-installed, forget about our children returning with all their expertise and qualifications to take up their place in Zimbabwean society.
This is a non-starter. By ignoring dual citzenship any Government in power is cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
One of the reasons Britain has been successful and every foreigner wants to come and live here and study here is because the Home Office do not mind if you travel on two or three other foreign passports because it has been proven throughout the centuries that one day you will get sick and tired of the endless rain and the bitterly cold winters and will head back to your own country, wherever that may be.
The Island of UK is just another mammoth transient international departure lounge, but it works and if it works, why try and fix it because then the wheels will come off.
One of the obvious reasons it works is because of the dual citizenship.
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