For long injustice has been a talk of the day by liberators advocates and change agents to justify their actions and amass support, win international sympathy and as part of the covenant between the oppressed and them. Indeed, it created a bond between the oppressed and those providing them with a voice.
We now see it in many other forms, not just in the political sense, but in economic, cultural, religious and work environment or in common actions -whilst relating with others (people). They can all have serious emotional implication -as “pain” and depression -leading to civil disorder.
People, from their different cultures and backgrounds may want to show off pride and arrogance -because of who they are -in relation to superior socio-political and socio-cultural positions. Sooner than later, such turns out to be a socially toxic and it becomes hard for people -as a whole to relate, to have some thing in common to nurture and be the focal point for interactions and relationship building.
It can interesting and fun, for example, if individuals start using we-phrase -instead of i -while expressing happiness and pride. It, on other hand can be challenging if the i-phrase is the rule. If they express anger, disaster would ensue. They think the world is theirs only. Nothing could ever bring happiness to them -both.
It was surprising, for example, to see that among the people -who had visited Africa, one of them was a black American, obsessed by racial concerns. She had them imported and became her focus throughout her time here in Uganda.
If one listened carefully to the views expressed, it would seem unrealistic to continue relating with arrogant and life-threatening racists back in the United States -some of whom come to Africa. Fortunately or unfortunately, social inequalities and/or racism were never on the project menu this person had come to work on in Africa.
Had it been the focus of her work here, the would have aroused unjustifiable anti-racial or racial feelings against foreign visitors in a country like Uganda -where people only read about them -with no room to confirm whether they were just tales and a kind of fictions that led to meaningless murders, arrests and some racist doctors transmitting new diseases rather than helping cure them.
Most eye-brow raising was the notion that before visitors come to Africa, they do prior role-play about how to relate with Africans -usually different from how they do it with African Americans and in Diaspora. And, much so that despite Barrack Obama being American president, no improvements yet can be seen there in regards to racism and the long-term mental health implication.
It is such preserved acts that continue to make leaders like Fidel Castrol of Cuba, Chavez of Venezuela, Gadaffi of Lybia and Ahmadinejab of Iran other communist leaders heroes in the eyes of many. They question a failed policeman trying to poke into the justice system of other people.
We are living in the world -where conditions for violence stand -with never initiatives to mute or control it. Instead, focus is put on arrests that are made for unjust judicial systems to handle -where truth is taken for untrue, yes for no, the innocent taken for criminals and vice versa, promoting rich man's injustices against the permanently oppressed poor and taking criminals for no criminals. That questions whoever is custodian to international moral standards and her policing intentions of others.
Imagine those claiming to provide justice being the one's perpetrating injustice. How then will crime ever be eliminated in the world -if true criminals are never taken as deserved -as murder and termination of life continues to be cherished -to head-hit even the innocent. What a mistake!
The experience of Uganda;s policing system, alone, has left civilians only in trust of mob justice -which is swift action for counter-action. A poor man or women will remain a victim -for criminals and the rich-man's judicial system. A rich man will nurse a case from the time of filing to that of either dismissal or conviction -while a poor man will chose to bow out because of the costs implication. With money, even manipulations of evidence until acquittal will be done.
The love for money is killing professionalism even for the best priest in town. Because no body trust who, the president or Kaihura could take over the judiciary as it has planned for Kampala. This is so because problem-cases have tended to be most managed when the concerned heads of the forces coerces institutions to act -accordingly.
The words for the oppressed as left behind by liberation movements remain that “the future is bright for them and encourages them to appreciate themselves and continue struggling so that their grand children live in a better world.” Their cherished beliefs could be held, negotiated for an ultimate change.
And that “there would be a time from the entire belief of pacifism after spreading far and wide the universe would be one.” Hope such did not been an end to the world, but meant that life on earth could be meaningful -through changes coming from the struggles of the oppressed. This would mean the silent breaking their silence, the docile showing enthusiasm, the enthusiasts rising to the occasion and taking up platforms to assert and express their rights.
An individual too can commit injustice against himself or herself, when all done negatively affects his or her belief system or set standards of behavior -in relation to expected social norms. Some end up committing suicide or creating dangerous scenes for society to scrutinize, warn, accept or exit them.
In fact, at this level, affected individuals actions tantamount to mental illnesses -something that is never nice to experience. It is then real and true to say that -when research indicates increased increased cases of mental illnesses, the social, economic, religious and social systems must be questioned.
One mental health worker at Jinja psychiatric ward lamented about how some faith-based institutions and churches are nurturing the mentally-ill and escalating their condition for reasons best understood by them. When asked about whether a mental health facility could be erected at such notorious churches, he declined -saying he would be endangering his life, unless sanctioned by government. They would take him for a saboteur send by a rivaling pastors to spy. It could be very credible if such institutions collaborated with mental-health or medical facility as past of their ministry.
Makerere University, for intense, having realized their weakness of never publishing research online by opting to maintain paper-work technology then, now has a well established information technology (IT) department famed in Eastern and Central Africa, it can do massive online research-work publication -with considerable amount of money going into it. Makerere University could make it mandatory for every academic to publish a paper at least once in three months and monthly for its students.
This would encourage vigor in teaching and its quality -while innovations and inventions demanded from every faculty once a year -where those who cannot fun their research in addition to what students pay, can either do collaborative research with other reputable institutions using local resources or apply for grants that are usually available annually. Capacity building for all staff too could be called for -in ensuring that success of that exercise.
Perhaps the other department not helpful enough is public relations. It could have come out to explain issues like one to do with lecturers salaries which never ends, whether staff have been transformed into interns or volunteers and for what reasons -instead of keeping every one guessing and wondering about the hell there or whether it is office politics and dangerous games against each other (staff and administration).
Could it be the credit crunch factor? May be so, but the managers of the national economy say Uganda as been immune to it. The nation, thus, needs explanation about what is of concern to public. And the Chancellor ought to be on the ground to clear the air -since with time his vice may be paralyzed by most influential juniors -too strong to talk to or deal with. His direct scrutiny could help the vice-chancellors put right amount of pressure on them to deliver -without fear or favor for immediate juniors.
Otherwise, as alumnus it is never nice reading negative stories about an institution everyone is proud of. The institutions itself needs justice rather than be a punching bag for every Tom and Dick. But it is also very possible that Makunika, can be what even at our time we did not experience or feel apart from stories that it was once the “Harvard of Africa.”
To bring justice to our faces and the right social image, we ought to review our values in line with right community expectations. It is these we must practice, be role-model for and negotiate for -where they are lacking -while we drop what never works for us.
In all we will need guard against scenarios where those called leaders go down -having never dealt with common injustices in society or themselves where corrupt, undemocratic and a central cause for immorality, unethical ways -leading to a threat of social structural break down.
Individuals -who can perform better could be let to play their role in social transformation measurable upon excellent talent, ability, experience, and skills -rather than be fought and eliminated in favor of the nepotism, bribes and sexual pleasures.
And be open to agents with values that add value to already existing common values -while giving a right to people or individual to exercise sectorial views -so long as they are not harmful to the existence of himself or others. They must be those that work for the common good of everyone (community).
As that is done the merit management group must be tasked with ensuring right institutional or country's culture at play -for the desired results at the end of a set time, instead of craziness about preserving office-life -rather than performance. And in-fighting for power or influence and trying to terminate others for their special qualities or for selfish interests, must be got rid of -first by scrapping all involved.
The business of saying, “as freedom is to public service jobs, business is to private sector ones” is a culture that would stop. It should not be a scenario where a worker continues to earn monthly when, basically, he or she was merely reading newspapers, signing checks, taking coffee, surfing pornography and making phone calls. Business must for both private and public sector.
Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analysis
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label multi-faceted evil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multi-faceted evil. Show all posts
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