The iconic and mesmerizing exponent of pop, Michael Jackson, once famously said, “Children are a reminder of the preciousness of our lives, especially young lives untouched by hatred, prejudice and greed. Now when the world is so confused and its problems so complicated, we need our children more than ever. Our mission should be to heal the world. To heal the world, we must start healing our children.”
Though all negative behavior may not be traced to parental neglect, our homes fashion and groom our children. Children are marvelously sensitive beings, learning from us all the time. They are a barometer of our own failings and shortcomings. Neglecting them in the sensitive formative years can have serious consequences not only for the immediate family, but the neighbourhood and even the State.
The assault and stabbing of two youth by another at Assoi Dongre in Dabolim, could be a symptom of the growing neglect of our youth, deprivation of attention, which may lead them to loss of self confidence, alienation and intolerance of the other. In more extreme cases it may even lead to substance abuse. The particular youth not only engaged in assault over some questioning by the neighbourhood youth of his behavior, but subsequently engaged in a standoff with the police, vividly portraying the shortsightedness and the extent to which thoughtlessness can take youth to challenge the law and its enforcers and believe they can get away with it. While some may ascribe this to media, movies or reality shows, other may opine this is a home grown disease.
It is alarming to learn that the youth was embroiled in a filmy style four hour drama with about 25 policemen, refusing to surrender having known that arrest was inevitable after a crime of this nature. Our immediate thoughts would have been, ‘what was he thinking?’ Fortunately, after initial failure, the youth’s father succeeded in convincing him to surrender to the police.
Goa today stands at a turbulent phase of transition, where various social, economic and developmental processes are at work – the nuclear family has almost replaced the joint family system; both working parents is the norm; most families live in complex urban neighbourhood unlike the homogenous Goan villages of the past; villages too are changing their colour with a number of anonymous inhabitants living there and in-migration has led to cross cultural currents dissipating traditional values and camaraderie. Vastly improved economic status too has brought in lot of arrogance replacing the Goan bonhomie.
Assoi Dongre is essentially a migrant settlement where some of these factors could be at play. In a migrant locality, there could be scuffles between youth with their own egos and problems to cope with, like any neighbourhood. A migrant basti may also have its own local heroes or strongmen on whom youth may model themselves. But taking the law into one’s own hand does not pay, no matter the locus.
There is need for parents and schools to create awareness among youth on civility and good behavior. Ideally neighbourhoods should not be a cold freezer compartment of isolated families or individuals, but efforts should be made by communities, social workers, conscious citizens and responsible persons like elected ward member to create better neighbourhoods.
Though the details of the case could become clear on police investigation, what is to be deduced from this incident is the need for parents to groom their children with care and understanding. What is also evident is the need for parents to give time to their wards
especially in their vulnerable and formative years. Besides a congenial atmosphere at home and good reciprocal behaviour among parents, there is also need for schools to actively assist in the formation of the child, besides teaching them math and history.
Finally there is need to do indigenous research on behavior of children in the specific socio-economic and cultural context of Goa to better understand not only this case but the entire gamut of problems which lead children to come in conflict with the law. This is especially exigent since most of our teaching and understanding of child and youth psychology today is fed on Western research, not indigenous studies.
