Corrupting of youth
Monday, 29 October 2007
THE unearthing of the underworld that led to the arrests of a number of criminals who were running a trade in drugs, sex and perversions, exploiting the youth of rich homes and inciting also the middle class ones in the capital city has laid bare some worrying social as well as economic portents for the future of the country. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have, thus, nabbed a number of young men who have been running the vice racket in some areas of the city including the posh ones and the alleged culprits are now in police custody for interrogation. The arrests are as revealing as they are very shocking. Aphrodisiacs and other sex enhancing as well as pornographic materials have been recovered during the drive against some 'Lords' of the underworld. The concerned sections of people consider that the tentacles of this 'underworld' are fairly widespread and the law enforcing agencies have so far succeeded only in tracing out a small part of it. A godfather and secondary figure involved in these crimes who were arrested last Saturday in this connection with the forbidden stimulating tablets, Yaba, in large number, are yet to make a full disclosure, as the available reports indicate, of the extent of their operations.
However, what is more ominous is the discovery of Yaba making machines in the hideout. Yaba that posed a threat to the health, morality and vitality of youth in Thailand, was severely controlled in that country. It appears that after expulsion from Thailand, the business of this drug has taken a firm root in Bangladesh with all the evil and dangerous consequences thereof. There are examples of corrupting of whole nations with addiction. Bangladesh has to confront the Yaba culture understanding its similar debilitating effects on the nation. The discovery of this underworld of immorality of youth only corroborates what things were assumed or sensed for a long time. Only the spread and depth of this debauchery now stands partly exposed. The criminalization of such young people is the outcome of a moral vacuum in the homes they come from or no morality practised by their elders in such families.
Wealth when it is hard earned can be relatively harmless. The entrepreneurs who make it from rags to riches through hard work and the approved qualities of innovation, persistence and other positive attributes, usually transmit similar values of discipline, integrity of character and diligence to their own children. The homes of such rich persons are found not so devoid of practising values. In contrast, the homes of wheeler-dealers who amassed great money fast without earning it, are usually seen shorn of ethics and quality of characters among their inmates. Fathers cannot perform the role of the ideal role model before their children in such social relationships. Mothers who lead a life of waste and similar lack of worthy values, also cannot be expected to impart the right values. In many cases, the children of such homes with both parents heavily indulging in self-gratification outside the homes with no time to care for the children or watch over them, create alienation, emotional emptiness, boredom and listlessness among youth. The same cause mental problems for youth and their leaning to socially unapproved or disgraceful ways.
Thus, the busting of such vice rackets cannot be only a concern of the law enforcement bodies alone. The malaise will have to be treated at the source. Rehabilitation of time-tested values in the homes of the affluent must figure prominently in the eradication of such crimes. The media should maintain a consistent interest in the matter and give greater regular publicities to how the youth are getting corrupted specially in affluent and educated families. Moral study now takes a back seat in the country's conventional education systems. But even developed countries these days are giving much emphasis to the study of moral science compulsorily in their educational institutions as a way of inculcating the right values on their young ones. Bangladesh needs to do the same for getting the benefits of the same.
However, what is more ominous is the discovery of Yaba making machines in the hideout. Yaba that posed a threat to the health, morality and vitality of youth in Thailand, was severely controlled in that country. It appears that after expulsion from Thailand, the business of this drug has taken a firm root in Bangladesh with all the evil and dangerous consequences thereof. There are examples of corrupting of whole nations with addiction. Bangladesh has to confront the Yaba culture understanding its similar debilitating effects on the nation. The discovery of this underworld of immorality of youth only corroborates what things were assumed or sensed for a long time. Only the spread and depth of this debauchery now stands partly exposed. The criminalization of such young people is the outcome of a moral vacuum in the homes they come from or no morality practised by their elders in such families.
Wealth when it is hard earned can be relatively harmless. The entrepreneurs who make it from rags to riches through hard work and the approved qualities of innovation, persistence and other positive attributes, usually transmit similar values of discipline, integrity of character and diligence to their own children. The homes of such rich persons are found not so devoid of practising values. In contrast, the homes of wheeler-dealers who amassed great money fast without earning it, are usually seen shorn of ethics and quality of characters among their inmates. Fathers cannot perform the role of the ideal role model before their children in such social relationships. Mothers who lead a life of waste and similar lack of worthy values, also cannot be expected to impart the right values. In many cases, the children of such homes with both parents heavily indulging in self-gratification outside the homes with no time to care for the children or watch over them, create alienation, emotional emptiness, boredom and listlessness among youth. The same cause mental problems for youth and their leaning to socially unapproved or disgraceful ways.
Thus, the busting of such vice rackets cannot be only a concern of the law enforcement bodies alone. The malaise will have to be treated at the source. Rehabilitation of time-tested values in the homes of the affluent must figure prominently in the eradication of such crimes. The media should maintain a consistent interest in the matter and give greater regular publicities to how the youth are getting corrupted specially in affluent and educated families. Moral study now takes a back seat in the country's conventional education systems. But even developed countries these days are giving much emphasis to the study of moral science compulsorily in their educational institutions as a way of inculcating the right values on their young ones. Bangladesh needs to do the same for getting the benefits of the same.