If we have love for one another, we cannot fear those who we are told are bad. Fear is described by psychologist as a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat that occurs in certain types of organisms. It is said that FEAR causes a change in metabolic and organ functions and ultimately a change in behavior, such as fleeing, hiding, or freezing from perceived traumatic events.
I submit to you my brothers and sisters that our political leaders have used FEAR to divide us alongside ethinic, religious and racial lines making us fear those people who do not look like us, or do not speak our language or do not have the same Faith and beliefs like ours. Muslims are set against Christians and Vice versa, Hindus are set against Muslims and the chain goes on and on. We have made our young people look at others with animosity and hatred yet they are all citizen of one country, members of the same community and therefore citizens of this world.If we loved one another, there would be no refugees running away from wars in their own country. If we loved each other, we would not be manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.
Psychologist say that Fear in human beings may occur in response to a specific stimulus occurring in the present, or in anticipation or expectation of a future threat perceived as a risk to body or life. Many young people are fleeing the African continent because they fear hunger , stavation, wars, joblessness, uncertain future and the phobia of failure. As result, of the political environment in the third worl countries, which is created by poor leadership by every succeeding goverment, the young able bodied Africans are ready to risk their lives and swim across the oceans just to save their dreams.
Parents on the other hand are ready to get very heavy loans to pay the so called agents to help take away their sons and daughters from the poverty that Afriacan countries have become. Every flight from the capitals of many African countries landing in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific has atleast one or two young people who are fleeing from situations back home.
According to Stop the traffik Organisation, 600,000-800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year and approximately 80 per cent are women and girls. Up to 50% are minors. At least 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide.This is what has now become new slavery and slave trade through human trafficking. If we loved each other as the Bible tell us we would not be having tragic stories of thousands of people dying in the highseas in search of work and peace.
The populations of young people leaving the African continent is as a responce to what the experts in the area of Psychology have categorized as, the fear response that arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response or paralysis.
As a manifestation of this reaction to the fear created by our political leaders in Africa, the young people have only two options: Fight or Flight. The former reaction creates a fertile ground for religious radicalization, terror gang mentality like the Mungiki, Sungu Sungu, Taliban the Mombasa Republican Movement, the Lord's resistance Army of Kony and the present South African political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, which is actually a direct result of the political situation in South africa created by Political Leaders who use Fear as an instrument of dividing the people. The only cure for this is GOD'S LOVE.
I once took a test in Poetry and was asked to explain the irony in a situation where an accident occured involving a concrete mixing truck and a truck ferrying hardcore prisoners to jail. I saw several imageries with many subtle similarities in this scenario where incarceration of the young people arrested in violation of any laws exacerbates the situation rather than curing it.
Many young people have convertated to radical religious sects because right there in the Prison they interact hard core criminals who are also highly educated but may be very ingnorant of true teachings of the religions they puport to preach.
Young people with the potentila of being engineers teachers and innovators are put together with rebelious criminals and just like the concrete mixer truck hardens the stuff by mixing sand, water, cement and pebbles, the petty offenders become robbers and terrorists because the prisons are also places where learning of anything can take place. This is confirmed by what Psychology teaches that in humans and in animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning. Irrational fear, also known as ethnophobia in our case here, creates enemity among people and those who are in power, decide to use the state apparatus defend their positions against those who are trying to resist.
We have very many examples in Africa where the use fear by political Leaders has destroyed many a nation. The Bible provides the only Road map to sanity and peace. In 1 John 4:18 the apostle tells us "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Let us seek the Perfect LOVE that has only one source- GOD as fully demonstrated on the Cross of Christ.
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