The World Could be A Better Place

Have you ever thought that the world could be a better place if we all played our part? Reading through the internet one wouldn’t be surprised to see stories of how inhuman we have become. I do not want to mention any specific examples, but I am certain when such a statement is written, something clicks in your mind. Forget about what crossed your mind, but rather think of what has happened at your place of work, your village, your estate and you just took it as a normal occurrence.

We grew up in a forested area where residents were allowed to practice agroforestry. Besides, the community in the vicinity of the forested areas had the privilege of herding their livestock as well as collecting biomass in and from the forests respectively. I recall many scenarios when there were human conflicts between the community and the forest rangers. The reason was not well known because as far as we were concerned, we had every right to use the resource.

In our childhood, we realized that the resources were not free therefore those who used them illegally were the target. But everyone had a permit which made them legal users of the resources. The women also had to get a permit that allowed them to get wood fuel from the forest. This approach is being practised in most countries, as they endeavour to involve the community in the management of natural resources. It is even more effective now that we have integrated natural resources management, where the communities take part in the management through community-based organizations.

As we are all humans, one would expect that whenever the officers in charge find a community member who has gone against the set rules, they approach the matter amicably. On the contrary, we have had cases of inhuman activities taking place, because of a small misunderstanding. It used to be a case of human-wildlife conflicts, but it is now a human-human conflict. The conflict between humans surprisingly is between community members and officers who would otherwise be protecting them.

As a young man growing up in the village, herding the cattle in the forest was a norm during the weekends and holidays. Excitedly, we all guided the livestock to Mau forest, in search of green grass. To prove to your fellow peers that you were “muren” (a grown man), we never took packed meals with us. So, it was survival of the fittest, and during lunchtime, young men would go to people’s farms and steal potatoes and maize from the farms.

We would then roast them and have a short afternoon before we drove the livestock back home. Though the adventure was successful in some instances, most of the time we got whipped by the owners. In some cases, we got caught as we prepared the “meal” and the beating was not one that someone would even like to remember. Because it was a mistake, there was no way that you would report it to your parents, so we always let it slip.

Not once did we have a running escapade with the forest service officers who at the time walked through the forests searching for people who were illegally harvesting trees. The reason was so obvious, and we were in the wrong. If not abusing the officers, we would be illegally cutting eucalyptus poles or uprooting the trees planted in the farms, that our parents were otherwise required to take care of.

There is a case reported in the media houses of five forest service officers in Kenya who reportedly arrested a woman who was collecting wood fuel in a forest. So these officers needed some money so that they could release the lady, and the woman called his son. The woman wanted the son to bring her the money to help bail her out, but when he arrived at the scene, he found the officers harassing his mother. Like any other man, the 19-year-old high school student defended her mother which irked the officers. They then turned their attention to the young man and assaulted him, but the young man was treated but unfortunately succumbed to the injuries. One lady who claims to have visited the deceased in the hospital said that his state was very bad and that he was still in handcuffs.

Last year other young men were caught doing illegal logging in the Mau forest in Kenya, and the officers tied the logs on their backs and were forced to move around with the logs as they narrated some words portraying them as thieves. The standard also reports that other four men were caught illegally harvesting logs in Mau forest. Whatever they did was wrong, and could have cost these officers their jobs, but did it warrant what they did to these young men? What if these men had no other income source for their families? Why did they opt to do an activity that they knew was wrong, and could land them in jail? This is a case of ignorance and not abiding by the law. If we all took responsibility and followed the law to the letter, maybe the world would be a better place. But does this law apply to everyone or politicians and the rich are exempted?

Click here to go back Home.