TROUBLED COMMUNICATION

By :Samuel Imonje

As I sit and watch what is happening in the world, I can’t help but be troubled by the wave of mass shootings and killings that has struck the world, and most recently our country Kenya. 

I sit and wonder as a community why are we failing in seeing the signs that lead to such horrific events; like the killing of six students at Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School in Turkana County by their own student who was expelled from the institution earlier on. And my conclusion was this..

Communication within our communities is on the verge of collapsing.It is only due to lack of communication in our communities that we find a plan such as that, done by a former student, being perpetrated and no signs being even noticed until the day of the horrific occurrence. It is sad and shameful that we lack communication at such a time and period of the 21st century. It is only lack of communication that leads the former student to even plan such a massacre and the villagers to burn the student mass shooter without knowing first and trying to understand his intentions and why he did it ,not that he would have said anyway. But we can not at all afford to ignore the signs of attack taking part in our own communication community systems then end up blaming the perpetrators when we are equally at fault. Its high time we took the stand. 

Communication should no longer be a unit we study in our universities during our degree,masters or phd courses but it should be our way of life especially at a time when our safety and cohesion as individuals is being threatened. We can and must avoid horrific cases of troubled communication such as the one in Lokichogio Mixed Secondary School.

Let us not only focus on our family and friends but also on our surroundings and our neighbors as well.When was the last time you checked what your neighbor was doing ?Or if He or she was doing okay?I know everyone needs privacy but when privacy becomes troubled communication then we don’t need privacy any more.