From the outside looking in on British society and young people, it can be easy to see how other nations might think that Brits have it easy. Free meals at school, free travel around town, running water at home, free health and education, compared to areas in Africa where you have to walk to the local well to get water, pay for an education and in some cases run for your life from war.
“The NHS is a benchmark of society in the UK. Everyone can use it if they need it. If you’re sick you call 999 and an ambulance comes and picks you up. But in Africa if you are sick, you have to go to your neighbour, borrow their car, and drive to the hospital. I think British young people don’t understand how lucky they are to have these things as a backup.” Said Gloire, 20, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Lynnette, 16 originally from Zimbabwe said: ”Look at teenage pregnancies in the UK. A girl gets pregnant here and she will get support from the government. You don’t get that kind of support in Africa, so the young people there are more aware of the consequences which will result in dropping out of school.
“You can look at it in two ways. It’s good that the British government will support you when you need it, but it also makes you complacent. In Africa it’s a good thing that the government doesn’t reach out to people, it makes them more responsible.”
Gloire adds: “The education system in the UK is good. But the young people don’t take the advantages they have.”
A 55 year old mother of two has a slightly different view on the reason why a large amount young people in the UK are not utilising their school days: “The classrooms are packed with 35 or more children and the teachers can’t cope. This results in the children not getting the necessary one to one attention they need, so quite a few get overlooked. The parents are also busy working to support them financially and don’t have the time to speak to their children about school and go to the schools to see what’s going on.”
Discipline in the classroom seems to have two different meanings in Africa and Britain. A fear of the cane for misbehaving and poor work breads respect and discipline in Africa, while in the UK, children’s human rights are giving them power without the responsibility. Paulette, 21 said: “Kids know that parents aren’t allowed to hit them by law and this gives them the power to push the limits. When I was young a smack didn’t do me any harm and it kept me in line.”
Jane, 43, said: “We shouldn’t go back to teachers being able to hit children who miss-behave, however there has to be more support in how teachers can enforce discipline. At the moment a teacher can try to discipline a child but only for the parent to contradict them and say ‘I don’t want you to punish my child.’ This makes it’s tough for the teacher have any respect in the classroom.”
Research by Population Action International place the UK at 112th in the league tables of Europe for teen parents. Thomas, 40, an Irish man living in the UK for the past 20 years said: “If you have a kid at 14, 15, your life is ruined. Life is going to be hard, they are going to find it hard to get a job and find someone to look after your kid. They do need support from the government. I speak from experience; my baby’s mother was 15 when we had our first child. It sort of ruined her life.
“I don’t think kids have it easy these days, they have nothing to do and that’s why you get gangs, stabbings, shootings and girls falling pregnant.”
David, 16 thinks that all teenagers are naturally risk takers and this is why self discipline slips. “Teenagers will just go out and cause trouble to see how far they can go. We are, by nature, risk takers.” And Kymberley, 13 agrees. “It’s the thrill and the rush of doing something bad.”
So high teen pregnancy rates, gang culture on the rise and unruly classrooms. Is the ‘easy life’ the cause of this decline?
“I think it depends on what your definition of ‘easy’ is. I think compared to other countries on economic terms, UK kids have it easier.” Said Jane, 43, who works with young people: “But I would also say that in terms of how complicated their lives are they have it a bit harder.”
Lynnette has been living in the UK for two years now and her view is starting to soften: “Living in a different environment makes you a different person. African kids have a view that British kids are all spoilt and disrespectful and have a stereotyped view. And that view might not be totally untrue. But when you come to a new country as a young person you notice all the bad things first. The good stuff grows on you.”
About this article...
This story has been produced by Kymberley Apiro-Eloket, 13, Michael Wilson, 14, Akram Bwanika, 16, David O'mara, 16, Lynnette Musunga, 16 and Gloire Anmany, 20
