TANYA ZERIGA-ALONE
MOST of us in the current generation are lost in transition - moving from the village to the city we were not prepared for the life we are now living.
Our fathers and our grandfathers did not prepare us for how to function in this new lifestyle. How could they have known the challenges?
Most of us have learned how to live the approved life and to navigate the quagmire of a western society: through education, by observing others, through reading, and being exposed to new ideas in travel, movies and meeting new people.
We cannot begin to grasp the nuances of living in a western-style society governed by laws of western origin until we have immersed ourselves fully in such a lifestyle.
It is no wonder, when faced with a challenge, we revert to the default - the habits we adopted when growing up.
To move on, we have to stop blaming our past and try to break the cycle of ignorance and reluctance to change.
Education is one way to bring people up to speed. Then, after education, employment and a minimum wage need to be enough to enable independent living.
It is not a hopeless case so don't be too hard on ourselves. Things will get better.