Mogamat Imaad Abrahams recently graduated from Spine Road High School in Cape Town, South Africa. He is now studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Cape Town. Mr. Abrahams is enthusiastic about politics, youth advocacy and women¡¯s reproductive health. He currently serves as the President of Peace Club South Africa. Read Mr. Abrahams' statement on peace below:
How do we ensure a democracy where, when we make decisions around inequality, the voices of those who they would most affect, are always included?
I come from a context where inequality is heavy. Inequality is always present within South Africa. We have a Gini coefficient of 68.0. More than 50% of the population lives off less than five dollars a day. Inequality is a prevalent issue that needs to be addressed. It has been going on since the end of apartheid and even before apartheid took place.
This is how I think we can address these issues at the core.
First, we need to ensure that we have an educated and informed citizenship. People need to be educated through projects and initiatives that are actually implemented. They need to be educated about the democratic processes of how the issues can be addressed properly and effectively.
Second, an informed citizenship is a citizenship that knows what is going on in the world, how we achieve our goals, how we ensure that government addresses our issues while taking into consideration the factors that affect governments' decisions, and how these factors might influence what we are trying to achieve.
There is a difference between being educated and being informed. Both need to work together for citizens to be successful. In my context, most citizens do not have this. They do not have access to education, and they don't know how to keep themselves informed. We need initiatives that will help to assist a more participatory democracy. Because the more people are involved, the greater change they will bring about, and that is what an ideal democracy should look like.
Think tanks on the ground are conducting research about how people are affected by the inequality that plagues their communities, and what can be done about it. Not only should these researchers be able to reach out into these communities, but the research that they conduct should be able to go through to relevant stakeholders, who can effect change within these communities.
We cannot make policies without including the voices of those who it would most affect. Because policies are only effective when we have the people behind us, when we ensure that people actually want these policies, that people who the policies are for, are for the policy as well.
There needs to be active research done around what they think about these suggested policies that are going to affect their lives. They should be getting an unbiased message about it. People should tell them: this is the advantage and this is the disadvantage of having this policy. What do you think about it? Surveys need to be done. This is how we ensure that the voices of those who are most affected by inequality will be addressed.
When we have those who want to address their own inequalities and what takes place in their communities, then we are set for success. We are set for success because the people are behind us, the people support what we are trying to do, and they are involved.
You have a sense of ownership when you are part of the process and when you can make decisions with government officials, with policy makers, with all the various stakeholders, that is how I think we can address inequality while ensuring that we are not disconnected from the people on the ground. Thank you.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire. This Youth Action for Peace series brings together voices of university students around the world sharing the same mission: to celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.
