Editorial
Supervise children when they are online
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which hit Ghana in March this year posed a lot of challenges to Ghanaians, notable among them is the closure of schools for safety reasons.
As a result the use of the internet by children has increased significantly as they get the opportunity to be educated by mostly using the internet to access information while at home and also interact with others. Unfortunately, some abuse this opportunity.
Schools have been organising online classes for children to complete their academic work and to ensure that the children do not miss much academically while at home.
Although children use the internet to access information and to educate themselves, the danger is that some may be tempted to visit unsuitable sites that may harm them as parents are busy and most often not around to monitor closely what their children do online.
Due to technological advancement it is now common for children to use mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other electronic media or communication gadgets for their assignments.
What is so disturbing is that some children are so addicted to the internet that even while eating, they are still glued to their phones and browse alongside but this behaviour must be checked. This is not about child rights, it is more of protection and security.
With the growing trend in cyber crime, children are at risk and need to be guided for security reasons, therefore, parents or care-givers must be vigilant and inculcate in the children the need to be honest and self-disciplined to avoid being lured by predators.
Children are curious and vulnerable to all forms of attacks by these fraudsters who usually hide their real identities and use fake images to lure children and engage them in a hearty chat online.
There have been cases where parents have also set bad precedence to their children by watching harmful movies with them thus allowing these innocent children to imitate blindly.
The Spectator is worried about children being exposed to all forms of attacks online and so urges stakeholders, especially parents to support the Child Online Protection (COP) initiative launched by the United Nations Agency for Information Communication Technology (ICT), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to protect children while they are online. This is spearheaded by the National Communications Authority (NCA).
In this era of COVID-19 where when most children are home, they become bored and want to entertain themselves by going online as an option but parents can find alternative means to occupy their children.
In this technological age you cannot isolate your children by refusing them the use of the phone or going online but they must be guided and monitored closely as the online environment is risky for them.
Parents who are educated must avail themselves and discuss online safety issues with their children by advising them not to interact with strangers and divulge vital information about themselves to others.
Supervise children when they are online.
Editorial
Let’s respect the dead
Dear Editor,
Growing up as a young man, I watched how families of deceased persons paid respect to their beloved ones.
Right from the mortuary to the funeral grounds, the mortal remains of the deceased are always handled with respect to honour them.
Most of the time, individuals who visit the mortuary to bring the body of the deceased home were required to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water.
A traditional belief holds that seeing or coming into contact with dead bodies portends a bad omen and may require spiritual cleansing.
However, in recent times, I have seen a number of videos on social media where corpses are handled without care.
In some of these videos, one could see the body of the corpse carried on the shoulders of friends or being made to stand while friends and families touch and take pictures with it.
I find that weird and at the same time disturbing and thinks a lot about the health implications.
According to some health experts, such an act poses a threat to public health as one may not know the cause of the death of the deceased.
Some have predicted that Ghana could face health crisis such as disease transmission as a result of the pathogens present in decomposing bodies, if care was not taken.
As a concerned individual, I share in the view of the health experts.
I believe that if care is not taken, the actions of the youth in handling dead bodies could lead to the spread of diseases.
I, therefore urge the Ghana Health Service to take the issue seriously and address it to avoid any possible future health crisis.
Atom,
Korle-bu
Editorial
Prevent Keta Township from being engulfed by sea
Have you ever dreamed about waking up to discover that everything you own—including your mattress, roof, and all of your memories – has been lost to the sea?
Since the sea has consumed a sizable portion of Keta in the Volta region, the town’s citizens are in a pitiful position. The sooner action is taken to save the town, the better off everyone will be.
The destruction of the Keta by the sea needs to be addressed immediately, or else the township would eventually be submerged under the water.
Our reporter’s visit showed that this once-thriving seaside resort is gradually disappearing. Keta was once a thriving town known for its business, but now some areas are in ruins, with some of the locals looking on in wonder at the destruction caused by the water.
For the residents of Keta, the Atlantic Ocean is no longer a far-off blue horizon. These days, it relentlessly and without invitation circles around their doorsteps, tearing down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and endangering lives.
Many locals have been forced to live with family or friends after the sea destroyed their homes years ago, and other residents find it hard to comprehend that their once-livable habitat is now in ruins.
The problem is that, apart from residences, Keta’s cultural identity being anchored by monuments are gradually disappearing. One remnant of the transatlantic slave trade, the once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, is now more of a ruin than a monument.
Once more, the ancient cinema where generations of children used to laugh at flickering black-and-white pictures is no longer there, as is the Bremen factory from the colonial era.
Among other things, the original police station has vanished, and Queen Street, which was once the town’s busy backbone, is now a flooded hallway clogged with rubble. There is still more work to be done despite previous attempts to address the issue since the town is fighting while the sea is winning.
Although water is life, in this instance, it is ruining people’s homes. The situation is serious since the water is destroying the town’s past as quickly as it is claiming its future, despite nature taking its course.
But as humans, our Creator has endowed us with the intelligence to solve problems. The historic town of Keta is now shrouded in uncertainty as the remains of a once-inhabited township are submerged and engulfed by the approaching seas along its coast.
Therefore, it is more efficient to have everyone working together to find a long-term solution to this terrible issue
