Corpun file 24485 at www.corpun.com
Daily News, Dar es Salaam, 13 May 2013
Maasai elders resort to the 'cane' to rescue youths from city vice
By Hazla Quire
in Arusha
SOME elders of the Maasai community here have decided to launch an operation to rescue their youths, the Moran, from the vice of city life, especially drug abuse.
A Maasai traditional leader, Mr Nahum Laiser, said under their newly-hatched mission, the tribe elders have been gathering Maasai youths living in Arusha city and enrolling them into a special group now totalling 50 members.
"We have been enrolling Maasai youths from Mianzini, Sombetini, Ilboru and Soweto (Kaloleni) areas of Arusha city, many of whom were already alcoholics and drug addicts," stated Mr Laiser, adding that under special counseling some had recovered from their addiction through traditional rehabilitation methods.
The rescued 50-plus youths have in turn been tasked with rounding up their colleagues languishing in drug dens or pubs in the city and giving them thorough strokes of the cane to save them from their stupor.
The method includes capturing them by force and administering harsh beatings to jerk them back to their senses and Maasai pride.
Arusha is currently experiencing a massive influx of Maasai youths from rural areas after the life got tough in their homelands of Monduli, Simanjiro and Ngorongoro, areas that have been facing long drought spells.
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