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{
    "id": 1349600,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1349600/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 654,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Crystal Asige",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to this Report by the Ad hoc Committee. I wish to thank the Committee through the leadership of Sen. Mungatana for a very good and detailed Report. It really went deep into issues that pertain to this heinous tragedy. I also wish to laud the care and thoughtfulness that went into writing this Report. I read it with a very heavy heart. It felt like a movie when I read this Report because there are some things we do not even dream are possible. However, I believe that the Committee did a very good job in investigating and writing the Report. I am sure there are things that did not make it to the Report and other areas they wish they would have had more time to unpack. However, a job has been done and it is done well. Before delving into the debate surrounding the Report, it is also crucial to acknowledge the human impact and distress experienced by those affected. I join hands with the Chairperson in giving my condolences to the families and loved ones of all those still missing or who have departed due to this heinous tragedy. My empathy, thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. I am in an equivocal solidarity with them. Their voices and experiences deserve utmost understanding and consideration. It is unfortunate that the country lacks a mental health framework of handling mass atrocities as noted in Paragraph 503 of the Report. We, as a country, are in urgent need of qualified counsellors to be deployed at the grassroots level on a continual basis and not to wait for emergency cases such as this to happen. The Report also notes that there are inadequate rescue centres for adults and children. I want to voice my agreement with this recommendation for county governments to establish rescue centres and operational counselling centres to provide mental health and support to victims of such tragedies. These services through the recently passed Social Health Insurance Fund Act should be available to all affected parties now and in future to ensure effective and progressive healing and reintegration into society. I believe that we have not seen the worst of the mental health issues that will arise from this year’s Shakahola incident. It will interest the House to know that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared loneliness to be a health threat. True to this Report, loneliness can lead many people vulnerable to vultures like Makenzie by taking advantage of them and recruiting them en-mass, leading them into tragedies like the present one. Karl Max famously said that religion is the opium of the people because it can be used by powerful people to oppress the weak and also make them feel good about being oppressed. Indeed, religion is a powerful tool that if left unfettered, can be used to cause The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}