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{
    "id": 935145,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/935145/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 165,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Turkana CWR, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Joyce Emanikor",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1092,
        "legal_name": "Joyce Akai Emanikor",
        "slug": "joyce-akai-emanikor"
    },
    "content": "examine disaster preparedness policies in schools to evaluate disaster awareness in the school environment with a view to establishing measures to enhance disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Security and safety threats in institutions of learning are a global phenomenon that has resulted in reforms and law amendments in some jurisdictions. In 2014, the Peshawar School Massacre by the Taliban in Pakistan which killed over 141 people resulted in a new law. The 2004 Beslan School Siege in Russia that killed 385 people resulted in a series of Federal Government’s reforms. Globally, concepts and ideas on security of children are deliberated on, but action has to be taken locally. With education under attack around the world, a mission to protect children in school was launched in 2015 through the May 2015 Oslo Conference on Safe Schools. I am happy to report that Kenya is among the 80 United Nations Member States that, on 9th August 2018, endorsed a declaration to protect children and teachers from attacks. A majority of the 15 UN’s Security Council Member States have signed it. Three of the five permanent member states have also signed it. Although those guidelines are not legally binding, they draw on good practice to reduce the impact of disasters in schools. To conclude, I cite a young man from Meru called Mwiti Murithi who, out of his concern and fear of increasing safety and security threats, risks and incidents not only in institutions of learning but also in the general environment, has written a book called Act Before Bang . He underscores the importance of deterrence. He asks whether we are aware of our surroundings. Can we identify people of potential threat hence deter danger? If you are, then you have an edge over your aggressors. Questions that need to be answered about our institutions of learning are: Are people in our institutions of learning able to activate various levels of alert in schools in case of a suspicious situation? Are they able to quickly analyse the behaviour of strangers to tell potential threats? Are they able to assess the body language, the kinesics and the interpersonal distance in cases of rape? Can they do a simple intelligence reporting in cases of unusual circumstances – number of suspected criminals, cause of alarm, location, dressing of criminals, exact time, weapons in use etcetera ? Do they know the principle of “Flee or Fight” or self defence? How many of our schools are able to immediately call the police emergency numbers, including the Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) hotline? Are all our schools networked and policed in our regions and, how effective are the security emergency numbers? Can teachers, students and parents assess the quality and stability of school infrastructure? Can they tell when buildings are about to collapse? Can our institutions of learning organise simple emergency evacuations? To finish, I will quote the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Executive Director who, in desperation, said: “Places of learning have become places to fear. What has humanity become when children face death while trying to learn?” Finally, as a nation, we value our children and youth. They are our future and hope. The most sacred thing to us as a nation is our children. Killing hundreds of them at a time, whether through fires, terrorism, shooting sprees and collapsed buildings, is an attempt to defile our nation, to kill our future and hope. We must safeguard our institutions of learning. I beg to move and request Hon. Hon. Dennitah Ghati to second. Thank you."
}