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Not to be neglected

Mar 26,2017 - Last updated at Mar 26,2017

The Barcelona Centre for International Affairs recently released the results of a survey it conducted for the European Commission on 10,000 people in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, which found a deep sense of “frustration and social exclusion”, among Arab youths who also expressed a strong desire to emigrate, notably to the West, in search of a better life and a more promising future.

According to the European Commission, one in five youths from these countries would like to emigrate in search of better prospects, a desire that, there is little doubt, would be echoed by youth — and not so young — in many other Arab countries who face the same problems: dim prospects of a bright future and no promising economic conditions.

While the youths’ desire to improve their lot is understandable, their little interest and involvement in politics is surprising.

“The indifference to politics is worrisome — nearly 60 per cent of young people eligible to vote didn’t do so in the most recent elections,” said a coordinator of the study at the Barcelona centre.

The reason, she said: “... for them, that’s not the main problem, but rather the feeling that they’re unable to become an adult. They see that they are not going to become self-sufficient quickly — find a job, leave their parents’ house, get married.”

Not attaching too much importance to or faith in their countries’ political life is of course disappointing, but it points — and that is worrisome — to lack of faith or trust in the democratic processes in their countries. 

Arab youth seem to feel alienated from the political process, and that is one important issue leaderships should delve into.

For 28 per cent of respondents, a low standard of living was the biggest problem, followed by the economic situation (22 per cent), jobs (12 per cent) and education (10 per cent).

The youth surveyed declared the educational systems in their countries “rigid, too theoretical and out of sync with the job market”. 

If young people are able to see this, shouldn’t their older, established, usually in the driver’s seat fellow citizens see it too? And do something about it?

For young people to have next to nothing to do — asked how they spend their free time, most said they “go out with friends”, followed by “go to the mosque” — life definitely cannot appear rosy.

Six years after the Arab Spring and the hope it brought, the future does not seem any brighter for the youth and they dream of leaving.

The list of Arab youth grievances, and there are others besides the ones mentioned in the report, calls for urgent action.

The Arab summit, in the process of adopting an agenda that will hopefully tackle Arab woes and frustrations, could be the right venue for discussing and trying to solve young people’s concerns.

The youth are the future and in their hands lies the future of the Arab world.

 

The Arab heads of state need to know what the worries of future generations are and seek to address their concerns in a practical way, thus addressing the future of the nation.

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