- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:05:13 -0800
- From: Agence Global <rights@agenceglobal.com>
-
- A Guide to the Young Arab World
- by Rami G. Khouri
-
- BEIRUT -- I was struck this week by the contrast between two
phenomena that I have been following in the course of my daily
work and personal
- interests: on the one hand, major and often disruptive
political events around the Middle East that capture much
attention and can create tension and conflict for short periods of
time; and, on the other hand, a more subtle and nuanced
exploration of the mindsets and perceptions of young men and women
in the Arab world whose attitudes and actions will be far more
important determinants of this region’s future prospects than any
immediate political event.
-
- The latter exercise is more fascinating and meaningful these
days thanks to a valuable new tool that is available for any
person interested in understanding accurately what is actually
going on in the minds and hearts of approximately 120 million
young Arabs roughly between the ages of 12 and 25. That tool is
the new survey of young Arabs conducted twice a year by the Gallup
company for the Doha-based Silatech organization that works to
improve job prospects, entrepreneurship and school-to-work
transitions for Arab youth across the region.
-
- The third Silatech-Gallup survey (www.Silatech.com) has just
been published and it provides some fascinating and important
insights into how young Arabs see themselves and their world --
altogether expected when one actually sits down with young Arabs,
asks them about their sentiments and views, and listens to what
they say.
-
- Here is my “Understanding Arab youth for dummies” summary of
some key findings from the latest data, based on interviews with
over 10,000 15-29-year-olds earlier this year in every Arab League
member country.
-
- 1. The most important thing to know about Arab youth is that
there is no
- such category as “Arab youth,” because living conditions,
attitudes and
- aspirations vary widely across the region and within
countries by
- economic status. A critical determinant of attitudes is
economic
- wellbeing, meaning that young Arabs are the same as young
Chinese,
- Mexicans or Belgians -- treat them well and give them a
fair chance to
- advance in life, and they will respond as responsible,
productive
- citizens. Treat them badly, and they will want to leave or
turn to any
- personal behavior or political savior that will provide
them the
- services and opportunities that they may feel they are not
getting from
- their state or government. This is reflected in many
variables, such as
- the desire to emigrate or a sense of feeling secure in
life or
- struggling or suffering to meet daily needs.
-
- 2. The desire to emigrate is a major telltale sign of the
concerns of many
- young Arabs in economically stressed countries. About
one-third of all
- young Arabs say they would like to emigrate permanently to
another
- country, and this ratio reaches as high as 50 percent in
some
- countries. More educated youth in economically stressed
countries tend
- to have a higher desire to leave, meaning that the Arab
world continues
- to lose its most valuable asset: its educated and
entrepreneurial young
- citizens.
-
- 3. The desire to leave is not only about finding a better or
higher-paying
- job. Subtle issues of quality of life also emerge from
this date. In
- Tunisia, for example, where 44 percent of polled youth say
they wish to
- leave the country, three reasons pertain: views about the
current job
- climate, opinions regarding economic conditions generally,
and
- perceptions related to governance. Those who say “most”
people in
- Tunisia are afraid to express their political views are
far more likely
- to desire to emigrate (58 percent) than those who say that
“some are afraid” to express such views (44 percent). Young Arab
women across the region who wish to emigrate cite reasons beyond
jobs, such as health, education and environmental conditions.
-
- 4. An important aspect of this poll relates to youth’s
perceptions of
- their wellbeing and life satisfaction today and their
sense of where
- they will be in the future, revealing a massive cleavage
among rich and
- poor in our region. In high-income Arab countries, the
vast majority
- were “thriving” (61% men and 57% women), compared to just
15% of men
- and women who felt they were “thriving” in middle-income
countries and
- 12% in low-income countries. The vast majority in middle
and low income
- countries were “struggling” to make ends meet (72% and
76%) compared to
- 40% in this category in high-income countries. Around
12-13% of youth
- were “suffering” in low-income countries, compared to just
1% in
- wealthier Arab countries.
-
- 5. Economic and political grievances are strong and clear
across most of
- the Arab region, but these are usually offset by equally
strong
- supportive factors in young people’s lives, like family,
friends,
- religion and supportive social structures. Therefore, a
majority of
- young Arabs continues to feel that they have the ability
to improve
- their life quality. In Tunisia, for example, 91 percent of
youth
- believe that they can get ahead if they work hard.
-
-
- Rami G. Khouri is Editor-at-large of The Daily Star, and
Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and
International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, in
Beirut, Lebanon.