Jobless in abundance [Archives:2008/1118/Opinion]
Dr. Samia Al-Aghbari
The majority of youths and teenage boys and girls suffer idleness. They constituted an idle group that has no institution or organization to rescue them from their miserable situations. Idle and jobless people are realized in every small and large family irrespective of parents' and other family members' being educated or illiterate, poor or wealthy.
Idleness has become a prominent phenomenon in our community as jobless people are looked at by several families normally without any need for trouble. What the cause of being jobless is. Why teenage people and youths, pondered upon as pillars of the future in our country, are staying at home without any work to do. Why did these youths and teenagers waste their time and what are the consequences of wasting time? How can we rescue these youths and teenagers from the blight of being workless and help them make use of their time in a profitable and useful manner?
Of the most important factors that lead youths and teenagers in our country to be stranded idle inside their homes without any job are the means of upbringing in the family climate, as most of the Yemeni families never care for acclimatizing their kids with organizing and making use of their times at an early age. Families are perceived to be carefree toward their children and don't care for modifying their behaviors and taking them to the right way.
Families' being indifferent toward modifying their kids' behavior is one of the primary reasons behind the phenomenon of idleness among youths while the school's negative role helps exacerbate the phenomenon. Most of the primary and secondary schools don't play an integral educational role to increase student's awareness about exploiting their times, nor do these schools care for discovering talented and more able kids in order to encourage them and develop their skills.
Although the Yemeni government, represented by the agencies, corporations and ministries, concerned with teenagers and youths from both sexes, organize summer camps and cultural and sporting activities, most of the youths and teenagers refrain from participating in these activities, as they have no enough money or their parents prevent them from doing so.
Lack of awareness among families about helping their kids to make use of their times is one of the main factors behind the phenomenon. As a result, many teenagers and youths spend their time sleeping until noon everyday, particularly during their summer vacation. They stay up overnight before the television screens and computers, and therefore add an extra burden on their parents and families. These youths never make use of their days. They remain dependent on their parents to provide them with livelihood as if they are residing in five-star hotels.
I wish I know that these youths value the various services, including food, dresses and other daily expenses, which their parents offer them. Sometimes, we see that parents give their idle sons money for qat and cigarette, which is why most of these youths and teenagers, particularly the males, grow into tyrants exercising power on their fathers, moths and sisters.
Teenagers and youths become idle from productive and lucrative works, empty-minded and disabled. They do not become capable of thinking properly and logically, nor are they eligible run their families' affairs. Many youths and teenagers don't feel ashamed when they ask their mothers or sisters to give them pocket money for qat and cigarette. In event their mothers or sisters refuse to give them any money, they threaten to resort to violence against them and prevent them from going out their homes. And, if their fathers refuse to give them pocket money, they resort to steal away any money belonging to their parents or sisters. Finding no money for qat and cigarette, many youths and teenagers prefer to flee their homes and sleep with their peers, thereby forcing their parents to search for them and ask them to return home on condition of providing with pocket money. In this case, parents find themselves compelled to agree and meet any demands listed by their kids.
Families nationwide are advised to give top priority to resolving the phenomenon of joblessness among youths, and it is impossible for kids to get rid of idleness as long as parents and heads of households spend much of their time doing nothing.
Organizing time and respecting work, be it physical or mental, is the basic means for educating our kids and teaching them how to be more enthusiastic for exploiting their times and opportunities. Schools and other educational institutions are expected to play a complementary role to that of families in this respect. Discovering and developing teenagers' talents and skills in any major is due to contribute to ending the phenomenon of joblessness and make teenagers engaged in profitable and joyful works.
Source: Al-Thawra State-run Daily.
——
[archive-e:1118-v:15-y:2008-d:2008-01-07-p:opinion]
