Yemeni youth: Good as gold [Archives:2002/21/Viewpoint]

Why do we tend to disregard our youth? This is a question Yemeni need to start asking themselves very seriously. I see a young promising generation represented by talented and well-educated Yemeni youth, disregarded and neglected.
I can positively say that among the reasons for our backwardness today is because we have not given the qualified new generation any role to play.
Yemen has great potential to grow and progress. Yet, we are overlooking the most vital source for such development. We are forgetting that those graduates, who are eager to build skills, learn new ideas, cope with new technologies are left with no chance. We are missing the main point behind the building of nations: the people.
For me, no month passes without discovering young women and men who express their frustration for lack of trust by their bosses at work or instructors at colleges. I have seen how many Yemeni students excel in developing theories and writing computer software that could potentially compete internationally if encouraged.
I was also able to see how female students would not suffice with what is taught to them in classes and look beyond that for more knowledge and experience. Those men and women should be the cornerstones of a modern and developed Yemen. Hence, it is so upsetting to see they are abandoned.
Last week, I was hosted as a guest to the Mahweet College of Educations English Department. They were having their annual celebration and astonished me with excellent activities, work, and ideas. Despite their limited financial resources, they have proven with their hand-made wooden awards and with their hand-written wall magazine that they are capable of doing. And they can do much more if they given the means, trust and encouragement. |The dean who provided these things understands this.
In other words, we need to appreciate what Yemeni young men and women can do, and what they are eager to do.
We have heard of extremely successful engineers, inventors, surgeons, and computer engineers who know Yemen as their homeland. Yet, they found opportunities where they are.
Yemenis are no less clever or creative than other people in the West or in the Far East. As a matter of fact they may well be among the brightest and most creative. But we simply cannot see our talent wasted and discouraged.
It is time to acknowledge the great potential and abilities that our youth enjoy, and showcase them for the sake of a better tomorrow for our beloved Yemen. They are human resources that we dont want to lose. They are what Yemen needs to keep and develop most.

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