When examining the youth in the Middle East and their political involvement between the past and the present, we will find that in the Arab revolts against British and French rule of earlier decades, the youth had a prominent role in those political movements. Their overall goal was to establish an independent state free from foreign rule. This was a main concern of the youth of the Middle East in the 1960s and 70s.
If we look at more recent years, we will also find that young people were at the forefront of the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, including in Yemen. Unfortunately though, political parties in Yemen have in recent years worked to exploit young people politically to achieve their own goals without any consideration for the rights and aspirations of the youth.
This exploitation of Yemeni youth has resulted in us losing many of our finest youth on the battlefields. The majority of them were brainwashed, grudges planted in their hearts towards anyone holding a different opinion from their political leaders. The parties involved in the conflict here in Yemen have worked hard to make even the mere thought and idea of political pluralism and civil rights taboo subjects. Anyone who dares to challenge the parties by the pen or engage in political action risks being subject to enforced disappearance, inhumane treatment and even death.
As a result, many young Yemenis have joined armed groups and carry out orders without even asking why or for what reason. Others get preoccupied with trivial issues or get dragged into drug abuse without any hope on the horizon. Few young people can leave Yemen or go into academia away from all the political issues.
In my opinion, restricting political freedoms and suppressing the ideas of young people-which we see happening in Yemen now- will only create a generation of political fanatics. It will result in the deliberate destruction of education in Yemen and the spreading of delusions. Obedience to the political leaders will only strengthen this fanaticism.
Finally, and this is again my personal opinion, I believe that the youth of our fathers and grandfathers’ generations were more aware and enlightened. They had the courage and knowledge to become independent decision makers whereas the youth today seems easy to mobilize and influence with ideas and beliefs that serve certain authoritarian parties.
