Dear Editor,
There is a place for the youth in nation-building and development. A recently released Caribbean Development Bank study pegs youth unemployment in Guyana at approximately 40 per cent. With approximately 60-65 per cent of the population aged 40 years and younger this situation raises eyebrows. It says too that the Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar governments did not have a youth policy to address this crisis. This level of unemployment can give rise to social diseases such as crime, increased poverty, poor health, attraction to the drug trade and a reduction in life expectancy. In addition, unemployment contributes to the brain drain, further depleting the nation of its most vital resource for development and sustainability.
Young people desire to make their own history. They want to build Guyana and cooperate with their elders in doing so. The young have ideas on how things can be done, and since ideas in driving the nation’s agenda and programme take place at the policy-making phase, having a seat at the table will make a difference. Yes, youth can. The general outlook of youth, especially those who are engaged, is to make a positive difference, to push new limits, set new boundaries, do things a little differently in order to realise new outcomes and growth. This engagement comes with love for fellow citizens and a dedication of energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana.
Though the young may have been told about or listened to the ‘bad’ stories of 30 plus years ago, they are not necessarily interested in these because they have not experienced them personally. History through the lens of youth is revisited with the desire to understand what made earlier leaders do what they did and is usually devoid of deep-seated rancour. Though some see youthful zeal as impatience, it is not. If it is so construed it may be impatience with having to be tied to and burdened by a political past they were not responsible for and played no part in; they were in their infancy or not even born yet. It is having to feel that their entire lives will be wasted, and tied down to marking time and settling old scores.
Youth does not want to be shackled by the past; they want to learn from the past, correct the mistakes of the past and adopt the positives of the past. Youth can see benefits in and learn from the mistakes of all past leaders and does not want to feel forced to choose one over the other, or see good only in one and bad only in the other. The dead cannot be raised and there is no interest in jumbie politics.
Young people are also not looking for handouts and sympathy. They believe a country is allowed to grow and always better off utilizing fresh ideas and young blood. It is understandable Bharrat Jagdeo’s bad governance, voracious appetite and ungentlemanlike attitude left a bad taste in people’s mouths and gave youth a bad rap. Mr Jagdeo who came to the presidency at age 35 is the exception, not the norm. In looking within and outside Guyana there are numerous persons who have shaped this world and have done so in their youth. Some are Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, Martin Luther King Jr, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, all of whom were in their 20s and 30s when they became involved in national issues. Yes, youth can.
In relation to the high level of youth unemployment, in addition to the urgent need for a job creation plan which would aggressively pursue employment opportunities and for an examination of the education system to ensure training for a competitive job market, it may be opportune to examine the establishment of a National Service. A National Service along the lines where Guyanese are engaged in personal growth and nation building through skills acquisition and application, populating the hinterland and reinforcing border security, may be just what Guyana needs at this time. I am advised the military component in the Guyana National Service (GNS) was guided by a policy to have Guyanese equipped to deal with border threats and that the service was also a mechanism for satisfying employment needs. There are many who were in the GNS and are leading successful lives. I am aware of an ugly perception of the service and the unfortunate experiences shared. These can be examined and remedial policies put in place, but they do not give rise to throwing out the baby with the bath water. Venezuela’s ongoing agitation also makes it pressing to review the necessity of such an institution which can simultaneously provide employment opportunities and reinforce our borders.
Yours faithfully,
Sharma Solomon
