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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
Disillusioned Nepalese youths are
going through turmoil. With employment opportunities vanishing back home, an increasing
number of youths are taking extreme measures. The result is mixed: while the upper and
upper middle class urban youths leave the country to study in the West, those from the
lower middle class go in search of employment in the Gulf countries. The youths from poor
families in rural areas either go to India where they take up menial jobs or are
enticed by the insurgents. Those who stay back home, too, are deeply disillusioned
with the strange turns their once peaceful country is taking. The consequences are
numerous, but is anybody paying attention to the plight of the greatest asset of the
country? By SANJAYA DHAKAL
Prakash KC and Sujit Bhandari both
are in their early 20s and have completed bachelor's-level education. But the similarities
end there. The variety of their aspirations and background is representative of how the
Nepalese youths of today are a disillusioned lot. KC is from a low-income family living in
Lubhu village development committee in Lalitpur. He does not have high ambitions. He just
wants to get a decent job so that he could be able to support his family. He has two
younger brothers and a younger sister. His mother is a simple housewife. His father, a
hard-working farmer, is the sole bread-winner. Naturally, his parents had high hopes in
him and had done everything they could to educate him. "But now, after having
received education up to the bachelor's level, I am not sure if the investment in my
education has been a correct one. I have tried several times to get a job but in vain. Now
my only aim is to convince my parents to sell some of our ancestral land so that I can pay
the agent who will send me to Malaysia to work," said KC. He is convinced that this
is the only way left before him. "Tell me, what I can do by staying here except being
witness to continuous decline of the country?" Bhandari's problems are totally different.
He completed his bachelors degree in computer science last year but has not applied for
master's level education till now. "I aim to go to the United States for further
education in the IT field. The situation is very bad here. Even the education sector
is affected," said Bhandari, who is the only son of two working parents. His parents,
too, support his endeavor to go overseas. As his eyes are firmly set on the West, he
has been working hard to obtain admission from an American college. While he is waiting
for the admission process to be completed, he spends his day with friends playing snooker
and going to the disco. At first sight, he appears to have a firm goal. But dig a little
deeper and the result is disturbing. "Well, right now I don't know what I am going to
do once I complete studies in the US. I am not sure whether I will come back or what I
will do here," he admitted. In the absence of career counseling and employment
opportunities, hundreds of youths like Bhandari are whiling away precious time and energy
in non-productive sectors. Extreme Pressures
"Youths feel that they cannot do
anything here and they feel they will be more secure (financially and otherwise) abroad.
Strangely the government, too, has encouraged them to leave their country. Society and
families, too, seem to endorse this view," said senior sociologist Dr. Rishikeshab
Raj Regmi. The youths, especially those from urban and
semi-urban areas, are being torn by extremes. "While they find so much violence and
destruction in their own country, they are also exposed to western lifestyles via
satellite television. Naturally, they will think that their nation is getting
derailed," said Swastika Shrestha, an activist associated with the Youth Initiative. The urban youths are gradually withdrawing
into a shell of their own making to escape the negativities of society. As a result, very
few youths today give attention to political developments. "It is indeed a very
disturbing scenario. The present problem in the country has its roots in the lack of
political leadership. When our youths are not paying attention to this aspect, it will be
difficult for the country to get the required leadership in the future," said a
senior journalist. There is a pall of despondency hanging
above Nepalese society. Every aspect of society has been affected and youths are no
exception. "It is true that people of my
generation are the ones to blame for the present maladies. In that, youths of today have a
greater responsibility upon their shoulders. However, I believe they can carry out their
responsibilities with flying colors," said Dr. Mohammad Shariff, former chief of
United Nation's Social Division. Youth Exploitation The youths are becoming both victims as
well as perpetrators of violence in the country. The Human Rights Yearbook 2002 compiled
by the INSEC lists how youths are being subjected to violence. Last year, out of a total
10,132 incidents of human rights abuse (including deaths, injuries and other forms of
abuses), 510 were perpetrated against people below the age of 15 and 8,734 against people
between the ages of 15 and 45. Most perpetrators belonged to the same age group. There
have been reports that Maoists, too, recruit young youths from the village, often
forcibly, and use them in the frontlines of their so-called "people's war." This fact clearly indicates how deeply
youths are involved in crime, conflict and violence. Instead of guiding society and
country toward peace and prosperity, Nepalese youths are caught in a deadly trap of
violence and counter-violence. Their involvement in street crimes and substance abuse is
also a rising concern. Moreover, the mainstream political parties
are found to be exploiting youths. The youth wings of these political parties have not
been able to bring about any positive development among their brethren. Instead, political
parties use such wings to flex their muscles. "It is strange that the youth wings of
political parties have not been able to raise issues that are most close to us. They
simply engage in petty politics and toe the lines of their political masters," said
Prashant Bhattarai, a college student. The Road Ahead Every society looks up to its youth
population, which is perceived as its present as well as future. Consequently, serious
care is given to nurturing the youths in a right way. In a backward society like ours, educated
youths could play major role in developing positive practices. The could challenge
discriminatory practices like untouchability, gender bias and superstition that are
prevalent in the community. "As youths are full of energy, if put in proper use, they
can make a sea change in the country," said a teacher. Youth workers and sociologists believe that
it is time the government as well as the political leadership in the country pondered this
issue. "Instead of looking at youths as a source of energy and potential, the
government seems to be taking them as problematic. This perception must change," said
Dr. Regmi. According to him, the nation can make big strides in development if the
youthful energy is tapped within. Already there are signs of a youth bulge in
the population of Nepal, where 60 percent of the population is under 40 years. Twenty
percent of the population is between the ages of 15 and 30 years. The country's present
and future rests with this chunk of the population. Giving right leadership and injecting
right ideas into the minds and hearts of this section is of utmost importance, especially
at a time when Nepalese society is passing through one of the most difficult phases in its
recent history. 'There Is A Lack Of Orientation Among
Our Youths' SWASTIKA SHRESTHA Swastika Shrestha is a youth activist
associated with various organizations working in the field. A young person herself,
Shrestha is an executive member of Youth Initiative, an organization striving for
networking Nepalese youths and creating an environment where youths can realize their full
potentials. She spoke to SPOTLIGHT on the issues and concerns of Nepalese youths.
Excerpts: What do you think are the major
concerns of youths today? According to my observation, there is a
lack of orientation among our youths. Particularly the urban youths from middle-class
families are feeling pressure from all sides. There is a conflict in their personal
interests and social/family demands. What about the tendency to go
abroad? Well, definitely this tendency may have
long-term benefits. These people may come back after receiving wide exposure and training
and use it in their country. But in the short term there are many negative sides. You will
not find talented youths around anymore. Most of these youths are either already abroad or
are in the process of doing so. How much interest/attention do you
think our youths give to the social and political problems in the country? Such is the image of politicians that
youths, especially the urban ones who come from middle and upper class families, stay at
arm's length from politics. Even the families pressure them to keep away from involving in
political activities in colleges. Urban youths encounter dilemma because whenever they
watch Nepal Television or read newspapers, they will only get negative news of insurgency,
violence and so on; whereas they get to see wonderful things and fantastic places on
foreign channels. Naturally, there is a certain degree of pressure that emanates from this
discrepancy. Every able youth will try to go overseas either for studies or for job. The
overall tendency is such that youths think everything is being ruined in their country and
there is no point staying here. This tendency could be attributed to the absence of
role-models in our society whom youths could look up to. How can this frustration be
addressed? Well, opportunities have to be opened for
youths. There is a great interest to provide them with positive aspects of life. 'Unfortunately, There Is Tendency To
Relate Knowledge With Money' — AJIT DHOJ KARKI Ajit Dhoj Karki, who has a master's degree
in software engineering, teaches at the Kantipur City College, a leading infotech college
in the capital. He spoke to SPOTLIGHT about the choices youths of today make. Excerpts: It is seen that youths are
attracted to IT these days. Why? This is directly related to our
unemployment problem. Youths naturally would not want to get the education that will not
assure them jobs. Moreover, this is also the global trend. Young people want to learn
professional courses. A lot of youths who get IT
education are found to go overseas. What do you say? Again, this depends on the economic
conditions and working environment in the country. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to
relate knowledge with money in our society. Money is the sole standard of measuring
success. This could also be the reason. But I think that going overseas is not
all bad. It has positive aspects as well. How do you find the present
involvement of youths in IT sector? It is a good trend. But still there are
many drawbacks in our education system. For instance, there is not enough stress on things
like project development. What do you think about the
attitude of present youths? They are under lot of pressure. Society has
to find ways to address the issues and concerns of our youths, as they are our present and
our future. 'Even The Govt Seems To Encourage
Youths To Go Overseas' — RISHIKESHAB RAJ REGMI Rishikeshab Raj Regmi, is senior sociologist. He spoke to SPOTLIGHT on the socio-psychological conditions of youths. Excerpts: It is said that there is a lot of
frustration among our youths. What do you say? Indeed, the perception among youths is very
disturbing. With the issues of insecurity and lack of opportunities, the youths are under
lot of pressures. They think that their country is no more peaceful and want to leave it. What are your observations about
this tendency to go overseas? Youths feel that they cannot do
anything here and they feel they will be more secure (financially and otherwise) abroad.
Besides, strangely the government, too, has encouraged them to leave their country.
Society and families to endorse this view. Instead of looking at youths as source of
energy and potential, the government seems to be taking them as problematic. Earlier,
Nepalese youths used to go overseas to become mercenaries in foreign army. Nowadays they
go away to find work and so on. The trend, seems to have continued. Just recently, a
couple of Nepalese players disappeared in Norway. This indicates the perception among our
youths. They simply want to go overseas. What will be the short- and
long-term implications? Families, especially smaller ones, will
feel the immediate effect. There will be effects on the home affairs and farm activities.
In the long term, this could lead to various forms of social distortions including
frustration and psychological disorders. The effect on society and country, too, will be
profound. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
