Millions of youth in the Middle East region have had job prospects, plans for higher education and marriages upended by the pandemic.
Share to TwitterJobless graduates gather in front of the Ministry of Oil to demand jobs in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 20, 2020. In the Mideast, wave after wave of war, disease and economic collapse leaves this generation feeling hopeless.
Such turmoil is universal in the wake of the pandemic, but the despair is particularly pronounced in the Middle East, where wave after wave of war, displacement and disease has left this generation feeling bitter and hopeless. While in the West, many who have become unemployed believe they will eventually get their jobs back or somehow recover from the recession, the pandemic in some Arab countries was the final blow to economies now on the cusp of complete collapse.
Even before the pandemic, in 2019 youth employment in the Arab region was estimated at 26.4%, compared to a global rate of 13.6%, according to estimates by the International Labor Organization. While it is too early for post-COVID-19 estimates, early data indicates that over 70% of young people in the region are in informal employment, 40% of whom are working in those sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.
Wissam al-Sheikh, 30, recently lost his job as manager at a clothes store in downtown Beirut after the owner decided to close at the end of last year. That job provided vital income for his family of six, consisting of his parents and his three siblings, only one of whom is working. Al-Sheikh recently broke up with his fiancée, partly due to economic pressure, and scoffs at the idea of marriage or investing further in Lebanon, where he says insecurity is “the norm.”
Al-Diwani, the Iraqi pharmacist, has lived with war and instability all her life. She was in second grade in 2003 when dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled by invading U.S. troops and Iraq was plunged into years of sectarian blood-letting, and car bombings became a daily routine.Her more recent years were marked by the terror sowed by the Islamic State group, which seized nearly a third of the country in 2014.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Virus adds to deep despair felt by war-weary young ArabsMillions of young people in the Middle East have had job prospects, plans for education and marriage upended by the pandemic. While such turmoil is universal, the despair is particularly pronounced in the conflict-ridden region. By zkaram qabdulzahra
Read more »
Virus-weary Texas braces as Hurricane Hanna arrivesCORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Hanna roared ashore onto the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, bringing winds that lashed the shoreline with rain and storm surge, and even threatening to bring...
Read more »
Virus-weary Texas braces for Hurricane Hanna's arrivalHurricane Hanna is rumbling through the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas, which has been dealing with a surge of coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
Read more »
Virus-weary Texas braces as Hurricane Hanna arrivesHurricane Hanna's strong winds batter south Texas coast tearing roofs off homes as it is expected to move inland over south Texas
Read more »
Tropical Storm Hanna drenches south Texas amid virus crisisHanna was lashing the Texas Gulf Coast with high winds and drenching rains that destroyed boats, flooded streets and knocked out power.
Read more »