Going through the letters I have received from young readers, I can say we are faced with a serious problem. Can you believe what some of them were considering as they wrote their letters? Suicide! Yes, these young people were thinking of taking their own lives because they felt lost, unable to go to college or find a job. They had experienced the widespread practice of wasta — using influential connections to bypass rules and regulations — and the inconsiderate treatment accorded them by the very officials responsible for their future. Reading about their frustrations, I kept praying to Almighty God that whatever they might be considering out of desperation would never come to pass. No matter what techniques we apply to help these young people, calling upon them to be patient, we may never succeed in helping them because the road is blocked amid helplessness, despair and a complete inability to overcome difficulties.
Imagine young people carrying their documents and going from one office to another, hoping to get a place in a university but returning home empty-handed at the end of the day. Others who are not in school for one reason or another have a similar story: going every day from office to office seeking employment that will allow them to have a decent life but seeking it in vain. They stand helpless in the presence of wasta and nepotism; despite being qualified for various jobs, they discover that rules are subject to change and even cancellation at any moment. Their frustration increases when they see people less qualified than they taking jobs that they thought would be theirs.
It is no wonder that suicide is in the minds of these young people. There is no doubt this is a tragedy that calls on us to act and not stand by without doing something. What has driven these young people to such frustration is bad planning, narrow-mindedness and shallow egoistic thinking that has no concern for the future of the entire society.
22 September 2002
