It is clear from statements coming from the Ministry of the Interior that the number of youth involved in terrorist acts has not been as small as was first thought. Scarcely a day passes without a report of an incident involving security forces and terrorists. The operations are not confined to a single area in the Kingdom but occur everywhere, including the two most sacred places on earth, Makkah and Madinah.

No doubt the continuous searches for these misguided young people all over a country as large as ours is costing huge amounts of money and straining the national budget. This in turn has its impact upon economic and social development.

Without development, it will be impossible to attack the root causes of terrorism; they spring from poverty, unemployment which in turn are produced by the absence of sufficient places in our universities for our young people. Poverty and its resulting frustrations were also found to be two factors behind the rising number of suicides among the young.

Published reports indicate that the number of young people who took their own lives last year alone was 400. During the same period, the Kingdom’s hospitals admitted 450,000 people with a range of psychological disorders; and a single hospital in Jeddah admitted 45,000 patients.

There is a third danger to our young people — drug abuse. Large numbers of addicted individuals with mental disorders are being treated. Again, poverty is one of the main reason behind addiction to drugs. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that finding drugs is not difficult. Some substances are made locally and are available for a mere SR5 or slightly more per tablet. The manufacture of drugs is a lucrative business in which a factory run by two people can generate profits running into millions of riyals.

Now, let us all ask in loud angry voices: What is the solution? The solution, in my view, is in education and more education. Put a quick end to poverty and many of these problems will cease to exist.

Arab News From the Local Press 19 October 2003