War is in the air. Traveling from Jeddah to London, I am filled with gloomy anticipation. Jeddah Airport seems almost empty. In London people somehow seem quieter than usual. Is it the threat of war, or is it just me? Sitting at a lunch table with other journalists, one of them talks about her experiences in the anti-war march. Those around the table nod as if there were some kind of unwritten agreement between them. She said that the march was not something she would normally have taken part in, but thousands of people had packed the streets of central London — many, like her, not normally demonstrators. All of them simply wanted to say no to instability, fear and death.
I remembered the night before when I was still in Jeddah. In the city’s streets, young men were on patrol as usual, checking out women in cars, on the streets or in shops. A friend told me that she was in her car with her mother and sister when they noticed that a young man was following them. They did not want to go home since the man would then know where they lived so they kept driving — with the man following them. In the end, my friend called her brother who lived nearby and he rescued them, the man still in pursuit.
What makes such behavior so usual here that women just get used to it? This is only one incident; others do not have such happy endings. Have we no choice but to accept this behavior as normal, as second nature and do nothing about it? Speaking generally, I wonder what this behavior tells us about the interests and lives of our young people. Young men and women seem to me as if they live in a daydream — a non-stop one in fact. A question popped into my head. What do these young people really think about, apart from their daily parades? What occupies their mental lives? Do they know anything that is happening in the world? Do they know anything that is happening in their own society? They don’t seem to care, even about their own lives. A quick glance at the statistics on traffic accidents shows that even in matters of life and death, a sense of serious responsibility seems to be absent.
How, I wonder, are we bringing up our children? Too many of them grow up spoiled, over-protected and unable to play a part in society. I have not forgotten and cannot ignore those who do care and actually have a sense of responsibility. The majority, however, seem to care about nothing. Do they have opinions about war, globalization, poverty, the environment? It is not only those big issues which are neglected by this generation but also a lack of responsibility to themselves, their fellow men and society itself. I don’t want to be unjust here. I realize that what I am talking about is first of all the responsibility of the family. Many of these young people have everything their families think important — cars, clothes, pocket money, vacations abroad. What they do not have is a sense of any obligation and responsibility or the realization that their freedom and rights end where other people’s begin.
Talking to a third year biology student, I try to understand what kind of world she inhabits. It is a Barbie world basically — fashion, popular music, love. Ten years from now, this girl will probably be teaching her children what she knows about the world. And what she knows is fashion, popular music and love. The case is the same with young men. Their world is one of cars, girls and football. So we can expect another generation of Barbies and Maradonas.
What, I wonder, was life like fifty years ago? We have heard much of those times before widespread general affluence. People then were concerned with bringing up their children, educating them and instilling social, family and work ethics. Why don’t we do the same today? There are many things in our lives and our society that need attentive, tender mending. We need all the help we can get so that our society can really develop.
