A discussion has been going on in the newspapers over unemployment figures in the Kingdom based on the 8.34 percent the Manpower Council has given and the 9.66 percent provided by the Ministry of Labor.
The discussion, however, does not mean that there is a dispute or clash of opinions. This is because both figures originated from the same source: the General Statistics Department. It is a well-known fact that statistics and data charts attract different readings, with each reader seeking to extract the kind of results he is seeking from such figures.
Either way, it is clear that the unemployment figure has increased from last year. This is despite the effort to address the problem. Worse still, unemployment among women stands at more than 21 percent.
No doubt the state has done a lot to combat unemployment, but it seems that the problem is far bigger than any effort to fight it, and that the rapid increase in unemployment is frustrating government efforts to contain the problem.
Unemployment affects every home. The steady dwindling of family income, increased expenditure, more responsibilities and the high cost of living further compound its effects. There is no single magic solution to unemployment. There could be however several solutions involving government and non-government institutions. It is the duty of officials to open the door for all such solutions. Today the country cannot tolerate unnecessary theorizing and explanations that are unworkable on the ground. What is needed is practical and tangible initiatives that seriously take into account the element of time. Time is of the essence: We must invest it properly if we are to get anywhere near achieving our employment aims.
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They call it the “unofficial” Geneva accord. In fact, the signing ceremony was attended by a number of officials, including delegates from Arab governments. They were witness to the birth of a new situation, which those who try to resist it may well find imposed on them.
I don’t think anyone will buy Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s outspoken opposition to the accord — when he is at the same time sending his son to negotiate with the Palestinians. Wisdom of course requires that Sharon not be the first to welcome the initiative, not least because he wants payment by Washington when he eventually “comes round” and accepts it.
The most important part of the accord is the clause in which the Palestinian side agrees to waive the right of return for Palestinian refugees. For Israel, this is a crucial issue, more important than even Jerusalem being the capital of the Jewish state. The return of Palestinian refugees represents a serious threat to Israel that would upset its demographic composition at a time when it faces a sharp drop in Jewish birth rates. The solution to this problem has proved elusive to almost every Israeli government.
With the Geneva agreement rendering them effectively homeless, the Palestinians in the diaspora have lost all hope of returning to their ancestral homes, from which Israel expelled them. We would find ourselves facing a new tragic situation, this time relating to the settlement of the thousands of Palestinian refugees who are now stranded in countries the world over. With almost no country hosting these refugees agreeing to grant them their nationality, the only alternative left is to distribute them among remote and less populated countries looking for immigrants like Canada.
It is a human tragedy, and it will lead to difficulties none of the signatories to the Geneva accord appear to have anticipated.
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(Muhammad Al-Shibani is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah.)
