Drowning youth

By Salama A Salama

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Two espionage cases have been uncovered in the past few weeks. In both cases, the defendants are young men. One was accused of collecting information about Egypt for the Israeli Mossad. The second, an engineer working for the Egyptian Nuclear Energy Agency, was charged with leaking secrets about the Anshas reactor to Israel. This happens at a time when Egyptian and Israeli officials are busy discussing a solution to the Palestinian problem, and at a time when concern is growing over nuclear proliferation.

I am not going to discuss the charges brought against the two men or the evidence establishing their guilt. In this muddled political atmosphere, the line between dealing normally with Israel and leaking information is getting blurred. And our youth may not be totally aware of the danger Israel represents to Egyptian national security. What I will discuss is the lack of purpose among young educated Egyptians.

The country is spending a lot on education, but it is letting down the young. No wonder some of the youth is tempted to trade loyalty for money. Our young people are at an impasse. They have nothing to look forward to, partly because of the low quality of the education system and partly because of stagnation and corruption in scientific and academic research. Most of our young do not believe that they have any hope for advancement unless they leave for work or study abroad.

In the two espionage cases, the defendants were men who finished their college education and needed a chance to study abroad. They had problems finding work and faced financial difficulties. And that was when they were approached by Israeli agents.

These two cases are the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of Egyptians who graduate from college, find no decent work, and settle for dead-end careers. Some reports indicate that thousands of Egyptians are working in Israel. Newspaper reports recently said that over 30 young men of those being detained in connection to rioting in Al-Azhar were threatening to seek Israeli nationality.

And let's not forget the hundreds who try to enter Europe illegally every year. Desperate to land in Italy or Greece, they take immense risks. Often they end up dead at sea, picked up by border patrols, or rescued by passing ships. In one recent incident, 107 Egyptian men were saved off European coasts. Many have some education. Most are looking for jobs and have given up on the local market. Well, that's a problem.

Unfortunately, we're not addressing this problem. Members of the People's Assembly and the Shura Council have just thanked the security services for uncovering the two cases of espionage. Instead of thanking security for doing what they're paid to do, perhaps our parliamentarians should have discussed the problems of our young? Why are they spying? Why are they risking their lives at sea? Why are they so desperate to get away?

The young make up 40 per cent of our entire population. Sending them to summer camp is not a solution. Building a few sports centres around the country is not going to give them a future. And lecturing them about allegiance and loyalty is beside the point. Our young people need jobs. They need a future. They need to know that they have a stake in this country. Becoming a spy is not worse than drowning at sea. Both are signs of despair. Both are signs that our young people have lost hope. And whose fault is that?