His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has revealed his “pain” over Arab youth wanting to leave their homelands and emigrate.
Following the release of the findings of 12th Annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: “It is painful that half of our Arab wealth wants to emigrate… It is painful when the Arab youth does not find a homeland, safety and livelihood in his homeland.”
In a report by Arabian Business, the survey showed that 42 percent of 200 million young Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region want to leave the country due to their frustration over struggling economies and corruption in the government. It also indicated that 77 percent of Arab youth want to leave because they believe that there is corruption in the government.
“We say that if governments corrupt.. the country is ruined and its security diminished… and its people left it… and every official will be responsible before God. The story does not end here,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
The youth’s desire to leave is most prevalent among those in the states of Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, and Palestinian Territories at about 63 percent. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of young people in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have expressed their desire to leave.
The poll also highlighted how the UAE is the preferred country to live in for 46 percent of Arab young people.
“And we say to them: the UAE is everyone’s country… and we have tried to build a successful model… and our experience and our doors and books will remain open to all,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted in response to this finding.
Recently, Arabian Business reported that UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Shamaa Al Mazrui, said it is crucial to help young generation lead the way for the “wave of innovation.”
“Young Arabs are migrating away from traditional government and private sector jobs to show an increased interest in entrepreneurship and non-traditional work. In the GCC, 55 percent of youth said they would like to start their own business within the next five years. How will governments harness this energy and talent of youth to drive economies and social solutions?” she said, noting that it is high time governments start providing innovation and growth opportunities for the youth
“Because the alternatives are unacceptable. The growing gaps in youth education, youth unemployment and positive engagement create ripe conditions for extremism to grow,” she added.
