By: Hania Aswad
Presented at “Promoting a Euro-Arab Dialogue in a Context of
Social Deficit” Conference; Rabat, Morocco - May 1998
The Palestinian society is a young one. Young people between the ages of 15-25 years
comprise 38% of the population of approximately 2.6 million living in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
in 1997. About 17% of the young men and
women are found in Gaza Strip, whereas 21% are in the West Bank. Therefore, it is not strange for youngsters
to be the main actors in the political and social life in Palestine.
The youth's political socialization was manifested during the “Intifada”
(Palestinian Uprising 1987-1993), where thousands of youth took off to the
streets in an overwhelming revolt against the Israeli Occupation. They confronted the Israeli Occupation Forces
and were beaten, shot and arrested.
Children as young as ten were killed, badly wounded, or permanently
handicapped as a result of their involvement in this revolution. Over 25% of those killed by the Israeli Occupation
Forces were under the age of 17 years old and the majority of the thousands
wounded were under 20.
As a result of the “Intifada”, young women and men have been
deeply affected by the experiences of that particular period. Young women were burdened with additional
domestic and economic responsibilities.
The closure of schools, the mass arrests of young men and the loss of
jobs in Israel for Palestinian men forced young women at an early age to take
low paying jobs in order to keep their families. Moreover, during this time early marriages
became more wide spread. A study by Dr.
Rita Gicaman in 1993 showed that 48% of women were married under the age of 18
years, and 11% were married under the age of 15 years. Closure of educational institutions, extended
curfews, confrontations with the military, house demolition, long imprisonment,
strikes and the breakthrough of the Palestinian National Authority have all
left deep marks on the Palestinian youth's attitudes, perceptions and
aspirations.
Such environment has denied the Palestinian youth many of the
educational and psychosocial development opportunities enjoyed in more normal
circumstances, leading to concern about their future prospects and place in a
peaceful society.
The signing of the Oslo Peace Agreement in 1993 between Israel and
the PLO brought about new changes and realities. Palestinian Institutions and bodies began to
operate in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Legislations are
being drafted for the first time by the Palestinian Legislative Council based
on its own policy choices. Yet in the
meantime, political, economical and social obstacles to development remain.
Now, the Palestinian Youth face new and different types of
problems. Today, the youth of Palestine
are once again taking a big responsibility and a leading role to build their
country, to re-educate themselves, their pears and community and to bring
positive changes into their environment; just as much it is as well the role of
young people around the World. Today,
youth from all over the world share very similar problems and dreams which
require new information, new ways of thinking and also cooperation and
solidarity among themselves and others around them.
To seriously contribute to providing an enabling environment for
the young generation to develop and grow, we need to work with and for them;
they need to be encouraged and provided with the space and opportunity to engage
in assessing their needs and priorities in order to be able to mobilize
themselves and their communities to take a more positive role in all processes
that would bring positive development and change to their realities. To be able to make a real difference, we must
not see them as a threat but rather as assets with great potentials and as
partners. [ ]
