Hope and Fear

In this period where Holy War has been claiming more lives than ever, we have been drawing up more differences between ourselves in the world of fear. The bond of Humanity is something which is completely lost, we first belong to a religion, then to a caste or a tribe then to a region and the list goes on. We have a much bigger list to differentiate ourselves now than ever. We no longer belong to the same human race nor we share the same feelings of humanity, Do we?

As the saying goes, one man`s terrorist is another man`s freedom fighter. Now is the need of more leaders protecting their subsets for freedom from the danger of hypothetical boundaries which we ourselves have created.

Youth and terrorism make for an explosive mix. A simple linear equation to understand how a cheerful youngster turns into a terrorist: Expectation - Frustration - Loss of faith - Deviation - Resistance - Armed Militancy.

Youth militancy is a pattern of behavior, which has various stages, and it starts with change in attitude, frustration, anger and ends in militancy. It depends on social, environmental, political and economic conditions and the attitude towards life. Many of them are youngsters unable to cope with these emotions. Many others rebel, and are constantly in conflict with law. Add terrorism to this mix, and you have a million disasters waiting to happen.

The word `terrorism` was first used in reference to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution - the first public display of violence against the aristocratic class.

World leaders, political and religious, have not taken major steps to contain the militant trend in the youth, but instead have consciously promoted its growth for personal gain. But not all terrorism can be blamed on external forces. This trend may be attributed to the frustration of young people with societal, economic and governing rules, influx of refugees, lack of agrarian and industrial reforms and the indifferent attitude of law enforcing authorities. Religious fundamentalists also capitalize on the weakness of youth to a great extent. They brainwash them into believing that they are working for a noble cause, so that they turn into religious fanatics.

In Bangladesh, there has been a serious exodus of young skilled workers, manual labourers and illegal immigrants to India and other countries due to the government`s inability to tackle the problem of population explosion and the lack of economic infrastructure. The growing expectations of the youth pose a major problem to the government. `The youth of Bangladesh are at crossroads and there are religious fundamentalists waiting to take leverage out of the frustrated youth who are on the verge of an uncertain future,`

The expectations of the young are growing by the day, and this had serious ramifications. Education systems do not match the market requirements and hence more educated youth end up being unemployed or underemployed. In rural areas, lack of unemployment lead them to migration to urban areas. These migrants do some service to the urban people and they often emulate urban lifestyles. When they cannot afford to do so, they indulge in criminal activities.`
But what is the solution to all this? What will be the future of the next generation if this trend continues?

Young people around the world generate two powerful emotions in our minds - fear and hope. The fear, that they would disown and destroy all our civilization values, and the hope that they could revive, enrich, recreate and carry forward all the positive aspects of our collective heritage.

Remember, Hope is a good thingood thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. -Shawshank redemption.