It has never been more difficult to be a young person. This may be an overstatement but we cannot deny that the tragic incidents we are seeing in the US, Europe and Japan where young people suffering from depression or some other mental illness kill others and often end up committing suicide. This is a strong symptom of a sick society.
Our obsession with economic issues is justified as the creation of wealth will always be a priority for all governments. But a society that does not take care of other issues that affect the well-being of even a small minority of its members may offer a high standard of living to the majority of its members, but takes big risks if it ignores the afflictions of minority groups.
Many are shocked by statistics about how many people suffer from various forms of mental illnesses, especially acute depression and other personality disorders. One of the best books I read this summer was Shoot the Damn Dog, an autobiographical work by Sally Brampton. Sally was a successful writer with a brilliant sharp mind. She was editor of various ladies’ magazines but she struggled with severe depression for most of her life until she committed suicide earlier this year. She describes how she suffered from bullying as a child because she was perceived to be too intelligent.
Bullying is a sad reality that most people in the teaching profession admit is poisoning the lives of many young people. Not much is being done about it by the education authorities. I go further and say that the teaching profession is not given the respect and support that they need to deal with bullying.
Some workplaces are just as toxic. Some managers bully their workers, especially the younger ones, and make their lives miserable. Fragile workers often resort to excessive drinking or psychiatric drugs to dull the pain of bullying. Some others turn aggressive and cause great harm to those around them.
Some managers bully their workers, especially the younger ones, and make their lives miserable
In Malta, we have fewer cultural integration problems than in some other EU countries and America. But we have to be careful as we are increasingly becoming a multicultural society as a result of the influx of immigrants in the last few years. Lack of proper integration strategies are behind the small but lethal army of angry young people in countries like France, Germany and the US.
They feel so marginalised in the society they live in that they are easily radicalised by right wing demagogues or Islamist fundamentalists. In the 1970s, Germany and Italy faced a similar phenomenon when the Baader-Meinhoff and the Brigate Rosse caused havoc and poisoned the mind of thousands of young people with extremist ideologies.
I do not pretend to know the solution to this big challenge that is facing our leaders. What I know is that economic prosperity also depends on a society that is at peace with itself. I believethat our action plan should start with having a good look at our education system. We are lucky in having a free schooling system unlike some other countries like the UK where university students have at times to resort to very demeaning ways of earning some money to pay their school fees.
But students coming from a disadvantaged background need more than just free schooling. They need one-to-one mentoring by dedicated educators that are supported fully by the education authorities to provide the solutions that are necessary for every particular case. We should also encourage church leaders to once again get involved more in the education of young people even if the vocations’ crisis makes this a difficult task.
Our political leaders can also do more to promote schemes that encourage young people to have a scope in life, especially if their first experience in education was not a successful one. I am against creating a culture of dependence through some schemes that give handouts to young people. But good youth policies reward young people, especially those living in deprivation, who show initiative in gaining experience to make themselves better people.
Some people of my generation claim that the problem with our youth today is that they have not been through a war where all those involved are rudely shaken from their comfort zone. I find this belief rather patronising and hardly pragmatic in today’s complex world.
What troubled young people need is a generation of business, political, education and religious leaders who genuinely care about our youth.
johncassarwhite@yahoo.com