Bosnia-Erzegovina: giovani senza futuro
Il reportage che segue e' stato preparato per il notiziario dell'IWPR,
"agenzia" di informazione sui Balcani sponsorizzata dalle grandi
fondazioni dei paesi occidentali. Le stesse fondazioni, ed altre
analoghe di enorme rilevanza come quelle legate all'immensa lobby di
Soros, attraverso forme di finanziamento precario di vario genere
(borse di studio, stages, eccetera) "arruolano" la gran parte delle
giovani risorse intellettuali dell'Europa centro-orientale, in un
contesto in cui i vari paesi allo sfascio non gestiscono piu' in
nessuna maniera il proprio know-how e potenziale umano.
Nell'articolo che segue, i giovani della Bosnia-Erzegovina mostrano di
avere perso le speranze su di una qualsiasi valorizzazione delle loro
competenze, essendo costretti a scegliere tra l'"arruolamento" coatto
per gli stranieri (di cui sopra) e l'emigrazione. Chi rifiuta questa
scelta va incontro alla disoccupazione o a lavori temporanei e non
qualificati (I.S.)
===
Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the
Department for International
Development, the European Commission,
the Swedish International
Development and Cooperation Agency, The
Netherlands Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, and other funders. IWPR also
acknowledges general support from
the Ford Foundation.
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 385, November 26, 2002
http://www.iwpr.net
BOSNIA: BRAIN DRAIN GATHERS PACE
The exodus of young and talented people
may seriously undermine the
country's development.
By Nidzara Ahmetasevic and Julie Poucher
Harbin in Sarajevo and Banja Luka
Just like Gerard Depardieu in the
Hollywood movie "Green Card", a 30-year
old Bosnian entered into a marriage of
convenience with his cousin's
girlfriend - an American girl - just to
get legal entry to the United
States. Early this month, he received
his visa and left
Bosnia-Herzegovina - probably for good.
"I just do not know what to do in Bosnia
any more. I tried everything,"
the man told IWPR before he left,
speaking on condition of anonymity. An
economics graduate from Sarajevo
University, he could only find work as a
security guard.
Thousands of school leavers and
university graduates can't find decent
jobs and are rapidly becoming
disillusioned with the failure of their
political leaders to improve their
prospects.
According to research conducted two
years ago by the United Nations
Development Program, UNDP, some 62 per
cent of young Bosnians - who make
up about a quarter of the population -
would leave their country if given
the chance.
The UNDP Human Development Report 2002
estimates that at least 92,000
youngsters left between January 1996 and
the end-March 2001, with tens of
thousands currently waiting for
emigration visas.
"This haemorrhage of the young and
talented poses perhaps the greatest
long-term threat to this country,"
Bosnia's top international mediator,
High Representative Paddy Ashdown
recently warned.
"I can feel that young people are
exhausted and disappointed," said Valida
Repovac, 25, a Liberal Party activist
who works in the ministry for
European integration. But, unlike many
other young Bosnians, she earns
enough to support herself and has no
desire to leave.
Though the brain drain pre-dates the
war, numbers have swollen in the
aftermath of the conflict. A number of
factors have contributed to the
trend.
There's not enough trade and technical
education at secondary school level
for those who are not cut out for
university life. At all of Bosnia's
seven universities, there is still no
system of clinical or
pre-professional education. To make the
situation even worse, none of the
former offer internationally-recognised
degrees.
Once out of the education system, even
well qualified students struggle to
find good jobs. Banja Luka University
law student Dragan Vujanic, 23,
runs a new campus counselling
information centre, funded by city and
international donors. The centre
recently started a job bank to connect
students to jobs and internships in
fields like law, economics, and
information technology. Vujanic told
IWPR the project is to focus on
"brain gain" instead of "brain drain".
Some of those who can't find decent
employment simply choose not to work.
You can find them hanging out all day in
the country's ubiquitous coffee
bars. "The problem with my generation is
that they feel it's better to do
nothing than clean someone's floor, "
said Sasa Madacki, 30, head of
information research at Sarajevo
University library.
Disillusionment with education and the
job market leaves youngsters with a
pretty jaundiced view of politicians and
some feel they're irrelevant
because of the overpowering role of the
international community in Bosnia.
According to the local youth NGO, Youth
Information Agency, OIA, most
eligible youngsters don't vote.
Alexandra Strbac, 28, a psychology
student working with the Banja
Luka-based youth NGO Zdravo Daste and
the Kastel youth house, encourages
Bosnian youth to participate in
elections, though she admits not voting
herself in absence of clear options.
She said that with local political
parties "you still don't know what they
are offering", and prefers
channelling her energy into community
activism.
"The future is depressing, it's true.
But I hope it will get better,"
Dragan Vujanic said. "It's now up to
young people to establish a new
system with their own ideas."
In one hopeful development, a number of
young Bosnians who left over the
past decade are trickling back. Their
job prospects are sometimes better,
especially with international
organisations, as they often speak
foreign
languages and have been educated abroad.
In an attempt to address the brain
drain, the OIA has submitted a
six-point plan to the newly elected
authorities, including a request for
the establishment of government
executive bodies for youth. They have
set
a six-month deadline, after which they
plan to mount street demonstrations
if no action has been taken.
"Young people sometimes do not know or
don't want to know that there are
organisations like us geared to trying
to make their lives better," OIA
spokesperson Merima Zuko said. "The
easiest thing is to go in the front
of some embassy and ask for a visa that
will take you somewhere else!"
Nidzara Ahmetasevic and Julie Poucher
Harbin are freelance journalists
based in Bosnia.
Il reportage che segue e' stato preparato per il notiziario dell'IWPR,
"agenzia" di informazione sui Balcani sponsorizzata dalle grandi
fondazioni dei paesi occidentali. Le stesse fondazioni, ed altre
analoghe di enorme rilevanza come quelle legate all'immensa lobby di
Soros, attraverso forme di finanziamento precario di vario genere
(borse di studio, stages, eccetera) "arruolano" la gran parte delle
giovani risorse intellettuali dell'Europa centro-orientale, in un
contesto in cui i vari paesi allo sfascio non gestiscono piu' in
nessuna maniera il proprio know-how e potenziale umano.
Nell'articolo che segue, i giovani della Bosnia-Erzegovina mostrano di
avere perso le speranze su di una qualsiasi valorizzazione delle loro
competenze, essendo costretti a scegliere tra l'"arruolamento" coatto
per gli stranieri (di cui sopra) e l'emigrazione. Chi rifiuta questa
scelta va incontro alla disoccupazione o a lavori temporanei e non
qualificati (I.S.)
===
Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the
Department for International
Development, the European Commission,
the Swedish International
Development and Cooperation Agency, The
Netherlands Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, and other funders. IWPR also
acknowledges general support from
the Ford Foundation.
IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 385, November 26, 2002
http://www.iwpr.net
BOSNIA: BRAIN DRAIN GATHERS PACE
The exodus of young and talented people
may seriously undermine the
country's development.
By Nidzara Ahmetasevic and Julie Poucher
Harbin in Sarajevo and Banja Luka
Just like Gerard Depardieu in the
Hollywood movie "Green Card", a 30-year
old Bosnian entered into a marriage of
convenience with his cousin's
girlfriend - an American girl - just to
get legal entry to the United
States. Early this month, he received
his visa and left
Bosnia-Herzegovina - probably for good.
"I just do not know what to do in Bosnia
any more. I tried everything,"
the man told IWPR before he left,
speaking on condition of anonymity. An
economics graduate from Sarajevo
University, he could only find work as a
security guard.
Thousands of school leavers and
university graduates can't find decent
jobs and are rapidly becoming
disillusioned with the failure of their
political leaders to improve their
prospects.
According to research conducted two
years ago by the United Nations
Development Program, UNDP, some 62 per
cent of young Bosnians - who make
up about a quarter of the population -
would leave their country if given
the chance.
The UNDP Human Development Report 2002
estimates that at least 92,000
youngsters left between January 1996 and
the end-March 2001, with tens of
thousands currently waiting for
emigration visas.
"This haemorrhage of the young and
talented poses perhaps the greatest
long-term threat to this country,"
Bosnia's top international mediator,
High Representative Paddy Ashdown
recently warned.
"I can feel that young people are
exhausted and disappointed," said Valida
Repovac, 25, a Liberal Party activist
who works in the ministry for
European integration. But, unlike many
other young Bosnians, she earns
enough to support herself and has no
desire to leave.
Though the brain drain pre-dates the
war, numbers have swollen in the
aftermath of the conflict. A number of
factors have contributed to the
trend.
There's not enough trade and technical
education at secondary school level
for those who are not cut out for
university life. At all of Bosnia's
seven universities, there is still no
system of clinical or
pre-professional education. To make the
situation even worse, none of the
former offer internationally-recognised
degrees.
Once out of the education system, even
well qualified students struggle to
find good jobs. Banja Luka University
law student Dragan Vujanic, 23,
runs a new campus counselling
information centre, funded by city and
international donors. The centre
recently started a job bank to connect
students to jobs and internships in
fields like law, economics, and
information technology. Vujanic told
IWPR the project is to focus on
"brain gain" instead of "brain drain".
Some of those who can't find decent
employment simply choose not to work.
You can find them hanging out all day in
the country's ubiquitous coffee
bars. "The problem with my generation is
that they feel it's better to do
nothing than clean someone's floor, "
said Sasa Madacki, 30, head of
information research at Sarajevo
University library.
Disillusionment with education and the
job market leaves youngsters with a
pretty jaundiced view of politicians and
some feel they're irrelevant
because of the overpowering role of the
international community in Bosnia.
According to the local youth NGO, Youth
Information Agency, OIA, most
eligible youngsters don't vote.
Alexandra Strbac, 28, a psychology
student working with the Banja
Luka-based youth NGO Zdravo Daste and
the Kastel youth house, encourages
Bosnian youth to participate in
elections, though she admits not voting
herself in absence of clear options.
She said that with local political
parties "you still don't know what they
are offering", and prefers
channelling her energy into community
activism.
"The future is depressing, it's true.
But I hope it will get better,"
Dragan Vujanic said. "It's now up to
young people to establish a new
system with their own ideas."
In one hopeful development, a number of
young Bosnians who left over the
past decade are trickling back. Their
job prospects are sometimes better,
especially with international
organisations, as they often speak
foreign
languages and have been educated abroad.
In an attempt to address the brain
drain, the OIA has submitted a
six-point plan to the newly elected
authorities, including a request for
the establishment of government
executive bodies for youth. They have
set
a six-month deadline, after which they
plan to mount street demonstrations
if no action has been taken.
"Young people sometimes do not know or
don't want to know that there are
organisations like us geared to trying
to make their lives better," OIA
spokesperson Merima Zuko said. "The
easiest thing is to go in the front
of some embassy and ask for a visa that
will take you somewhere else!"
Nidzara Ahmetasevic and Julie Poucher
Harbin are freelance journalists
based in Bosnia.