In light of the 7th Annual Arab Youth Survey conducted by Asdaa Burson-Marsteller, the findings of which were presented on April 22 in Dubai, one of the Top 10 concerns of Arab youth was the Arab Spring’s diminishing impact. Gulf News spoke to youth from different Arab nations to get their views on what they think are lessons to be learnt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Nafeesa Khalifa, 23, Libyan
What the majority of Libyans, including me, say right now about what’s going on is that our revolution has failed big time. Our priority was to have safety in the country after the revolution, but four years after the revolution, nothing has been achieved. Safety and stability has dwindled year after year. Libya is now at war. I hope my country finds a way to get rid of the terrorist groups and for us to have a unified law protecting us all. Safety and stability is our top priority and later comes development.
Toqa Al Salhy, 21, Egyptian
Regarding the so-called Arab Spring, I believe it started off with a plan and continued in that direction, but did not succeed. It wasn’t out of coincidence that the nation decided to revolt on the regime after 30 years, but the results of the revolution hasn’t changed anything in my country. So many people were killed and we are now back to stage one. In other Arab states, the conflicts are still going on. But at the moment, a big portion of the population [in Egypt] is happy and don’t want it to change. As for the changes I hope proper education will be offered to everyone, clean water to reach all the villages and job opportunities for people.
Mohammad Kassem, 25, Iraqi
The Arab Spring has left most Arab states and their people devastated. It didn’t add or improve anything in the lives of Arabs across the Middle East. I see it as a revolution of violence which has created sectarianism between neighbours, friends, and even families. To be able to improve the situation in Iraq, the people should free themselves of sectarian thoughts because this is the source of the problem. We cannot hope for stability, peace and development until we see Iraq free from Daesh and every Iraqi, regardless of their religion and sect, putting their hands together to bring back peace.
Joana Jamil, Syria, 22
After high hopes for the “Arab Spring” democracy seems to be going backwards in most of the region. In the wake of the 2011 uprisings, Egypt has reverted to military rule, Syria has fallen into a bloody civil war, the circumstances in Yemen remain highly unstable, Libya is a failed state. Only Tunisia can claim to have a semi-successful transition to a democratic government with their first democratic elections, but even Tunisia faces an uncertain future. The Arab Spring promised so much, but achieved so little. In the future, I would like my country to go back to the way it used to be before the Arab spring started. I want peace and stability to come back so that people can go to their work and universities safely. I also want the economy to recover in order for people to consider going back and living in their country instead of being scattered all over the globe.
Ahmad Bin Al Shaikh, 24, Emirati
There weren’t any positive outcomes from the Arab Spring. It was a failure in all the countries it reached. Look at Tunis, look at all the deaths in Syria. It was better off before the Arab Spring, I believe. I would like to see stability and peace not only in the UAE but in all Arab countries. To me, the most important thing to have is a stable life and safety. I am blessed as the UAE has already achieved this. I hope my country continues on its path of development and flourishes even further.
Suzan Mounzer, 24, Lebanese
The situation in Lebanon was never completely stable, as we got used to the fragile sectarian system of governance that rules Lebanon. Lebanese youth always call for democracy, because this is the way we were raised; to express what we believe in and to fight for our rights even if it was to no avail. I believe that the Arab Spring did too little to improve the situation. In fact, it had just inflamed the region more and added to Lebanon’s atmosphere of insecurity in particular, and to the instability of the Mena region in general. I pray that the situation will get better in Syria and the neighbouring countries, which would reflect greatly on my country, Lebanon. We aim to secure our future, to find decent jobs in order to be able of going back to our home country; and for that to happen, I believe there must be another way, different from the sufferings, the agony, and the injustice that does not seem to change any time soon.
Sara Gabralla, 23, Sudan
I believe that the revolution’s initial goal in general went astray and it took a wrong turn with all the sectarianism and divisions happening. The aftermath of any revolution is a downhill economy. In Sudan, I wish people could be able to speak out more. Sudan’s main problem is poverty driven by illiteracy, yet the youth is more aware if their rights and more educated on different angles. So, the Arab Spring was an eye-opener to the youth in Sudan, but the consequences of splits’ civil wars and gazillions of sects was an issue that made it fail. Had we found a way to overcome this, then the revolution would have achieved its main purpose.
Mohammad Al Otoum, Jordanian, 23
The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the term ‘Arab Spring’ is destruction, instability and issues that are hard to solve. There were so many people who lost their lives across the Middle East, and after all that nothing has changed for the better. People are uncertain of what the future has ahead of them, they lost their homes, women became widows and children became orphans and refugees. The aftermath of the Arab Spring hasn’t been pleasant. In my home country, Jordan, I hope the stability continues, but so many people will agree that there must be certain reforms that the government should handle. We hope the Syrian refugees will find a safe place to stay and to get the chance to go back to their homes.
