Cairo: A Joint US-Arab study revealed that one-third of Arab youth between 15- and 29-years-old would migrate from their countries if they were given the opportunity and that 26 percent of them wish to have access to permanent migration, a joint study published by the Foundation Sellatik revealed late last week. The study, whose trustees participate in the Council of Princess Moza, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, and former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and other international figures – and the American Gallup research and polling center, found that most young people who wish to emigrate from their country are the ones who had gained the highest level of education and the “more fortunate in employment and most ambitious for production, which threatens an enormous hemorrhage of minds and Arab energies, which are the main engine of economic growth and progress of civilization.†The number of young people who make up this category is some 100 million young people, which means that the Middle East region has the largest number of young people who are qualified to enter the labor market in its history, the report said. The study found that 31 percent of young people who are already working “hope of permanent immigration if they were given the opportunity, compared to 17 percent of those who are not working.†The study pointed out that young people who are planning to set up a project or start a business during the next 12 months are the most forward-looking to the idea of leaving their country permanently and are more steadfast in their aspirations to migrate. These young people, the report revealed that they “are the ones whose university degrees range from Bachelor's and Master's degrees.†The United State was the first-choice destination to those who wish to immigrate, where most young entrepreneurs and self-employment wish to immigrate to, while the United Arab Emirates was also considered a desirable destination for young people upon obtaining post-graduate qualifications. France was a destination for those who had less advanced levels of education. The study found that in addition to reduced employment opportunities and the scarcity of opportunities, this is “not the only factor behind the desire of young people to immigrate from their countries, which are facing the highest percentage of unemployment in the world.†The report said there are other factors, including the frustrations experienced by young people at the beginning of their lives and “they cannot develop themselves, poor governance, management, financial insecurity and lack of confidence or trust in the community including in the community, low technology and the perception of widespread corruption on a large scale in government,†plays an important role in perceptions of leaving the Middle East. “The red tape and paperwork that frustrate desires to set up projects,†is having a drastic effect on the young people in the Middle East, the former Finnish President said. BM
