Having graduated from the Faculty of Mass Communication, Khaled el-Hawari (27) embarked on an enthusiastic job hunt. After three years of fruitless searching, he became depressed. The problem is that Khaled, from a middle-class family, doesn't have any wasta (connections) that could land him a good job. But now he's regained his enthusiasm and has decided to share his feelings with young people in the same boat as him, in order to try to find a way out. He has taken the first step by creating a Facebook page, ‘Lekol Atel' (For all the Unemployed). The logo for his page is 'Tol ma ana atel enta batel' (As long as I'm unemployed, you're a failure). This is a swipe at senior officials, who aren't taking the unemployment crisis seriously. Unemployment in Egypt was last reported at 11.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). "We have created this page for young, unemployed people, to whom the government pays no attention. We want to help them speak up, to share their feelings and their ups and downs with others. “If you want to get your right to a decent living, please tell us. We want more than 1 million members to join us, in order to demand our rights from the President," the page states. The young people who like this page say that unemployed youth participated in the January 25 Revolution from the word go, because they want an end to the corruption and unfairness. They decided to say this loudly 21 months ago, in order to claim their rights, resulting in the toppling of the Mubarak regime. But they were shocked to discover that they are still not one of the present government's top priorities, as nothing has been done to find them jobs. One of the things they called for in the revolution was better salaries for the employed, but they're not even employed themselves! "I graduated five years ago. Since then, I've worked for many companies for pitiful salaries and without insurance," says Hassan Sherif, a social services graduate and a member of the 'For all the Unemployed' Facebook page. "I've been unable to find a job in which I can use what I learnt at university, which I very much regret." Sherif explains that it's very difficult to find a job, because all the companies want someone with at least three years' experience. “How can someone who's just graduated have three years of experience? If all the companies or the jobs need experience, it means that the youth will never work and never be qualified for any job. “Besides, how can young people gain experience without putting into practice what they've studied, as they cannot find a job?" he wonders. Unable to find an appropriate job, related to his studies, Sherif decided to become a member of the Facebook page, which serves as a forum for disappointed job seekers. He hopes that he and all the other members can get their voices and their demands heard by the people responsible, in order to solve their problems. The online campaign launched by Sherif and the other members is meant to convey a message to the government. It draws attention to the need to provide youth with good jobs; putting an end to the nepotistic practice whereby employees' children get jobs; providing health insurance for the unemployed; reducing the retirement age to give the youth a chance; and giving aid to the unemployed until the government finds them jobs. "We hope that we can attract more than 1 million members and transform this movement into a political party that tries to solve young people's problems. "In my opinion, the government should care more for youth. Young men and women have many problems, such as being unable to afford to get married, low salaries [if they can actually find a job], no insurance, and, of course, unemployment," adds Sherif. Lotfi el-Sherbini, a psychologist, explains that unemployment, which festered for 30 years under Mubarak, is psychologically damaging for young people, many of whom end up illegally emigrating. He describes 'For all the Unemployed' as an important step being taken by young people, so that the government will heed their demands. “I'm all for independent movements like this. I think this particular movement will soon be one of Egypt's biggest, because it appeals to millions of unemployment youngsters," he told Akher Saa magazine. Economic experts have repeatedly pinpointed small-scale projects as the key to solving the unemployment problem. "I want the government to support such projects by subsidising them, while encouraging Arab and foreign investments, in order to activate the local market and create new jobs here," Salah Gouda, an economist, said.
